Australian rules football in Japan
Encyclopedia
Australian rules football
in Japan
is a minority team sport
which dates back to 1910, but found its roots in the late 1980s
.
Japan competes regularly at international level and Japan's national team has defeated amateur Australian clubs on numerous occasions.
. He was successful in introducing it as a sport to four large high schools in Tokyo
by having the rules translated into Japanese. It is not known what happened to the sport at these schools after that time.
In 1946, a match was played at Kure, Hiroshima
between the British Commonwealth Base team and the 168th General Transport Company at Anzac Oval.
In 1964, Japanese schoolboy Hideki Oka spent 12 months in Australia under rotary club sponsorship where he played Australian rules football.
Interest was rekindled when, in 1986, the VFL sent two teams to Japan in an effort to encourage the international recognition of the sport. Hawthorn and Carlton played an exhibition match in Tokyo in front of a mix of expatriate Australians and locals.
The following year saw Hawthorn
take on Essendon
in the second 'Aussie Bowl'. The curtain raiser for this match was played by a make-shift team of Japanese university students. The nation's two most famous private universities scraped together teams of inexperienced Japanese boys to play Japan's first "real" footy match of the 1980s. The two teams, Keio and Waseda, are arch rivals in almost every sport - creating for a classic rivalry along the lines of Carlton
v. Collingwood
.
That match was the birth of the Japanese Australian Football Association (JAFA). Those two universities still play a large part, together with another private university, Senshu University. Together they came to form the "Japan Samurais".
The Tokyo Goannas formed in November 1991. Their aims were to publicise and promote Australian football in Japan, arrange games on a regular and more organised basis.
There is a league competition and regular one-off games, including the Qantas
Cup (a Goannas intra-club, Victoria vs. The Rest Of The World match) and the Ned Kelly
Cup (a "Combined Rules" match against the Irish). As well as playing in Japan, the Goannas have disturbed the peace of Hong Kong and Singapore and JAFA has sent a national team to take part in the Arafura Games
in Darwin
in 1995, 1997, 1999 and 2001, the Narita Cup and later the Australian Football International Cup
in 2002 and 2005.
Expansion in 2006 saw a rival league to the Japan AFL, the Nippon Australian Football League (formerly the Australian Football League Kansai Japan) emerge. The league has since governed both the Australian Football League Tokui Japan and the Australian Football League Kansai Japan covering some of the regions further south of Tokyo including the cities of Kyoto
, Kobe
and Osaka
. Both the JAFL and NAFL expressed the desire to represent Japan in international matches, however the AFL has stated that only one team can represent a country at the International Cup. The Nippon AFL appeared to become dormant in 2008.
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
is a minority team sport
Team sport
A team sport includes any sport which involves players working together towards a shared objective. A team sport is an activity in which a group of individuals, on the same team, work together to accomplish an ultimate goal which is usually to win. This can be done in a number of ways such as...
which dates back to 1910, but found its roots in the late 1980s
1980s
File:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...
.
Japan competes regularly at international level and Japan's national team has defeated amateur Australian clubs on numerous occasions.
History of Australian Rules Football in Japan
Australian rules football was first introduced to Japan in 1910 by a A. W. McLean from MelbourneMelbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. He was successful in introducing it as a sport to four large high schools in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
by having the rules translated into Japanese. It is not known what happened to the sport at these schools after that time.
In 1946, a match was played at Kure, Hiroshima
Kure, Hiroshima
is a city in Hiroshima prefecture, Japan.As of October 1, 2010, the city has an estimated population of 240,820 and a population density of 681 persons per km². The total area is 353.74 km².- History :...
between the British Commonwealth Base team and the 168th General Transport Company at Anzac Oval.
In 1964, Japanese schoolboy Hideki Oka spent 12 months in Australia under rotary club sponsorship where he played Australian rules football.
Interest was rekindled when, in 1986, the VFL sent two teams to Japan in an effort to encourage the international recognition of the sport. Hawthorn and Carlton played an exhibition match in Tokyo in front of a mix of expatriate Australians and locals.
The following year saw Hawthorn
Hawthorn Football Club
The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League . The club, founded in 1902, is the youngest of the Victorian-based teams in the AFL. The team play in Brown & Gold vertically striped guernseys...
take on Essendon
Essendon Football Club
The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
in the second 'Aussie Bowl'. The curtain raiser for this match was played by a make-shift team of Japanese university students. The nation's two most famous private universities scraped together teams of inexperienced Japanese boys to play Japan's first "real" footy match of the 1980s. The two teams, Keio and Waseda, are arch rivals in almost every sport - creating for a classic rivalry along the lines of Carlton
Carlton Football Club
The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
v. Collingwood
Collingwood Football Club
The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
.
That match was the birth of the Japanese Australian Football Association (JAFA). Those two universities still play a large part, together with another private university, Senshu University. Together they came to form the "Japan Samurais".
The Tokyo Goannas formed in November 1991. Their aims were to publicise and promote Australian football in Japan, arrange games on a regular and more organised basis.
There is a league competition and regular one-off games, including the Qantas
Qantas
Qantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier of Australia. The name was originally "QANTAS", an initialism for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services". Nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo", the airline is based in Sydney, with its main hub at Sydney Airport...
Cup (a Goannas intra-club, Victoria vs. The Rest Of The World match) and the Ned Kelly
Ned Kelly
Edward "Ned" Kelly was an Irish Australian bushranger. He is considered by some to be merely a cold-blooded cop killer — others, however, consider him to be a folk hero and symbol of Irish Australian resistance against the Anglo-Australian ruling class.Kelly was born in Victoria to an Irish...
Cup (a "Combined Rules" match against the Irish). As well as playing in Japan, the Goannas have disturbed the peace of Hong Kong and Singapore and JAFA has sent a national team to take part in the Arafura Games
Arafura Games
The Arafura Games is a Multi-sport event held every 2 years in the Australian city of Darwin, in the Northern Territory. It is an international event which draws its competitors from around the world. First held in 1991, the most recent Games, held in 2009, involved over 30 nations and over 3,000...
in Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
in 1995, 1997, 1999 and 2001, the Narita Cup and later the Australian Football International Cup
Australian Football International Cup
The Australian Football International Cup is an international sport competition in Australian rules football...
in 2002 and 2005.
Expansion in 2006 saw a rival league to the Japan AFL, the Nippon Australian Football League (formerly the Australian Football League Kansai Japan) emerge. The league has since governed both the Australian Football League Tokui Japan and the Australian Football League Kansai Japan covering some of the regions further south of Tokyo including the cities of Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
, Kobe
Kobe
, pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka...
and Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
. Both the JAFL and NAFL expressed the desire to represent Japan in international matches, however the AFL has stated that only one team can represent a country at the International Cup. The Nippon AFL appeared to become dormant in 2008.
Participation
In 2004, Japan had four leagues, including a women's league, with more than 500 registered players around the country competing in league competition and other games. Some 83 per cent of the registered players are Japanese nationals.Attendance Record
- 25,000 (1986). CarltonCarlton Football ClubThe Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
v. HawthornHawthorn Football ClubThe Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League . The club, founded in 1902, is the youngest of the Victorian-based teams in the AFL. The team play in Brown & Gold vertically striped guernseys...
(Yokohama StadiumYokohama Stadiumis a stadium in Naka Ward, Yokohama, Japan. It opened in 1978 and holds 30,000 people.It is primarily used for baseball and is the home field of the Yokohama BayStars. The stadium is unique, because it features dirt around the bases and pitcher's mound, but with dirt colored turf infield and base...
, KanagawaKanagawa Prefectureis a prefecture located in the southern Kantō region of Japan. The capital is Yokohama. Kanagawa is part of the Greater Tokyo Area.-History:The prefecture has some archaeological sites going back to the Jōmon period...
)
National team
The national team is the SamuraiJapanese national Australian rules football team
The Japanese national Australian rules football team represent Japan in Australian rules football.The team represents the best Japanese born players and is selected by AFL Japan from domestic competitions which have been running since 1987.-Identity:...
Leagues & Competitions
- Tokyo Open League
- Tokyo University League
- Japan Osaka Australian Football League
- Japan Women's Footy