Budo (martial arts) has been a compulsory subject in physical education classes at junior high schools since 2012. The purpose of this study is to investigate the structure of the image of kendo among junior high school girls with no experience of kendo, with the aim of improving the image of kendo among female students through conducting kendo classes. Female junior high school students (n = 196) with no experience of kendo participated in this study, which was conducted from April to July 2015. The class content was designed to treat kendo as a communication tool, aiming to achieve the goals set by the curriculum guidelines, through familiarizing students with kendo and with being conscious of “hitting and being hit by the opponent” using a bokuto (wooden sword). Results indicated that the image of kendo classes had a two-factor structure, which was composed of an “Appeared Image” and a “Relaxed Image”. Moreover, the female students’ “Relaxed Image” increased after the class.
