Sport in Japan
Encyclopedia
Sports in Japan are a significant part of Japanese culture. Both traditional sports such as sumo
and martial arts
, and Western imports like baseball
and association football, are popular with both participants and spectators.
Sumo wrestling is considered Japan's national sport
. It was introduced to the country by visiting Americans in the 19th century. The Nippon Professional Baseball league is Japan's largest professional sports league. Martial arts such as judo
, karate
and modern kendō
are also widely practiced and enjoyed by spectators in the country. Association football has gained wide popularity since the founding of the Japan Professional Football League in 1992. Other popular sports include figure skating
, golf
and racing
, especially auto racing
.
Sumo
shows an important side of traditional Japanese sport, a religious occasion as well as a sporting event. Many sumo rituals are closely associated with Shinto
belief. It is believed that some of ancient sumo matches were a purely religious event with a predetermined outcome as an offering to kami
. Some matches are done as divination
. For example, if a fisherman and farmer held a match and the fisherman won, a good catch was predicted for the year.
The Kamakura period was a starting point for many martial arts. Kyūdō
became popular as kyujutsu, literally bow skill, as a pastime for samurai. Yabusame
also started as a sport in this period, but is now considered a sacred ceremony. Hunting also became a popular sport and dogs were used to aid a hunt. Hunting was also called Inuoimono, literally dog chasing
, sports became a unpopular way to spend time. The only problem was that they were often accompanied by gambling. A notice to punish playing and betting on sumo without an authorization was repeatedly posted to little effect. Kyūdō was encouraged by shogun
and daimyo
as a pastime and contests as well as record making attempts were held. On April 26, 1686, a samurai named Wasa Daihachiro competing in the Tōshiya
made an unsurpassed record of shooting 13,053 arrows and hitting the mark 8,133 times over a 24 hour period. This is even more remarkable when one considers the shooting range for this attempt, a 120 meter long corridor with a ceiling of only 2.2 meters. In the Olympic games
, archers shoot over a distance of only 70 meters. Martial arts like jujutsu
were popular but schools avoided inter-school matches and only internal matches were held.
After the Meiji Restoration
, various kinds of Western sports were introduced into Japan. Playing sports was adopted as a school activity and matches between universities became popular. During the 1870s, track and field
events, baseball
, football, rugby union
, cricket
and ice skating
were introduced. In 1911, an Austria
n gave skiing
instruction to the Japanese army. In those days, Western sports were played by few people, but through the educational system they spread throughout the country. Western sports were initially stressed as a form of mental discipline, but Japanese have now come to enjoy them as recreational activities.
Professional sports, the most famous being baseball which continues even today, started in late 1920s but a persistent rumors of bribes and a general attitude that sports should be for players or as a hobby persisted. Until after World War II
when airing of sporting event on radio
and television
became common, matches between schools attracted a larger crowd.
There were also some minor sports like pingpong and fencing. They are not national sports, but are also mildly popular. Baseball and professional wrestling were staples of early television, and boxing
and sumo were aired periodically. Initially, running live sport games were viewed with skepticism as it was believed that fans would rather stay at home if they could watch for free. But, as it actually increased interest and sold more merchandise, airing of sports on television became popular.
Judo has been recognized as an official event in the Olympic Games
since the 1964 Summer Olympics
in Tokyo
. It is also one of the four main forms of amateur competitive wrestling practiced internationally today. Keirin
racing has also become an Olympic Games event since the 2000 Summer Olympics
in Sydney
.
Motorsport
has become quite popular in Japan especially during the latter third of the 20th century. Japanese car manufacturers use the many motorsports series as a form of marketing; the classic "race on Sunday sell on Monday" philosophy. Another factor that contributes to the popularity of motorsports is the use of cars as a form of personal expression. With cars costing less than homes in Japan, many youth spend a lot on their cars and consequently get involved in both amateur racing, both legal (on track) and illegal (street racing). Many Japanese racing drivers come from this background to find success in many racing series both in Japan and around the world. Drifting
is a relatively new form of motorsport that is distinctly Japanese and is now being exported abroad.
There are opportunities to play various sports for all age, and school plays an important role in community. Kindergarten and lower elementary school students can play in a private sport club that can be joined for a moderate fee. Most martial arts can be started as little as 4 or 5 years old. When a student starts 5th grade, school offers free after-school activities for its students to participate. Middle and high schools also encourage their students to join school sport clubs.
Prefectural and national-wide level contests and tournaments are held every winter and summer for all sports. Some of the tournaments, such as National High School Baseball Championship
have an inordinate level of popularity among fans as much as professional sports.
The most common facilities are gym
nasium (21.8%), multipurpose sports stadium
(20.7%), outdoor swimming pool
(14.1%), outdoor tennis court
(9.3%), baseball
and softball
ground (4.5%).
, Health and Sports Day
. This date, originally October 10, commemorates the opening day of the 1964 Summer Olympics
held in Tokyo
. The event was documented in Tokyo Olympiad by filmmaker, Kon Ichikawa. Japan has hosted many international competitions including the 1972 Winter Olympics
in Sapporo, the 1998 Winter Olympics
in Nagano, 2002 FIFA World Cup
, and the 2006
and 2009 World Baseball Classic
.
The 2019 Rugby World Cup
, or 'RWC 2019' will be hosted by Japan. This was announced by RWCL Chairman Bernard Lapasett in Irish capital Dublin at a special IRB
meeting on 28 July 2009, along with the host of the 2015 Rugby World Cup
, England
.
Many major figure skating events are regularly held in Japan. The Grand Prix event, the NHK Trophy
, has been held in various cities throughout Japan every year since 1979. Japan has also been host of the World Figure Skating Championships
and ISU Grand Prix Final numerous times. In 2009, it held the first ISU World Team Trophy in Tokyo, a event set to take place every two years. Figure skating is also a commercial success in Japan, and made-for-television competitions and ice shows like the Japan Open
are broadcast across the nation. Along with countries such as the United States
, Canada
, and Russia
, Japan is widely considered to be a leading country in the sport.
. A board game called Go
is also widely popular in the country.
(JFA), is the governing body of Japanese football. The JFA organises the men's
, women's
, and futsal
national teams.
Football was introduced to Japan during the Meiji period
by O-yatoi gaikokujin
, foreign advisors hired by the Japanese government, along with many other foreign sports, like baseball
. The first Japanese football club is considered to be Tokyo Shūkyū-dan, founded in 1917, which is now competing in the Tokyo Prefectural amateur league.
In the 1920s, football associations were organized and regional tournaments began in universities and high schools, especially in Tokyo. In the 1930s, the Japan national football team
was organized and had a 3 - 3 tie with China
for their first title at the Far Eastern Championship Games
. The Japan national team also competed in the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games
, the team had a first victory in an Olympic game with a 3 - 2 win over powerful Sweden
.
The Japanese national football team
is very successful at an international level, and has competed in the 1998
, 2002
, 2006
, and 2010
FIFA World Cups. Their best result was Round 2 in 2002 and 2010. The Japanese national team has also competed in six AFC Asian Cups, with the team being the Champions in 1992
, 2000
, 2004
and 2011
AFC Asian Cups. The team's highest ranking was 9th in the world in February 1998. Japan has competed in many other footballing events including the Confederations Cup, the East Asian Football Championship, and the Copa América
.
The national team's colours are blue and white, Japan's main colours in most international sporting competitions.
Baseball
is one of the most popular sports in Japan. It was introduced to Japan in 1872 by Horace Wilson, who taught at the Kaisei School in Tokyo. The first baseball team was called the Shimbashi Athletic Club and was established in 1878. Baseball has been a popular sport ever since. It is called 野球 (やきゅう; yakyū) in Japanese, combining the characters for fielding and ball.
Hiroshi Hiraoka, who was in United States studying engineering, introduced the game to his co-workers at Japan’s national railways in 1878. He and his co-workers created the first baseball team, the Shimbashi Athletic Club, and dominated other teams which popped up in Japan. However it wasn’t until the team from Tokyo University started playing that the sport took hold in Japanese culture. In 1896 the team defeated an American team from the Yokohama Country and Athletic Club, 29 to 4. It was the first recorded international baseball game in Asia. After that victory, several other universities in Japan adopted the sport and it quickly spread throughout Japan. Since then teams from Japan have traveled to learn from their American counterparts. Waseda University
was one of the first teams to cross the ocean to improve their skills. In 1905 the team traveled to the United States where it played college teams from around the country. Other universities in Japan made similar trips, and U.S. teams traveled to Japan to play.
In 1913 and in 1922, American baseball stars visited Japan and played against university teams. They also held clinics on technique. Herb Hunter, a retired major league player, made eight trips to Japan from 1922 to 1932 to organize games and coaching clinics.
Baseball is also played in Japan's junior and senior high schools. Each year in March and August, two tournaments are held at Koshien Stadium for senior high school teams that win a prefecture tournament.
In Japan, high school baseball (高校野球: kōkō yakyū) generally refers to the 2 annual baseball tournaments played by high schools nationwide culminating at a final showdown at Hanshin Kōshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, Japan. They are organized by the Japan High School Baseball Federation in association with Mainichi Shimbun for the National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament in the spring (also known as "Spring Kōshien") and Asahi Shimbun for the National High School Baseball Championship in the summer (also known as "Summer Kōshien").
These nationwide tournaments enjoy widespread popularity, arguably equal to or greater than professional baseball. Qualifying tournaments are often televised locally and each game of the final stage at Kōshien is televised nationally on NHK. The tournaments have become a national tradition, and large numbers of frenzied students and parents travel from hometowns to cheer for their local team. It is a common sight to see players walking off the field in tears after being eliminated from the tournament by a loss.
The Japanese national Handball
teams are controlled by the Japan Handball Association.
Rugby union
is a popular Sport in Japan. The Japanese national rugby union team
is controlled by the Japan Rugby Football Union
, of which the national team has been to every Rugby World Cup
since 1987. The only time when Japan won a match in the Rugby World Cup, was against Zimbabwe
in 1991
, of which that was one of Japan's first wins for its national team. The Japanese rugby team has been playing internationals since the 1930s. See Japan women's national rugby union team
History
The first recorded instance of Rugby being played in Japan was in 1874, when British sailors staged a game in Yokohama
. The Sport was introduced to students at Keio university in 1899 by Professor Edward Bramwell Clarke
and Tanaka Ginnosuke
. Japan's first international match took place on 31 January 1932 when a trade delegation from Canada brought the Canada national rugby union team
, who were also playing their first game. The Japanese won 9 - 8.
See Rugby union in Japan and Japan national rugby union team for more information on History of Japanese rugby.
.
, in 1854 soon after the Convention of Kanagawa
, American sailors often played the sparring matches on board with their fists wrapped in the thin leathers. It was the first boxing conveyed to Japan. In addition, ōzeki whom the Shogunate side summoned, a wrestler and a boxer both from the United States fought in different martial arts matches in front of Perry, and Koyanagi won against them. The first exhibition match named was held in Tsukiji
, Tokyo in 1887, then the first boxing gym was established in Ishikawachō, Yokohama, Kanagawa
by and in 1896. After the first tutorial book was issued in 1900, the other boxing gym was opened in Mikage, Kobe
by in 1909. However those were not genuine. After learning boxing in San Francisco, California
, the United States since 1906 as a professional boxer who was nicknamed "four-round king", established in Shimomeguro, Meguro, Tokyo
, on December 25, 1921. from Rikkyo University
began boxing under Watanabe's management. Ogino (junior featherweight
) and were recognized as the first Japanese champions by Nippon Kentō Club in 1922. In the first Japanese title matches for professional boxers held in April 1924, Fuji Okamoto
in the flyweight
division and Kintarō Usuda
in the lightweight
division became titleholders.
Simultaneously with whose president was Yūjirō Watanabe, the was established in July 1926. The first Japan championships for amateur boxers was held by in 1927. Fuji Okamoto in the bantamweight
division and Kintarō Usuda in the welterweight
division participated in the 1928 Summer Olympics
. founded in February 1931, to perform the establishment of championships and the development of professional boxers, repeated division and dissolution to become the current . from Waseda University played an active part in those days. Although Japan's boxing was interrupted by the Pacific War
, the first Japan championships after the war was held in 1947. Then the Japan Boxing Commission was founded in order to prepare Yoshio Shirai
's world title match. Its establishment was presented at the Tokyo Kaikan on April 21, 1952. from Waseda University who was the founding president of Teiken Boxing Gym
and the president of the Korakuen Stadium
, was elected as its first commissioner. Shirai defeated the champion Dado Marino
via a unanimous decision
in the flyweight division on May 19 of that year, while being watched by 45,000 spectators at the Korakuen Stadium, to become the Japan's first world champion. The Japan Boxing Commission has joined the NBA (the current WBA
) since January 7, 1954. In June 1956, the Boxing Magazine, the Japan's oldest surviving boxing journal, was launched by the Baseball Magazine Sha.
The Japan boxing commission set up the Japanese heavyweight
title once in 1957, but that division did not last long because there were few heavyweight boxers in Japan at that time. Therefore they have recognized the titles and ratings only in thirteen weight divisions from minimumweight
to middleweight
for over fifty years. Although they added four weight divisions i.e. super middleweight
, light heavyweight
, cruiserweight
and heavyweight
, from September 2009, so far the ratings of those divisions are not settled yet.
As of November 6, 2011, Japan produced sixty-nine male world champions and twelve female world champions. Although the eight world champions except the females i.e. Shozo Saijo
(in the United States in 1968), Kuniaki Shibata
(in Mexico
in 1970, and in the United States in 1973), Shoji Oguma
(in South Korea
in 1980), Yasutsune Uehara
(in the United States in 1980), Tadashi Mihara
(in the United States in 1981), Akinobu Hiranaka
(in Mexico in 1992), Orzubek Nazarov
(in South Africa
in 1993) and Jorge Linares
(in the United States in 2007, and in Panama
in 2008) were crowned across the sea, Japan's male world champions rarely risk their titles outside of their country. Apart from non-Japanese nationals, the only ten champions did it, and the only three among them successfully defended their titles (Jiro Watanabe
in South Korea in 1985, a Korean expatriate Masamori Tokuyama
in South Korea in 2001, Toshiaki Nishioka
in Mexico in 2009, and also Nishioka in the United States in 2011). That is because Japan's professional boxing has given priority to holding the fights in their own country to get paid television broadcast rights fees. Consequently, Japan's champions still remain internationally unrecognized. However, as the boxing programs' audience ratings dropped, television stations are no longer aggressive in its production. The broadcast rights fees have decreased under the economic downturn.
is known to have received pearls from the Japanese royal family in the 1970s. Figure Skaters in Japan also enjoy some level of celebrity—some like Mao Asada
becoming household names and gaining large endorsements.
Sumo
is a competitive full-contact sport where a wrestler attempts to force another wrestler out of a circular ring or to touch the ground with anything other than the soles of the feet. The sport originated in Japan, the only country where it is practiced professionally...
and martial arts
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
, and Western imports like baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
and association football, are popular with both participants and spectators.
Sumo wrestling is considered Japan's national sport
National sport
A national sport or national pastime is a sport or game that is considered to be an intrinsic part of the culture of a nation. Some sports are de facto national sports, as baseball is in the U.S., while others are de jure as lacrosse and ice hockey are in Canada.-De jure national sports:-De facto...
. It was introduced to the country by visiting Americans in the 19th century. The Nippon Professional Baseball league is Japan's largest professional sports league. Martial arts such as judo
Judo
is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...
, karate
Karate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
and modern kendō
Kendo
, meaning "Way of The Sword", is a modern Japanese martial art of sword-fighting based on traditional Japanese swordsmanship, or kenjutsu.Kendo is a physically and mentally challenging activity that combines strong martial arts values with sport-like physical elements.-Practitioners:Practitioners...
are also widely practiced and enjoyed by spectators in the country. Association football has gained wide popularity since the founding of the Japan Professional Football League in 1992. Other popular sports include figure skating
Figure skating
Figure skating is an Olympic sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform spins, jumps, footwork and other intricate and challenging moves on ice skates. Figure skaters compete at various levels from beginner up to the Olympic level , and at local, national, and international competitions...
, golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
and racing
Racing
A sport race is a competition of speed, against an objective criterion, usually a clock or to a specific point. The competitors in a race try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time...
, especially auto racing
Auto racing
Auto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of cars for competition. It is one of the world's most watched televised sports.-The beginning of racing:...
.
Pre-Edo period
Sumo
is a competitive full-contact sport where a wrestler attempts to force another wrestler out of a circular ring or to touch the ground with anything other than the soles of the feet. The sport originated in Japan, the only country where it is practiced professionally...
shows an important side of traditional Japanese sport, a religious occasion as well as a sporting event. Many sumo rituals are closely associated with Shinto
Shinto
or Shintoism, also kami-no-michi, is the indigenous spirituality of Japan and the Japanese people. It is a set of practices, to be carried out diligently, to establish a connection between present day Japan and its ancient past. Shinto practices were first recorded and codified in the written...
belief. It is believed that some of ancient sumo matches were a purely religious event with a predetermined outcome as an offering to kami
Kami
is the Japanese word for the spirits, natural forces, or essence in the Shinto faith. Although the word is sometimes translated as "god" or "deity", some Shinto scholars argue that such a translation can cause a misunderstanding of the term...
. Some matches are done as divination
Divination
Divination is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic standardized process or ritual...
. For example, if a fisherman and farmer held a match and the fisherman won, a good catch was predicted for the year.
The Kamakura period was a starting point for many martial arts. Kyūdō
Kyudo
, literally meaning "way of the bow", is the Japanese art of archery. It is a modern Japanese martial art and practitioners are known as .It is estimated that there are approximately half a million practitioners of kyudo today....
became popular as kyujutsu, literally bow skill, as a pastime for samurai. Yabusame
Yabusame
is a type of mounted archery in traditional Japanese archery. An archer on a running horse shoots three special "turnip-headed" arrows successively at three wooden targets....
also started as a sport in this period, but is now considered a sacred ceremony. Hunting also became a popular sport and dogs were used to aid a hunt. Hunting was also called Inuoimono, literally dog chasing
Edo period
In the Edo periodEdo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
, sports became a unpopular way to spend time. The only problem was that they were often accompanied by gambling. A notice to punish playing and betting on sumo without an authorization was repeatedly posted to little effect. Kyūdō was encouraged by shogun
Shogun
A was one of the hereditary military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. In this period, the shoguns, or their shikken regents , were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally appointed by the emperor...
and daimyo
Daimyo
is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...
as a pastime and contests as well as record making attempts were held. On April 26, 1686, a samurai named Wasa Daihachiro competing in the Tōshiya
Tōshiya
The or the arrows which hit the target, was an archery exhibition contest held on the west veranda of Sanjūsangen-dō temple in Kyoto, Japan.-History of the contest:...
made an unsurpassed record of shooting 13,053 arrows and hitting the mark 8,133 times over a 24 hour period. This is even more remarkable when one considers the shooting range for this attempt, a 120 meter long corridor with a ceiling of only 2.2 meters. In the Olympic games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
, archers shoot over a distance of only 70 meters. Martial arts like jujutsu
Jujutsu
Jujutsu , also known as jujitsu, ju-jitsu, or Japanese jiu-jitsu, is a Japanese martial art and a method of close combat for defeating an armed and armored opponent in which one uses no weapon, or only a short weapon....
were popular but schools avoided inter-school matches and only internal matches were held.
After Meiji Restoration
Meiji Restoration
The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...
, various kinds of Western sports were introduced into Japan. Playing sports was adopted as a school activity and matches between universities became popular. During the 1870s, track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
events, baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, football, rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
, cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
and ice skating
Ice skating
Ice skating is moving on ice by using ice skates. It can be done for a variety of reasons, including leisure, traveling, and various sports. Ice skating occurs both on specially prepared indoor and outdoor tracks, as well as on naturally occurring bodies of frozen water, such as lakes and...
were introduced. In 1911, an Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n gave skiing
Skiing
Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....
instruction to the Japanese army. In those days, Western sports were played by few people, but through the educational system they spread throughout the country. Western sports were initially stressed as a form of mental discipline, but Japanese have now come to enjoy them as recreational activities.
Professional sports, the most famous being baseball which continues even today, started in late 1920s but a persistent rumors of bribes and a general attitude that sports should be for players or as a hobby persisted. Until after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
when airing of sporting event on radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
became common, matches between schools attracted a larger crowd.
There were also some minor sports like pingpong and fencing. They are not national sports, but are also mildly popular. Baseball and professional wrestling were staples of early television, and boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
and sumo were aired periodically. Initially, running live sport games were viewed with skepticism as it was believed that fans would rather stay at home if they could watch for free. But, as it actually increased interest and sold more merchandise, airing of sports on television became popular.
Judo has been recognized as an official event in the Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
since the 1964 Summer Olympics
1964 Summer Olympics
The 1964 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan in 1964. Tokyo had been awarded with the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subsequently passed to Helsinki because of Japan's...
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...
. It is also one of the four main forms of amateur competitive wrestling practiced internationally today. Keirin
Keirin
is a track cycling event in which racing cyclists sprint for victory. Keirin originated in Japan in 1948; the first Olympic competitions in the sport occurred in 2000....
racing has also become an Olympic Games event since the 2000 Summer Olympics
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
.
Motorsport
Motorsport
Motorsport or motorsports is the group of sports which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles, whether for racing or non-racing competition...
has become quite popular in Japan especially during the latter third of the 20th century. Japanese car manufacturers use the many motorsports series as a form of marketing; the classic "race on Sunday sell on Monday" philosophy. Another factor that contributes to the popularity of motorsports is the use of cars as a form of personal expression. With cars costing less than homes in Japan, many youth spend a lot on their cars and consequently get involved in both amateur racing, both legal (on track) and illegal (street racing). Many Japanese racing drivers come from this background to find success in many racing series both in Japan and around the world. Drifting
Drifting (motorsport)
Drifting refers to a driving technique and to a motorsport where the driver intentionally over steers, causing loss of traction in the rear wheels through turns, while maintaining vehicle control and a high exit speed...
is a relatively new form of motorsport that is distinctly Japanese and is now being exported abroad.
Professional organizations
The most popular professional sports in Japan are baseball, football and Sumo. Note that most practitioners in the martial arts are not professional, but played by amateurs.| Favorite professional sport | 2005 | 2007 |
|---|---|---|
| Baseball Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond... (Nippon Professional Baseball) |
51.7% | 51.1% |
| Football (J. League J. League The or is the top division of and is the top professional association football league in Japan. It is one of the most successful leagues in Asian club football and the only league given top class 'A' ranking by the AFC. Currently, J. League Division 1 is the first level of the Japanese... ) |
22.8% | 22.8% |
| Sumo Sumo is a competitive full-contact sport where a wrestler attempts to force another wrestler out of a circular ring or to touch the ground with anything other than the soles of the feet. The sport originated in Japan, the only country where it is practiced professionally... |
17.1% | 18.3% |
| Golf Golf Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes.... (Japan Golf Tour Japan Golf Tour The Japan Golf Tour is a prominent golf tour. It was founded in 1973 and as of 2006 it offers the third highest annual prize fund out of the regular men's professional tours after the PGA Tour and the European Tour. However since the early 1990s, the growth in prize money has not kept pace with... ) |
16.9% | 14.4% |
| Boxing Boxing Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds... |
7.8% | 9.3% |
| Motor racing | 6.2% | 8.1% |
| Puroresu | 4.2% | 6.0% |
| Others | 8.0% | 4.5% |
School and Sport
Prefectural and national-wide level contests and tournaments are held every winter and summer for all sports. Some of the tournaments, such as National High School Baseball Championship
National High School Baseball Championship
The National High School Baseball Championship of Japan, commonly known as "Summer Kōshien" , is an annual nationwide high school baseball tournament...
have an inordinate level of popularity among fans as much as professional sports.
Facilities
There are 239,660 facilities for various sport activities in Japan. 62.2% of these facilities were built for under secondary education, 3.8% are university's and college's facilities, 23.6% are public facilities, 3.5% are built by private companies for their employees and 7.0% are other uses.The most common facilities are gym
Gym
The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
nasium (21.8%), multipurpose sports stadium
Sports Stadium
Sports Stadium was an Irish television sport programme on Raidió Teilifís Éireann . Broadcast between 1973 and 1997, it was RTÉ's flagship sports programme and one of its longest-running shows....
(20.7%), outdoor swimming pool
Swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
(14.1%), outdoor tennis court
Tennis court
A tennis court is where the game of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the center. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles.-Dimensions:...
(9.3%), baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
and softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
ground (4.5%).
International competition
The second Monday of October is a national holiday of JapanHolidays of Japan
Public holidays in Japan were established by the of 1948 .A provision of the law establishes that when a national holiday falls on a Sunday, the next working day shall become a public holiday, known as . Additionally, any day that falls between two other national holidays shall also become a...
, Health and Sports Day
Health and Sports Day
, also known as Health-Sports Day or Sports Day, is a national holiday in Japan held annually on the second Monday in October. It commemorates the opening of the 1964 Summer Olympics being held in Tokyo, and exists to promote sports and an active lifestyle.-History and current practice:The first ...
. This date, originally October 10, commemorates the opening day of the 1964 Summer Olympics
1964 Summer Olympics
The 1964 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan in 1964. Tokyo had been awarded with the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subsequently passed to Helsinki because of Japan's...
held 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...
. The event was documented in Tokyo Olympiad by filmmaker, Kon Ichikawa. Japan has hosted many international competitions including the 1972 Winter Olympics
1972 Winter Olympics
The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XI Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated from February 3 to February 13, 1972 in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan...
in Sapporo, the 1998 Winter Olympics
1998 Winter Olympics
The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially the XVIII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 7 to 22 February 1998 in Nagano, Japan. Seventy-two nations and 2,176 participans contested in seven sports and 72 events at 15 venues. The games saw the introduction of Women's ice...
in Nagano, 2002 FIFA World Cup
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...
, and the 2006
2006 World Baseball Classic
---------Pool B:-------------Pool C:-------------Pool D:-------------Pool 1:-----------------Pool 2:-------------Finals:-Semifinals:-Final:-Final standings:...
and 2009 World Baseball Classic
2009 World Baseball Classic
The 2009 World Baseball Classic was an international baseball competition. It is the only international baseball tournament to feature a large number of players from the major leagues of North America and Asia. It began on March 5, 2009, and finished March 23, 2009.Japan emerged victorious for the...
.
The 2019 Rugby World Cup
2019 Rugby World Cup
The 2019 Rugby World Cup is scheduled to be the 9th edition of the Rugby World Cup. At a special IRB meeting held in Dublin on 28 July 2009, Japan was announced as the host for the competition. This will be the first time this tournament to be held in Asia. Hong Kong and Singapore are expected to...
, or 'RWC 2019' will be hosted by Japan. This was announced by RWCL Chairman Bernard Lapasett in Irish capital Dublin at a special IRB
International Rugby Board
The International Rugby Board is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. It was founded in 1886 as the International Rugby Football Board by the unions of Scotland, Wales and Ireland. England refused to join until 1890. The International Rugby Football Board changed its name to the...
meeting on 28 July 2009, along with the host of the 2015 Rugby World Cup
2015 Rugby World Cup
The 2015 Rugby World Cup is scheduled to be the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament is scheduled to be hosted by England from 4 September to 17 October 2015. In addition, Cardiff's 74,500-seater Millennium Stadium in Wales will also be used...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Many major figure skating events are regularly held in Japan. The Grand Prix event, the NHK Trophy
NHK Trophy
The NHK Trophy is an international, senior-level figure skating competition held as part of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. Figure skaters compete in the disciplines of ladies' singles, men's singles, pair skating, and ice dancing....
, has been held in various cities throughout Japan every year since 1979. Japan has also been host of the World Figure Skating Championships
World Figure Skating Championships
The World Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which elite figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion...
and ISU Grand Prix Final numerous times. In 2009, it held the first ISU World Team Trophy in Tokyo, a event set to take place every two years. Figure skating is also a commercial success in Japan, and made-for-television competitions and ice shows like the Japan Open
Japan Open (figure skating)
The Japan Open is an annual senior international figure skating team competition organized by the Japan Skating Federation. It is held every autumn in Japan. Invited skaters compete in the disciplines of men's and ladies singles. Skaters perform a free program but no short...
are broadcast across the nation. Along with countries such as the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Japan is widely considered to be a leading country in the sport.
Popular Sports
Many sports were imported and became popular. It is hard to find a sport that is not played in Japan. Some new sports were invented by changing elements of imported sports. Japanese board games include a form of Chess, known as ShogiShogi
, also known as Japanese chess, is a two-player board game in the same family as Western chess, chaturanga, and Chinese Xiangqi, and is the most popular of a family of chess variants native to Japan...
. A board game called Go
Go (board game)
Go , is an ancient board game for two players that originated in China more than 2,000 years ago...
is also widely popular in the country.
Football
Association football is one of the most popular sports in Japan. The Japan Football AssociationJapan 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....
(JFA), is the governing body of Japanese football. The JFA organises the men's
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...
, women's
Japan women's national football team
The Japan women's national football team, or Nadeshiko Japan , is a selection of the best female players in Japan and is run by the Japan Football Association . Japan defeated the U.S...
, and futsal
Futsal
Futsal is a variant of association football that is played on a smaller pitch and mainly played indoors. Its name is a portmanteau of the Portuguese futebol de salão and the Spanish fútbol de salón , which can be translated as "hall football" or "indoor football"...
national teams.
Football was introduced to Japan during the Meiji period
Meiji period
The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...
by O-yatoi gaikokujin
O-yatoi gaikokujin
The Foreign government advisors in Meiji Japan, known in Japanese as oyatoi gaikokujin , were those foreign advisors hired by the Japanese government for their specialized knowledge to assist in the modernization of Japan at the end of the Bakufu and during the Meiji era. The term is sometimes...
, foreign advisors hired by the Japanese government, along with many other foreign sports, like baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
. The first Japanese football club is considered to be Tokyo Shūkyū-dan, founded in 1917, which is now competing in the Tokyo Prefectural amateur league.
In the 1920s, football associations were organized and regional tournaments began in universities and high schools, especially in Tokyo. In the 1930s, the Japan national football 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...
was organized and had a 3 - 3 tie with China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
for their first title at the Far Eastern Championship Games
Far Eastern Championship Games
The Far Eastern Championship Games was a small Asian multi-sport competition considered to be a precursor to the Asian Games....
. The Japan national team also competed in the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games
1936 Summer Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was held in 1936 in Berlin, Germany. Berlin won the bid to host the Games over Barcelona, Spain on April 26, 1931, at the 29th IOC Session in Barcelona...
, the team had a first victory in an Olympic game with a 3 - 2 win over powerful Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
.
The Japanese national football 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...
is very successful at an international level, and has competed in the 1998
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final...
, 2002
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...
, 2006
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
, and 2010
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
FIFA World Cups. Their best result was Round 2 in 2002 and 2010. The Japanese national team has also competed in six AFC Asian Cups, with the team being the Champions in 1992
1992 AFC Asian Cup
The Asian Football Confederation's 1992 AFC Asian Cup finals were held in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan between October 29 and November 8. The host nation, Japan, defeated the defending champion Saudi Arabia in the final in Hiroshima.-Stadiums:...
, 2000
2000 AFC Asian Cup
The Asian Football Confederation's 2000 AFC Asian Cup finals were held in Lebanon between October 12 and October 29. Japan defeated defending champion Saudi Arabia in the final match in Beirut.-Qualification:...
, 2004
2004 AFC Asian Cup
The 2004 AFC Asian Cup football competition is the thirteenth staging of AFC Asian Cup. It was held from July 17 to August 7, 2004 in China. The defending champions Japan defeated China in the final in Beijing....
and 2011
2011 AFC Asian Cup
The 2011 AFC Asian Cup finals were held in Qatar on 7–29 January 2011. It was the fifteenth time the tournament has been held, and the second time it has been hosted by Qatar, the other being the 1988 AFC Asian Cup...
AFC Asian Cups. The team's highest ranking was 9th in the world in February 1998. Japan has competed in many other footballing events including the Confederations Cup, the East Asian Football Championship, and the Copa América
Copa América
The Copa América —previously known as South American Championship—is an international football competition contested between the men's national teams of CONMEBOL, the sport's continental governing body...
.
The national team's colours are blue and white, Japan's main colours in most international sporting competitions.
Baseball
Baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
is one of the most popular sports in Japan. It was introduced to Japan in 1872 by Horace Wilson, who taught at the Kaisei School in Tokyo. The first baseball team was called the Shimbashi Athletic Club and was established in 1878. Baseball has been a popular sport ever since. It is called 野球 (やきゅう; yakyū) in Japanese, combining the characters for fielding and ball.
Hiroshi Hiraoka, who was in United States studying engineering, introduced the game to his co-workers at Japan’s national railways in 1878. He and his co-workers created the first baseball team, the Shimbashi Athletic Club, and dominated other teams which popped up in Japan. However it wasn’t until the team from Tokyo University started playing that the sport took hold in Japanese culture. In 1896 the team defeated an American team from the Yokohama Country and Athletic Club, 29 to 4. It was the first recorded international baseball game in Asia. After that victory, several other universities in Japan adopted the sport and it quickly spread throughout Japan. Since then teams from Japan have traveled to learn from their American counterparts. 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...
was one of the first teams to cross the ocean to improve their skills. In 1905 the team traveled to the United States where it played college teams from around the country. Other universities in Japan made similar trips, and U.S. teams traveled to Japan to play.
In 1913 and in 1922, American baseball stars visited Japan and played against university teams. They also held clinics on technique. Herb Hunter, a retired major league player, made eight trips to Japan from 1922 to 1932 to organize games and coaching clinics.
Baseball is also played in Japan's junior and senior high schools. Each year in March and August, two tournaments are held at Koshien Stadium for senior high school teams that win a prefecture tournament.
In Japan, high school baseball (高校野球: kōkō yakyū) generally refers to the 2 annual baseball tournaments played by high schools nationwide culminating at a final showdown at Hanshin Kōshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, Japan. They are organized by the Japan High School Baseball Federation in association with Mainichi Shimbun for the National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament in the spring (also known as "Spring Kōshien") and Asahi Shimbun for the National High School Baseball Championship in the summer (also known as "Summer Kōshien").
These nationwide tournaments enjoy widespread popularity, arguably equal to or greater than professional baseball. Qualifying tournaments are often televised locally and each game of the final stage at Kōshien is televised nationally on NHK. The tournaments have become a national tradition, and large numbers of frenzied students and parents travel from hometowns to cheer for their local team. It is a common sight to see players walking off the field in tears after being eliminated from the tournament by a loss.
Handball
- Japan national handball teamJapan national handball teamThe Japan national handball team is the national handball team of Japan and is controlled by the Japan Handball Association.-Current squad:- World Men's Handball Championship record :- External links :**...
- Japan women's national handball teamJapan women's national handball teamThe Japan women's national handball team is the national handball team of Japan and is controlled by the Japan Handball Association.- Results :*2004 Asian Championship: 1st*2006 Asian Championship: 3rd*2008 Asian Championship: 3rd...
The Japanese national Handball
Team handball
Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team...
teams are controlled by the Japan Handball Association.
Rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
is a popular Sport in Japan. The Japanese national rugby union team
Japan national rugby union team
The Japan national rugby union team represent Japan in international rugby union competitions. Japan is traditionally the strongest rugby union power in Asia but has both enjoyed and endured mixed results against non-Asian teams over the years...
is controlled by the Japan Rugby Football Union
Japan Rugby Football Union
The Japan Rugby Football Union is the governing body for rugby union in Japan. It was formed November 30, 1926 and is currently one of only two federations from a "Tier 2" country with a seat on the International Rugby Board executive council, the sport's international governing body...
, of which the national team has been to every Rugby World Cup
Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987....
since 1987. The only time when Japan won a match in the Rugby World Cup, was against Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
in 1991
1991 Rugby World Cup
The 1991 Rugby World Cup was the second edition of the Rugby World Cup, and was jointly hosted by England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France; at that time, the five European countries that participated in the Five Nations Championship making it the first Rugby World Cup to be staged in the...
, of which that was one of Japan's first wins for its national team. The Japanese rugby team has been playing internationals since the 1930s. See Japan women's national rugby union team
Japan women's national rugby union team
The Japan women's national rugby union team are a national sporting side of Japan, representing them at rugby union. The side first played in 1991.-Results summary:-Results:...
History
The first recorded instance of Rugby being played in Japan was in 1874, when British sailors staged a game in Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
. The Sport was introduced to students at Keio university in 1899 by Professor Edward Bramwell Clarke
Edward Bramwell Clarke
Edward Bramwell Clarke was an educator in Meiji period Japan, who is credited with introducing the sport of rugby to Japan.-Biography:...
and Tanaka Ginnosuke
Tanaka Ginnosuke
was educated at the Leys School in Cambridge and then Trinity Hall, a college of Cambridge University. He introduced rugby to students at Keio University, in 1899, with the help of Edward Bramwell Clarke...
. Japan's first international match took place on 31 January 1932 when a trade delegation from Canada brought the Canada national rugby union team
Canada national rugby union team
The Canada national rugby union team represents Canada in international rugby union. They are governed by Rugby Canada, and play in red and black. Canada is classified by the International Rugby Board as a tier two rugby nation. There are ten tier one nations, and seven tier two nations, the...
, who were also playing their first game. The Japanese won 9 - 8.
See Rugby union in Japan and Japan national rugby union team for more information on History of Japanese rugby.
Sumo Wrestling
Sumo Wrestling is the national Sport in Japan. Sumo Wrestling is believed to be originated in Japan, with its governing body being the Japan Sumo AssociationJapan Sumo Association
The is the body that operates and controls professional sumo wrestling in Japan under the jurisdiction of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Rikishi , gyōji , tokoyama , and yobidashi , are all on the Association's payroll, but the organisation is run...
.
Boxing
When Matthew Perry landed at Shimoda, ShizuokaShimoda, Shizuoka
is a city and port in Shizuoka, Japan.As of 2010, the city had an estimated population of 25,054 and a population density of 242 persons per square kilometer...
, in 1854 soon after the Convention of Kanagawa
Convention of Kanagawa
On March 31, 1854, the or was concluded between Commodore Matthew C. Perry of the U.S. Navy and the Tokugawa shogunate.-Treaty of Peace and Amity :...
, American sailors often played the sparring matches on board with their fists wrapped in the thin leathers. It was the first boxing conveyed to Japan. In addition, ōzeki whom the Shogunate side summoned, a wrestler and a boxer both from the United States fought in different martial arts matches in front of Perry, and Koyanagi won against them. The first exhibition match named was held in Tsukiji
Tsukiji
Tsukiji is a district of Chūō, Tokyo, Japan, the site of the Tsukiji fish market. Literally meaning "reclaimed land," it lies near the Sumida River on land reclaimed from Tokyo Bay in the 18th century, during the Edo period....
, Tokyo in 1887, then the first boxing gym was established in Ishikawachō, Yokohama, Kanagawa
Kanagawa Prefecture
is 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...
by and in 1896. After the first tutorial book was issued in 1900, the other boxing gym was opened in Mikage, 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...
by in 1909. However those were not genuine. After learning boxing in San Francisco, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, the United States since 1906 as a professional boxer who was nicknamed "four-round king", established in Shimomeguro, Meguro, Tokyo
Shimomeguro, Meguro, Tokyo
is a district located in the eastern portion of Meguro, Tokyo, Japan. It consists of 1- to 6-chōme.Shimomeguro is home to , also known as . is a historic hotel and restaurant building located on the eastern edge of Shimomeguro....
, on December 25, 1921. from Rikkyo University
Rikkyo University
, also known as Saint Paul's University, is a private university, based on Christian precepts, in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. There is a suburban campus in Niiza in nearby Saitama.It is known for its liberal climate symbolized by the motto -History:...
began boxing under Watanabe's management. Ogino (junior featherweight
Super Bantamweight
Super bantamweight is a weight division in professional boxing. The maximum weight for this division is 122 pounds, or roughly 55.34 kilograms....
) and were recognized as the first Japanese champions by Nippon Kentō Club in 1922. In the first Japanese title matches for professional boxers held in April 1924, Fuji Okamoto
Fuji Okamoto
was a Japanese boxer who competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics.In 1928 he was eliminated in the second round of the bantamweight class after losing his fight to Frank Traynor.-External links:*...
in the flyweight
Flyweight
Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing less than 112 lb but above 108 lb .-Professional boxing:...
division and Kintarō Usuda
Kintaro Usuda
was a Japanese boxer who competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics.In 1928 he was eliminated in the quarter-finals of the welterweight class after losing his fight to the upcoming bronze medalist Raymond Smillie.-External links:*...
in the lightweight
Lightweight
Light-weight is a class of athletes in a particular sport, based on their weight.-Professional boxing:The lightweight division is over 130 pounds and up to 135 pounds weight class in the sport of boxing....
division became titleholders.
Simultaneously with whose president was Yūjirō Watanabe, the was established in July 1926. The first Japan championships for amateur boxers was held by in 1927. Fuji Okamoto in the bantamweight
Bantamweight
Bantamweight is usually a class in boxing for boxers who weigh above 115 pounds and up to 118 pounds . However, in Mixed Martial Arts it is 134-136 pounds . Wrestling also has similar weight classes including bantamweight...
division and Kintarō Usuda in the welterweight
Welterweight
Welterweight is a weight class division in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like kickboxing, taekwondo and mixed martial arts also began to use it for their own weight division system...
division participated in the 1928 Summer Olympics
1928 Summer Olympics
The 1928 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1928 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Amsterdam had bid for the 1920 and 1924 Olympic Games, but had to give way to war-victim Antwerp, Belgium, and Pierre de...
. founded in February 1931, to perform the establishment of championships and the development of professional boxers, repeated division and dissolution to become the current . from Waseda University played an active part in those days. Although Japan's boxing was interrupted by the Pacific War
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
, the first Japan championships after the war was held in 1947. Then the Japan Boxing Commission was founded in order to prepare Yoshio Shirai
Yoshio Shirai
Yoshio Shirai was a professional boxer from Tokyo, Japan. He won the world flyweight title in 1952, becoming the first Japanese boxer to win a world title.- Childhood and Early Career :...
's world title match. Its establishment was presented at the Tokyo Kaikan on April 21, 1952. from Waseda University who was the founding president of Teiken Boxing Gym
Teiken Boxing Gym
in Tokyo, a Japan's traditional boxing club whose genesis dates back to 1926, manages professional boxers as a member of the , a subsidiary body of . Currently located in Kagurazaka, Shinjuku, its president is the International Boxing Hall of Famer , the representative is , and the long-time female...
and the president of the Korakuen Stadium
Korakuen Stadium
was a stadium in Tokyo, Japan. Completed in 1937, it was primarily used for baseball and was home to the Yomiuri Giants until 1988 when they moved next door, to the Tokyo Dome, which sits on the site of the Velodrome. The ballpark had a capacity of 50,000 people. In 1942 Korakuen Stadium played...
, was elected as its first commissioner. Shirai defeated the champion Dado Marino
Dado Marino
Dado Marino, was a flyweight boxer from Honolulu, Hawaii, who became World flyweight champion in 1950. He also boxed as a bantamweight, and unsuccessfully fought for the World bantamweight title.-Professional career:...
via a unanimous decision
Unanimous decision
A unanimous decision is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and others sports involving striking in which all three judges agree on which fighter won the match....
in the flyweight division on May 19 of that year, while being watched by 45,000 spectators at the Korakuen Stadium, to become the Japan's first world champion. The Japan Boxing Commission has joined the NBA (the current WBA
World Boxing Association
The World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...
) since January 7, 1954. In June 1956, the Boxing Magazine, the Japan's oldest surviving boxing journal, was launched by the Baseball Magazine Sha.
The Japan boxing commission set up the Japanese heavyweight
Heavyweight
Heavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...
title once in 1957, but that division did not last long because there were few heavyweight boxers in Japan at that time. Therefore they have recognized the titles and ratings only in thirteen weight divisions from minimumweight
Minimumweight
Minimumweight is a weight class division in combat sports. The most notable of which is in professional boxing where boxers may weigh no more than . This is a relatively new weight category for professionals, first inaugurated by the major boxing sanctioning bodies between 1987 and 1990...
to middleweight
Middleweight
Middleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
for over fifty years. Although they added four weight divisions i.e. super middleweight
Super middleweight
Super Middleweight is a boxing and Muay Thai weight division that has a weight limit of 168 pounds .- 1960s–1983 :There was interest in a division between Middleweight and Light Heavyweight in the late 1960s, the mid-1970s, and the early 1980s...
, light heavyweight
Light heavyweight
In boxing, the light heavyweight is a weight division above 168 pounds [12 Stone or 76.204 kilograms] and up to 175 pounds [12.5 stone or 79.38 kilograms]), falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight...
, cruiserweight
Cruiserweight
Cruiserweight is a weight class in boxing between light heavyweight and heavyweight. Before the advent of the current cruiserweight class, "light heavyweight" and "cruiserweight" were sometimes used interchangeably in the United Kingdom....
and heavyweight
Heavyweight
Heavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...
, from September 2009, so far the ratings of those divisions are not settled yet.
As of November 6, 2011, Japan produced sixty-nine male world champions and twelve female world champions. Although the eight world champions except the females i.e. Shozo Saijo
Shozo Saijo
Shozo Saijo is a former professional boxer from Saitama, Japan. He is a former WBA featherweight champion.- Biography :...
(in the United States in 1968), Kuniaki Shibata
Kuniaki Shibata
Kuniaki Shibata is a former Japanese professional boxer. He is a former WBC and WBA super featherweight champion.- Biography :...
(in 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...
in 1970, and in the United States in 1973), Shoji Oguma
Shoji Oguma
Shoji Oguma was a Japanese southpaw boxer at Flyweight.- Professional career :Oguma turned pro in 1970 and in 1974 won the WBC Flyweight Title by winning a split decision over Betulio González. He lost the title three months later in his first defense against Miguel Canto...
(in South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
in 1980), Yasutsune Uehara
Yasutsune Uehara
Yasutsune Uehara is a former professional boxer and former WBA super featherweight champion. He is one of the few Japanese boxers to have won the world title fighting outside of Japan.- Biography :...
(in the United States in 1980), Tadashi Mihara
Tadashi Mihara
is a former professional boxer who competed as a light middleweight throughout his career.Mihara began his boxing career when he was a third grader of the high school. He won the title of the All-Japan Amateur Boxing Championships in the light middleweight division in 1977. He also got the group...
(in the United States in 1981), Akinobu Hiranaka
Akinobu Hiranaka
Akinobu Hiranaka is a former boxer in the Light welterweight division...
(in Mexico in 1992), Orzubek Nazarov
Orzubek Nazarov
Orzubek Nazarov is a Kyrgyz boxer, who won the bronze medal at the 1986 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Reno...
(in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
in 1993) and Jorge Linares
Jorge Linares
Jorge Linares is a professional boxer from Venezuela. He is a former WBC featherweight champion and former WBA super featherweight champion. Linares is currently living in Tokyo, Japan. Jorge's older brother is boxer Nelson Linares.- Amateur career :Linares compiled an Amateur record of 89-5...
(in the United States in 2007, and in Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
in 2008) were crowned across the sea, Japan's male world champions rarely risk their titles outside of their country. Apart from non-Japanese nationals, the only ten champions did it, and the only three among them successfully defended their titles (Jiro Watanabe
Jiro Watanabe
is a Japanese former boxerWatanabe, who fought only in Japan and South Korea, was one of the first World Super flyweight champions, as the division was relatively new when he was crowned.-Biography:...
in South Korea in 1985, a Korean expatriate Masamori Tokuyama
Masamori Tokuyama
is a retired professional boxer in the super flyweight division. His professional record was 32-3-1 . He is a former WBC world super flyweight champion....
in South Korea in 2001, Toshiaki Nishioka
Toshiaki Nishioka
is a Japanese professional boxer who is the current WBC super bantamweight champion. Nishioka is currently ranked as the #1 super bantamweight in the world by The Ring and ESPN. Unlike most other Japan's world champions, Nishioka has been willing to fight outside of his own country.- 1976 to 1990s...
in Mexico in 2009, and also Nishioka in the United States in 2011). That is because Japan's professional boxing has given priority to holding the fights in their own country to get paid television broadcast rights fees. Consequently, Japan's champions still remain internationally unrecognized. However, as the boxing programs' audience ratings dropped, television stations are no longer aggressive in its production. The broadcast rights fees have decreased under the economic downturn.
Figure Skating
Currently all four reigning World Champion singles skaters are from Japan. Figure skating events in Japan are well attended and TV broadcasts attract a large audience. The major surge in its popularity has come mainly within the past decade with the success of its native skaters, but there have been avid fans in the country for international skaters for much longer. Skater Dorothy HamillDorothy Hamill
Dorothy Stuart Hamill is an American figure skater. She is the 1976 Olympic champion in Ladies' Singles and 1976 World Champion.-Early life:...
is known to have received pearls from the Japanese royal family in the 1970s. Figure Skaters in Japan also enjoy some level of celebrity—some like Mao Asada
Mao Asada
is a Japanese figure skater.She is the 2010 Winter Olympic silver medalist, the 2008 & 2010 World champion, the 2008 & 2010 Four Continents champion, a two-time Grand Prix Final champion, the 2005 World Junior champion, the 2004–2005 Junior Grand Prix Final champion and a four-time Japanese...
becoming household names and gaining large endorsements.
Japanese Martial arts or ways
- AikidoAikidois a Japanese martial art developed by Morihei Ueshiba as a synthesis of his martial studies, philosophy, and religious beliefs. Aikido is often translated as "the Way of unifying life energy" or as "the Way of harmonious spirit." Ueshiba's goal was to create an art that practitioners could use to...
- TakagariTakagari' is Japanese falconry, a sport of the noble class, and a symbol of their nobility, their status, and their warrior spirit.In Japan, records indicate that falconry began in the fourth century. According to a passage in the Nihon Shoki , falconry was introduced by the Baekje noble Sakenokimi in 359...
(FalconryFalconryFalconry is "the taking of wild quarry in its natural state and habitat by means of a trained raptor". There are two traditional terms used to describe a person involved in falconry: a falconer flies a falcon; an austringer flies a hawk or an eagle...
) - IaidoIaidois a modern Japanese martial art associated with the smooth, controlled movements of drawing the sword from its scabbard, striking or cutting an opponent, removing blood from the blade, and then replacing the sword in the scabbard...
- JudoJudois a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...
- JujutsuJujutsuJujutsu , also known as jujitsu, ju-jitsu, or Japanese jiu-jitsu, is a Japanese martial art and a method of close combat for defeating an armed and armored opponent in which one uses no weapon, or only a short weapon....
- KarateKarateis a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
- KemariKemariKemari is a form of football that was popular in Japan during the Heian Period. Kemari has been revived in modern times.-History:The first evidence of kemari is from A.D.644. The rules were standardized from the 13th century. It was the first Japanese sport to become highly developed.The game was...
- KendoKendo, meaning "Way of The Sword", is a modern Japanese martial art of sword-fighting based on traditional Japanese swordsmanship, or kenjutsu.Kendo is a physically and mentally challenging activity that combines strong martial arts values with sport-like physical elements.-Practitioners:Practitioners...
- KenjutsuKenjutsu, meaning "the method, or technique, of the sword." This is opposed to kendo, which means the way of the sword. Kenjutsu is the umbrella term for all traditional schools of Japanese swordsmanship, in particular those that predate the Meiji Restoration...
- KyūdōKyudo, literally meaning "way of the bow", is the Japanese art of archery. It is a modern Japanese martial art and practitioners are known as .It is estimated that there are approximately half a million practitioners of kyudo today....
(Japanese Archery) - NaginataNaginatajutsuis the Japanese martial art of wielding the . This is a weapon resembling the medieval European glaive. Most naginatajutsu practiced today is in a modernized form, a gendai budō, in which competitions also are held.-Debated origins:...
- SumoSumois a competitive full-contact sport where a wrestler attempts to force another wrestler out of a circular ring or to touch the ground with anything other than the soles of the feet. The sport originated in Japan, the only country where it is practiced professionally...
(Sumo Wrestling is Japan's national Sport) - YabusameYabusameis a type of mounted archery in traditional Japanese archery. An archer on a running horse shoots three special "turnip-headed" arrows successively at three wooden targets....
Motorsport
- Auto racingAuto racingAuto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of cars for competition. It is one of the world's most watched televised sports.-The beginning of racing:...
- Sports car racingSports car racingSports car racing is a form of circuit auto racing with automobiles that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built or related to road-going sports cars....
- see Super GTSuper GTThe Super GT series, formerly known as the All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship or JGTC , is a grand touring car race series promoted by the GT-Association...
and Japan Le Mans ChallengeJapan Le Mans ChallengeThe Japan Le Mans Challenge was an endurance sportscar series based in Japan built around the 24 Hours of Le Mans that began in 2006. It was run by the Sports Car Endurance Race Operation sanctioning body and ran under the rules laid out by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest... - Formula racingFormula racingFormula racing is a term that refers to various forms of open wheeled single seater motorsport. Its origin lies in the nomenclature that was adopted by the FIA for all of its post-World War II single seater regulations, or formulae. The best known of these formulæ are Formula One, Formula Two, and...
- see Formula NipponFormula NipponFormula Nippon is a type of formula racing and the top level of single-seater racing in Japan.Formula Nippon evolved from the Japanese Formula 2000 series begun in 1973 by way of the Japanese Formula Two and Japanese Formula 3000 championships... - DriftingDrifting (motorsport)Drifting refers to a driving technique and to a motorsport where the driver intentionally over steers, causing loss of traction in the rear wheels through turns, while maintaining vehicle control and a high exit speed...
- see D1 Grand PrixD1 Grand PrixThe , abbreviated as D1GP and subtitled Professional Drift, is a production car drifting series from Japan. After several years of hosting amateur drifting contests, Option magazine & Tokyo Auto Salon founder Daijiro Inada, and drifting legend Keiichi Tsuchiya hosted a professional level drifting...
- Sports car racing
- Motorcycle sport
- Endurance racing - see Suzuka 8 HoursSuzuka 8 HoursThe is a motorcycle endurance race held at the Suzuka Circuit in Japan each year. As the name implies, the race runs for eight hours consecutively and teams are composed of two riders and one alternate.-History:...
- Superbike racingSuperbike racingSuperbike racing is a category of motorcycle racing that employs modified production motorcycles. Superbike World Championship is the international superbike championship, and national superbike championships are held in many countries as well, including the United Kingdom, the United States,...
- All Japan Road Race ChampionshipAll Japan Road Race ChampionshipThe is the premiere motorcycle road racing championship in Japan. It is run by the Motorcycle Federation of Japan - the Japaneses affiliate of the FIM.-History:The MFJ was formed in 1961 and held its first motorcycle road race in 1967.... - Auto RaceAuto Raceis a Japanese version of motorcycle speedway, but combines gambling added into it and is held on an asphalt course, throughout Japan. It is regulated by the JKA Foundation.A typical Auto Race bike is 599㏄. Autorace is predominantly a gambling sport...
- Endurance racing - see Suzuka 8 Hours
- Boat racingBoat racing-Types:* Canoe racing, competitive forms of canoeing and kayaking* Drag boat racing, a form of drag racing which takes place on water rather than land* Dragon boat racing, a type of human-powered watercraft racing...
- KyōteiKyoteiThe , literally "boat racing" and referred to as BOAT RACE, is a hydroplane racing event primary held in Japan. It is one of Japan's four , which are sports events where parimutuel betting is legal.Kyōtei was introduced in Japan in 1952...
- Star Racing
- Kyōtei
Original
- EkidenEkidenis a term referring to a long-distance relay running race, typically on roads. The Japanese term originally referred to a post-horse or stagecoach which transmitted communication by stages.-History:...
- KeirinKeirinis a track cycling event in which racing cyclists sprint for victory. Keirin originated in Japan in 1948; the first Olympic competitions in the sport occurred in 2000....
- GateballGateballGateball is a mallet team sport similar to croquet. It is a fast-paced, non-contact, highly-strategic team game, which can be played by anyone regardless of age or gender....
- Soft TennisSoft TennisSoft tennis is a racket game played on a court of two halves, separated by a net. Like regular tennis, it is played by individuals or pairs , whose object is to hit the ball over the net, landing within the confines of the court, with the aim of preventing one's opponent from being able to hit it...
- K-1K-1K-1 is a defunct world-wide kickboxing promotion based in Tokyo, Japan founded by Kazuyoshi Ishii, a formerKyokushin karate practitioner. K-1 combines stand up techniques from Muay Thai, Karate, Taekwondo, Savate, San Shou, kickboxing, western-style boxing, and other martial arts...
- Rubber Baseball
- Sports fukiya
- Sports Chanbara
- Bo-TaoshiBo-TaoshiBo-Taoshi is a capture-the-flag-like game, played on sports days at schools in Japan. The game played by cadets at National Defense Academy of Japan is famous for its size, wherein two teams of 150 individuals each vie for control of a single large pole. Each team is split into two groups of 75...