Bamboo Blade is a Japanese manga series written by Masahiro Totsuka and illustrated by Aguri Igarashi. It was serialized in Square Enix's Young Gangan magazine from December 3, 2004 to September 3, 2010. The series tells the story of Toraji Ishida, a luckless high school Kendo instructor, who is challenged by his former upperclassman, also a kendo instructor, to a competition between their female students. The bet inspires Toraji to gather and train a team of five girls, where he meets Tamaki Kawazoe, a gifted young female kendo practitioner.
