Kunishige Kamamoto
Encyclopedia
Kunishige Kamamoto is a former association football player from Japan
, who won the bronze medal with the Japan national team
at the 1968 Summer Olympics
in Mexico City
, Mexico
, finishing as the tournament's top scorer with seven goals. Kamamoto is often considered to be the greatest Japanese football player of all-time.
He was born in Kyoto
on April 15, 1944. He grew up in Kyoto and attended Yamashiro High School. Then, he was on to Waseda University
School of commerce. His major was commerce and earned bachelor of arts degree from Waseda University in 1966. He was selected Japan national football team in his college year. He joined the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Tokyo and the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico city, Mexico.
Kamamoto was the first Japanese league superstar, being the Japan Soccer League
's top scorer 6 times with his club Yanmar Diesel, the forerunner to today's Cerezo Osaka
. Upon retirement he became a manager and went across town to the local rivals, Gamba Osaka
. Later, he became a member of the House of Councilors.
Kamamoto has been a politician since 1995 and the vice chairman of the Japan Football Association
since July 1998.
|1967
||rowspan="18"|Yanmar Diesel
||rowspan="18"|JSL Division 1
||14||14||3||7||colspan="2"|-||17||21
|-
|1968
||14||14||3||5||colspan="2"|-||17||19
|-
|1969
||12||10||3||7||colspan="2"|-||15||17
|-
|1970
||14||16||3||5||colspan="2"|-||17||21
|-
|1971
||14||11||3||5||colspan="2"|-||17||16
|-
|1972
||14||11||4||5||colspan="2"|-||18||16
|-
|1973
||16||17||2||0||colspan="2"|-||18||17
|-
|1974
||18||21||4||3||colspan="2"|-||22||24
|-
|1975
||17||9||3||2||colspan="2"|-||20||11
|-
|1976
||18||15||3||2||1||0||22||17
|-
|1977
||18||20||4||4||3||2||25||26
|-
|1978
||18||15||3||4||3||4||24||23
|-
|1979
||18||7||3||2||2||1||22||11
|-
|1980
||18||10||2||0||3||2||23||12
|-
|1981
||18||11||2||0||0||0||20||11
|-
|1982
||8||1||0||0||0||0||8||1
|-
|1983
||2||0||0||0||0||0||2||0
|-
|1984
||0||0||3||0||0||0||3||0
251||202||48||51||12||9||311||262
251||202||48||51||12||9||311||262
|}
|1964||1||1
|-
|1965||5||5
|-
|1966||6||6
|-
|1967||0||0
|-
|1968||3||4
|-
|1969||0||0
|-
|1970||6||3
|-
|1971||2||2
|-
|1972||8||15
|-
|1973||3||2
|-
|1974||5||5
|-
|1975||7||5
|-
|1976||11||7
|-
|1977||4||0
|-
!Total||61||55
|}
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...
, who won the bronze medal with the Japan national team
Japan national football team
The Japan national football team represents Japan in association football and is operated by the Japan Football Association, the governing body for association football in Japan...
at the 1968 Summer Olympics
Football at the 1968 Summer Olympics
Final results for the football competition at the 1968 Summer Olympics.-Medalists:-Group A:-------------------------Group B:-------------------------Group C:Ghana replaced Morocco, who refused to play Israel.----...
in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, finishing as the tournament's top scorer with seven goals. Kamamoto is often considered to be the greatest Japanese football player of all-time.
He was born in 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:...
on April 15, 1944. He grew up in Kyoto and attended Yamashiro High School. Then, he was on to Waseda University
Waseda University
, abbreviated as , is one of the most prestigious private universities in Japan and Asia. Its main campuses are located in the northern part of Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as Tokyo Senmon Gakko, the institution was renamed "Waseda University" in 1902. It is known for its liberal climate...
School of commerce. His major was commerce and earned bachelor of arts degree from Waseda University in 1966. He was selected Japan national football team in his college year. He joined the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Tokyo and the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico city, Mexico.
Kamamoto was the first Japanese league superstar, being the Japan Soccer League
Japan Soccer League
, or JSL, was the top flight soccer league in Japan between 1965 and 1992, and was the precursor to the current professional league, the J. League. JSL was the second national league of a team sport in Japan after the professional Japanese Baseball League that was founded in 1936...
's top scorer 6 times with his club Yanmar Diesel, the forerunner to today's Cerezo Osaka
Cerezo Osaka
is a J. League Division 1 association football team. The team name Cerezo means cherry tree in Spanish, which is also the flower of Ōsaka city....
. Upon retirement he became a manager and went across town to the local rivals, Gamba Osaka
Gamba Osaka
is a Japanese professional association football club, currently playing in the J. League Division 1. The team's name comes from the Italian word "gamba" meaning "leg" and the Japanese , meaning "to do your best" or "to stand firm". Located in Suita, Osaka, the team's home stadium is Osaka Expo '70...
. Later, he became a member of the House of Councilors.
Kamamoto has been a politician since 1995 and the vice chairman of the Japan Football Association
Japan Football Association
The Japan Football Association, sometimes known as the Japan Soccer Association , is the governing body responsible for the administration of association football in Japan. It is responsible for the national team as well as club competitions....
since July 1998.
Club statistics
|-|1967
Japan Soccer League 1967
-Japan Soccer League:-Promotion/Relegation Series:Nagoya Mutual Bank promoted, Toyota Industries relegated.-Team of The Year:...
||rowspan="18"|Yanmar Diesel
Cerezo Osaka
is a J. League Division 1 association football team. The team name Cerezo means cherry tree in Spanish, which is also the flower of Ōsaka city....
||rowspan="18"|JSL Division 1
Japan Soccer League
, or JSL, was the top flight soccer league in Japan between 1965 and 1992, and was the precursor to the current professional league, the J. League. JSL was the second national league of a team sport in Japan after the professional Japanese Baseball League that was founded in 1936...
||14||14||3||7||colspan="2"|-||17||21
|-
|1968
Japan Soccer League 1968
-Japan Soccer League:-Promotion/Relegation Series:No relegations.-Team of the Year:...
||14||14||3||5||colspan="2"|-||17||19
|-
|1969
Japan Soccer League 1969
-Japan Soccer League:-Promotion/Relegation Series:No relegations.-Team of the Year:...
||12||10||3||7||colspan="2"|-||15||17
|-
|1970
Japan Soccer League 1970
-Japan Soccer League:-Promotion/Relegation Series:No relegations.- Team of the Year :...
||14||16||3||5||colspan="2"|-||17||21
|-
|1971
Japan Soccer League 1971
- Japan Soccer League :- Promotion/Relegation Series :Nagoya Mutual Bank lost its place in the League for a second time, this time to Towa Real Estate, which would become one of the biggest names in Japanese football as Fujita Engineering and Bellmare Hiratsuka, currently known as Shonan...
||14||11||3||5||colspan="2"|-||17||16
|-
|1972
Japan Soccer League 1972
The 1972 season in Japanese football introduced a Second Division to the Japan Soccer League. 9 clubs were chosen from the Japanese Regional Leagues from the previous season, but as Nagoya Mutual Bank resigned from the League, a tenth club was chosen from the Kansai League.-JSL First Division:No...
||14||11||4||5||colspan="2"|-||18||16
|-
|1973
Japan Soccer League 1973
-JSL First Division:-JSL 1/2 Promotion/Relegation Series:Eidai promoted, Tanabe relegated.-JSL Second Division:-JSL Promotion/Relegation Series:...
||16||17||2||0||colspan="2"|-||18||17
|-
|1974
Japan Soccer League 1974
- First Division :- Promotion/Relegation Series :No relegations.- Second Division :- JSL Promotion/Relegation Series :Honda promoted, Hitachi Ibaraki relegated.-All-Star Game:-References:...
||18||21||4||3||colspan="2"|-||22||24
|-
|1975
Japan Soccer League 1975
- First Division :Towa Real Estate was renamed Fujita Industries when the latter absorbed its subsidiary.- Promotion/Relegation Series :No relegations.-Second Division:- JSL Promotion/Relegation Series :...
||17||9||3||2||colspan="2"|-||20||11
|-
|1976
Japan Soccer League 1976
- First Division :- Promotion/Relegation Series :No relegations. As Eidai Sangyo dissolved the club and withdrew from the league in March 1977, Fujitsu was promoted anyway.- Second Division :- JSL Promotion/Relegation Series :...
||18||15||3||2||1||0||22||17
|-
|1977
Japan Soccer League 1977
Statistics of Japan Soccer League in season 1977. This was the inaugural season of the Regional Promotion Series, which replaced the Senior Cup as the source of the clubs promoted from the regional Japanese football leagues.-First Division:...
||18||20||4||4||3||2||25||26
|-
|1978
Japan Soccer League 1978
-First Division:By winning the Emperor's Cup and Japan Soccer League Cup along with the title, Mitsubishi completed the first Japanese treble ever.-Promotion/Relegation Series:Nissan promoted, Fujitsu relegated.-Second Division:-Promotion/Relegation Series:...
||18||15||3||4||3||4||24||23
|-
|1979
Japan Soccer League 1979
-First Division:-Promotion/Relegation Series:Yamaha promoted, NKK relegated.-Second Division:-Promotion/Relegation Series:No relegations. Due to withdrawal of Yanmar Club, Yanmar Diesel's B-squad, Daikyo was promoted.-References:*...
||18||7||3||2||2||1||22||11
|-
|1980
Japan Soccer League 1980
Statistics of Japan Soccer League in season 1980. For the first time ever, automatic promotion and relegation was introduced for the first and last places of the Second Division, which means that the last place in the First Division went down.-First Division:...
||18||10||2||0||3||2||23||12
|-
|1981
Japan Soccer League 1981
-First Division:Fujita Industries won their third League title.Nippon Steel, one of eight inaugural member of the First Division in 1965 as Yawata Steel, was defeated by Second Division runner-up Nissan in the playout and relegated, never to play top flight football again...
||18||11||2||0||0||0||20||11
|-
|1982
Japan Soccer League 1982
-First Division:Mitsubishi tied Yanmar's four championships with its own run.NKK could not adjust to the top flight for this season and was relegated instantly, thereby becoming the first Japanese team to go straight back down one season after promotion...
||8||1||0||0||0||0||8||1
|-
|1983
Japan Soccer League 1983
-First Division:Yomiuri, the football club became one of big names of earlier years of J. League as Verdy Kawasaki, and currently known as Tokyo Verdy, won its first of seven League championships, fully riding in the wave of its parent company's funds and prestige.Mazda, five-time First Division...
||2||0||0||0||0||0||2||0
|-
|1984
Japan Soccer League 1984
Statistics of Japan Soccer League in season 1984. No promotion/relegation series for both division were held due to expansion of both divisions in the following season.-First Division:No relegation took place due to expansion to 12 clubs.-Second Division:...
||0||0||3||0||0||0||3||0
251||202||48||51||12||9||311||262
251||202||48||51||12||9||311||262
|}
National team statistics
|-|1964||1||1
|-
|1965||5||5
|-
|1966||6||6
|-
|1967||0||0
|-
|1968||3||4
|-
|1969||0||0
|-
|1970||6||3
|-
|1971||2||2
|-
|1972||8||15
|-
|1973||3||2
|-
|1974||5||5
|-
|1975||7||5
|-
|1976||11||7
|-
|1977||4||0
|-
!Total||61||55
|}
Honors
- Summer Olympics football top scorer : 1968Football at the 1968 Summer OlympicsFinal results for the football competition at the 1968 Summer Olympics.-Medalists:-Group A:-------------------------Group B:-------------------------Group C:Ghana replaced Morocco, who refused to play Israel.----...
- Japanese Footballer of the YearJapan Football AssociationThe Japan Football Association, sometimes known as the Japan Soccer Association , is the governing body responsible for the administration of association football in Japan. It is responsible for the national team as well as club competitions....
(7): 1966, 1968, 1971, 1974, 1975, 1980, 1981 - Japan Soccer LeagueJapan Soccer League, or JSL, was the top flight soccer league in Japan between 1965 and 1992, and was the precursor to the current professional league, the J. League. JSL was the second national league of a team sport in Japan after the professional Japanese Baseball League that was founded in 1936...
Top Scorer (7): 1968, 1970, 1971, 1974, 1975, 1976 (on his own), 1978 (shared with CarvalhoJoão Dickson CarvalhoJoão Dickson Carvalho is a former Brazilian football player.-Career:Carvalho was one of several foreign players in the Japan Soccer League, and during the 1977 season, he became the first foreign player to win the top scorer in the Japan Soccer League First Division...
). - Japan Soccer LeagueJapan Soccer League, or JSL, was the top flight soccer league in Japan between 1965 and 1992, and was the precursor to the current professional league, the J. League. JSL was the second national league of a team sport in Japan after the professional Japanese Baseball League that was founded in 1936...
Best Eleven (14): 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981. - Japan Soccer LeagueJapan Soccer League, or JSL, was the top flight soccer league in Japan between 1965 and 1992, and was the precursor to the current professional league, the J. League. JSL was the second national league of a team sport in Japan after the professional Japanese Baseball League that was founded in 1936...
Assists leader (2): 1973, 1975 - Japan Soccer LeagueJapan Soccer League, or JSL, was the top flight soccer league in Japan between 1965 and 1992, and was the precursor to the current professional league, the J. League. JSL was the second national league of a team sport in Japan after the professional Japanese Baseball League that was founded in 1936...
Star Ball Award (5): 1967, 1968, 1970, 1971, 1972 - Japan Soccer LeagueJapan Soccer League, or JSL, was the top flight soccer league in Japan between 1965 and 1992, and was the precursor to the current professional league, the J. League. JSL was the second national league of a team sport in Japan after the professional Japanese Baseball League that was founded in 1936...
Fighting Spirit Award (1): 1968 - Japan Soccer LeagueJapan Soccer League, or JSL, was the top flight soccer league in Japan between 1965 and 1992, and was the precursor to the current professional league, the J. League. JSL was the second national league of a team sport in Japan after the professional Japanese Baseball League that was founded in 1936...
100 goals Award: 1974 - Japan Soccer LeagueJapan Soccer League, or JSL, was the top flight soccer league in Japan between 1965 and 1992, and was the precursor to the current professional league, the J. League. JSL was the second national league of a team sport in Japan after the professional Japanese Baseball League that was founded in 1936...
200 goals Award: 1981