History

The origin of the shinai can be found in the Edo period. The shinai was developed when a group of swordsmen, in an effort to reduce the number of practitioners being seriously injured during practice, undertook to create a practice weapon that was less dangerous than bokutō (木刀, ぼくとう^?), the hard wooden swords they were previously using. This is also the motivation behind the development of bōgu (防具, ぼうぐ^?), the armour that protects the kendoka.