Iai is often translated as the art of drawing the sword, (which has led to more than one person asking what kind of pencils do they need) this coming from the fact that the art’s distinguishing feature is the act of unsheathing the sword becoming a strike. The word iai comes from the expression "Tsune ni itte kyuu ni awasu", roughly translated, "Be prepared for any situation!".

Hayashizaki Shinsuke Shigenobu is attributed with having created iai in the fifteenth century. His father had been killed by a swordsman of great skill and he was honour bound to avenge him. As there was no way the young Shigenobu could be at the villain using conventional fencing techniques, he had to come up with something new and daring.

When he met his opponent, who in time-honoured tradition had unsheathed his sword and stood en garde, Shigenobu just stood there, sword in scabbard. As a result, his opponent could not gauge his reach or his intention and thus was at a loss what to do. Until it was too late of course.

So effective was this new, innovative style that it spawned a new school of swordsmanship, Hayashizaki Ryu, which then led to other schools being formed, some of which exist today but most of which died with their teachers. These schools are often referred to as iaijutsu, as their goal was to teach practical skills to professional swordsmen.

In 1870 came the Meiji Restoration and Japan’s modernisation. In with the new and out with the old. One of the things to go was the samurai class and the need for professional swordsmen. Thanks to the likes of Kano Jigoro, Ueshiba Morihei, Yamaoka Tesshu and, in the case of iai, Nakayama Hakudo, the old martial skills were not completely lost. Instead they were rationalised and transformed from military arts to ways for personal development or Do. The particular art that Nakayama developed was called Muso Shinden Ryu and was almost synonymous with iaido until the creation of ZNKR iaido in the 1960s.

In 1968, the ZNKR launched its Seitei kata or representative forms, a "Best of Iaido collection" one could say. These were intended to give an overview of the essence of iaido to beginners in the art as well as giving a "common language" and a unifying factor to the various koryu in the ZNKR.

ZNKR Iaido is open to everyone regardless of their background and opens up a whole new world of possibilities not only in itself but in meeting and learning from practitioners of different styles of iaido.

The first documented time iaido was practised in Finland was in 1971 in Pietarsaari. Ichimura Toshikazu sensei, who was a 6th dan renshi in iaido, would teach ZNKR iaido in addition to aikido. Since then, ZNKR Iaido has been practised in Finland to a greater or lesser extent. In 2000, became an official discipline of the the Finnish Kendo Association (FKA).

On being officially recognised, a Kyu grading system was implemented making it possible to grade up to 1st kyu in Finland. The grades granted by the FKA are recognised world-wide. The first dan grading in Finland will take place in 2008.

In 2001 Finns ventured into the world of iaido competition taking part in the European Championships in Brussels and have competed every year since 2004.

ZNKR Iaido can be practised in Helsinki, Espoo, Pori, Hämeenlinna, Tampere, Kotka, Turku, Jyväskylä, Vaasa and Kuopio. If you are interested in iaido but do not live in one of these cities then please contact the FKA Iaido representative. Contact information can be found under "FKA" on this site. It is usual, after learning ZNKR Iaido, to deepen one’s knowledge of iaido by studying a koryu or "old school". At the moment, it is possible to study under the FKA the following koryu: Muso Shinden Ryu, Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu and Suioryu.