was a Japanese university teacher known as a teacher of

kendo is a modern Japanese martial art, descended from kenjutsu (one of the old Japanese martial arts, swordsmanship), that uses bamboo swords (shinai) as well as protective armor (bōgu). Today, it is widely practiced within Japan and has spread ...

. Andō was born in Ōgaki, Gifu on June 20, 1940, and began practising kendo at the age of 13 as a student when living in

Yokkaichi is a city located in Mie Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 310,259 in 142162 households and a population density of 1500 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Yokkaichi is located in north-central ...

. He eventually became captain of his university's team and advanced to 7th

dan Dan or DAN may refer to: People * Dan (name), including a list of people with the name ** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark * Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa **Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoir ...

at age 27. Throughout his life, he remained

shihan is a Japanese term that is used in many Japanese martial arts as an honorific title for expert or senior instructors. It can be translated as "master instructor". The use of the term is specific to a school or organization, as is the process of ...

(senior teacher) at his university. He was also involved in kendo as a member of several bodies of the All-Japanese Kendo Federation ( ZNKR) and the All-Japanese Student Kendo Federation (ZNGKR). Andō authored several publications on kendo, one of which is still recognized as a standard textbook for German-language practitioners of the sport. He acted as a national trainer in Germany for years and committed himself to the development of kendo there and in several other European countries such as the Baltic states. He was recognized as a ''shihan'' of a

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

-based dojo which is holding annual seminars to his remembrance. In 2003, Andō suffered a stroke during a flight back to Japan and died on October 8.http://www.kendo-hamburg.de/Nachruf_AJU-1.pdf

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ando, Kozo 1940 births 2003 deaths Japanese kendoka People from Ōgaki