Like many before him, Trevor Skingle became fascinated with samurai ethics while learning a martial art. But for this Briton, the samurai respect for the arts in traditional Japan resonated with his own life choices.

That happened when he was a physical education trainer with the British military vying in army judo competitions at the age of 19. He had come from a background that had made him equally comfortable on stage as a child soprano for the Royal Opera House in London.

To Skingle, Japan made sense for his split world: "Judo was the linchpin, but from what I could gather about Japanese culture and the samurai ethos, art and military often went hand in hand, and it matched up with my own character. When I found the combination of the artistic and combative side in Japan, it really sang to me."