I would like to express my congratulations on the grand opening of the Annual Harvard Invitational Shoryuhai Championship Kendo Tournament. As you may know, the name of "Shoryuhai" has been newly added to this Tournament this year.

I had the opportunity of practicing Kendo with students of Harvard last summer, and was strongly impressed with the purposes and prospects of this Tournament, as well as with the sincerity of the students.

As a token of my appreciation, I would like to present this trophy in my name.

Kendo is one of the martial arts which has been cultivated in the long history and traditions of our country. It holds as its purpose the pursuit of spiritual and physical maturity as human beings through discipline and training.

As I, myself, am an avid kendoist, not a great one but one who is striving for such a goal, I strongly hope that Kendo will continue its growth without losing its distinctive character.

Today, Kendo has become popular and has expanded throughout the world, not to mention Japan. I would like to express my sincere respect for the efforts of all those who have been involved in the making of this Tournament.

As we head into the 21st century, I believe that in order to have a world which is peaceful, happy, and full of hope, it is necessary to pursue not only material wealth but spiritual richness. Each and every person must nurture a sound mind in a sound body. This goal indeed coincides with that of Kendo, which aims to build character through training.

I hope that all of you participants in this Tournament will strive for the essence of Kendo while fully exhibiting the fruits of your daily training and by promoting friendship and goodwill among the kendoists who have gathered here from various parts of North America. I wish you luck and look forward to the future growth and success of the Tournament.

President of All-Japan Student Kendo Association

Member of Japanese Diet

Ryutaro Hashimoto