K. B. S. FOTO SERIES ON JAPANESE LIFE AND CULTURE

V O L. I

SPO RTS

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E D I T O R IA L N O T E«

T h e rem arkable progress which Japan has made in her cultural and industrial activities w ithin

less than a century must be attributed to her unrem itting efforts. T he se same efforts were made

in the physical culture o f the nation, and to-day we find on the one hand the consp icuous mainte­

nance of her traditional custom s and on the other the abundant im portation o f foreign sports

and gam es. F o r example, in sw im m ing she has becom e one of the m ost prom inent nations in

the world, and in various other sports she has dazzled the w orld with her victories.

Th is collection of photographs, needless to say, does not cover all the activities in school

gym nastics, in social health preservation, in the o ld military arts and various other sports. But

w e hope that the short explanatory essay will show how Japan, w ithin such a short period of

time, was able to make such leaping progress, and win her way to international fame.

U p o n this occasion, the centennial anniversary o f Pe r H enrik L in g about to be held in

Sw ed en , the Kokusa i Bunka Sh in koka i takes great pleasure in calling to m em ory the influence

o f this great master upon the early stage of m odern physical culture. W e should like a lso to

take this opportun ity to introduce to the world the present state o f physical culture in Japan.

T h e photographs w ere chosen and arranged by the Kokusa i Bunka Sh in koka i w ith the co l­

laboration o f the Japan Am ateur A th le t ic A ssoc ia tion , and the short essay was w ritten by the

k indness of the Chairm an o f its Board o f D irectors, D r. Izutaro Suyeh iro , professor o f law at

the T o k yo Imperial University.

Ju n e 1939.

KOKUSAI BUNKA SHINKOKAI

Schools, factories, o ff ice s and other social institutions are trying to encourage physical culture through mass-drills.

S tron g graceful bow s are produced in Japan ow ing to the abundance o f bam­boo and exquisite handicraft peculiar to

the people.

T h e f la g w as hoisted tw ice at the O lym pic Games, once in 1932 and again

in 1936.

Rugby matches are held in the middle schoo ls and universities, gaining a na­tional interest next to baseball.

The KStoro is a k ind o f tag game.

The child at the head o f the line tries to prevent the tagger ( “ it ” ) from catch­ing the child at the end.

JSd S, noted throughout the w orld, is

an art o f se lf-defence w ith the minimum use o f physical power.

The stone-kicking game (ish i-keri- asob i) is the Japanese “ hop-scotch” and has from olden tim es been a

favourite w ith little girls.

Japanese w restling (sum o) is a trad i­

tional sport o f the populace: the rink is a round elevation o f earth 4 .5 m etres in diameter.

Yachting is a favourite sum m er sport in sea-girt Japan.

In Japan, an island country blessed w ith many lakes and rivers, regatta has been popular from olden times.

T rack sports have always been popular in Japan. In the hop, step and jump Japan recently established the w orld

record (16 m.).

The spectacular success o f the mara­thon champions, Son K ite i and Kohei M urakoso, are still v ivid in ou r memory.

Kendo. Japanese fencing, w as a moral code o f the samurai and developed not

only as a feat o f the sw ord but as a means o f spiritual cultivation.

Japanese youths to-day engage in w restling w ith no le ss interest than in the traditional sumo and fid6.

Points o f attack in Kendti are the head, arm-pits, w ris ts and throat.

Naginata, a weapon used by women from olden days.

Tra in ing in heavy gym nastics is begun in the prim ary school, and all the parks

are provided w ith the necessary apparati.

Sp ir itua l poise and physical fo rm is valued m ore than marksmanship.

Japanese sw im m ing, w ith the adap­tion o f fo re ign strokes to the o ld Japa­nese form s, has come to be interna­tionally famous.

The popularity o f baseball in Japan is equivalent to that o f football in Am erica; many large stad ium s can be found, one

o f w h ich has a capacity o f 120.000.

Japan has been represented in every

Davis C up tournament since 1921.

The Japanese landscape makes an ideal background fo r golf.

Because Japan is favoured with much snow and ice, w inter sports are extreme­

ly popular.

Specia l tra in s are run during the ski season fo r the benefit o f enthusiasts.

W ith the d if fu s io n o f aeronautical know ledge, g liders call young men and wom en to the thrill o f the sky.

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J A P A N E S E S P O R T S

B y Izutaro Su ye h iro , L L .D .

A N C I E N T T O M O D E R N

A study of the cultural h istory of Japan reveals tw o outstand ing characteristics.

In the first place, w e find that Japan has, dow n through the ages, been constantly im­

porting various form s o f fore ign culture, especially those o f C h ina , into her country. That

im portation, how ever, has never remained a mere im itation, but has undergone a constant process

o f assim ilation and am algam ation accord ing to the cultural sense ind igenou s to the people.

Thus, she has been able to create and develop that im ported culture into one singularly charac­

teristic o f her own.

In the second place, w e are aware o f the fact that through each age of developm ent,

Japanese culture has been one o f national significance, having constant intercourse between,

and firm re lationsh ips w ith, the upper and low er classes. T h e cultural form s and custom s which

were handed dow n and spread am ong the com m on people w ere eventually m oulded and deve­

loped to su it them selves. H ere we find again that this culture, which w as adapted to suit the

com m on people, reflected in turn upon the upper class, and became an ind ispensab le factor in

its further developm ent.

T h u s it is d ifficu lt to find, in Japanese history, any phase of culture which was absolutely

m onopolized by the nob ility or other ruling classes. T he se notew orthy characteristics o f Jap a ­

nese culture are no less evident in the developm ent o f physical culture in Japan.

Physical culture in Japan w as greatly influenced by the W este rn countries from the latter

part of the nineteenth to the beg inn ing o f the tw entieth century. D u rin g th is period the

W este rn m ethods o f physical education and W este rn sports w ere introduced, form ing the basis

of the m ovem ents and sports in present day Japan. Japanese physical cu lture prior to th is can

be b road ly classified into three types. F irst, B u d 6 , the peculiarly Japane se art o f personal

defence and attack ; second , the physical or athletic recreation which developed w ith the C o u rt

as its c e n tre ; and lastly, the sports developed by the com m on people.

B u d o , how ever, cannot merely be looked upon as a form of athletics or sports. Its

primary aim was evidently to equ ip the w arrior w ith the ability to fight. F o r one th ing,

K e n d o , Japane se fenc ing, K y u d o , Japane se archery, and J u j i t s u constitu te the m ost rep­

resentative phases o f B u d o , and even sw im m ing deve loped as o n e o f its com ponents.

T h e developm ent o f B u d o , as an inevitable necessity of the tim es, began som ew here in

the eleventh century. Bu t, naturally, in order to achieve practicality, it underw ent a long

technical developm ent. K e n d o , fo r example, had developed into many schoo ls, and various

types o f sw ords and costum es came to be used-

O n the other hand, tow ards the latter part o f the seventeenth century, w ith the advent

o f the feudal system under the T okugaw a G ove rnm en t, toge the r w ith the seclusion policy of

the Sh ogu n a te , w hich put a stop to all fore ign trade and intercourse, there prevailed a period

o f internal peace. T h u s, B u d o , in o rder to adapt itself to the tim es, underw ent a s ign ifican t

change. L e t us see, for exam ple, how K e n d o , w hich developed as an art o f defence and

attack, lo st its original purpose, and became, besides be ing a m eans o f physical cu ltivation, a

fundam ental princip le in develop ing and cultivating the sp irit and mind.

T h a t B u d o became a means o f spiritual cu ltivation can clearly be seen in the proverb,

" T h e sw ord is one and the sam e w ith the sp ir it . " S u c h a philosophical attitude toward

B u d o m ust be attributed to the influence of C on fu c ian and B u d d h ist ic though t, especially

that of Z en ph ilo sophy, which had developed and ga ined a spectacular popu larity am ong

Japanese B u d d h ists and the samurai class. T h u s B u s h i d o , w ith its profound and ind ispensa­

ble influence upon the national sp irit, is to -d ay a un ique exam ple o f the characteristics of

Japane se culture.

A ls o , it cannot be overlooked that th is sp irit of B u s h i d o which was cultivated by B u d o

n o t on ly influenced the w arrior class but penetrated into the lives of the com m on people.

Further, th is singular tendency in B u d o o f d isc ip lin ing both the sp irit and the body, and the

idea o f estim ating the form er as a h igher and more im portant character, is even to -day the

fundam ental p rincip le of physical culture in Japan.

V a riou s sports and ath letic recreations developed in the C o u r t w ith the exception of those

few which developed am ong the com m on people. S o m e of the m ost representative of the

C o u r t sports w ere K e m a r i w hich resem bled footba ll in many w ays, D a k y u w hich w as a kind

of fie ld hockey and S u m o (Japanese w restling) which is still popular to-day. A ls o , a sport

called Y a b u s a m e which was to shoo t at a ta rget w ith a bow and arrow w hile rid ing on

horseback — a perfect com bination o f horsem anship and archery — was popular.

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T hese va riou s sports d id not necessarily o rig inate in Japan. T h e majority of them were

im ported principally from C h in a , a lthough som e came from Ind ia. K e m a r i in particular was

m ost popular in the sixth century. B u t here, w e must not overlook the fact that although

these sports may have orig inated in C h in a and other fore ign countries, they developed a

singularly Japane se feature both in form and in m ethod, and even in the sty le of costum es.

It shou ld be noted that in these sports, ow ing to the great im portance attached to " c e r e ­

m ony,” the participants w ore cerem onial costum es or sem i-form al attire. T h e reason fo r this

can be found in the fact that these sports were alm ost always perform ed before the court

nobles, or to o k place in connection w ith shrine and tem ple cerem onies. T h e cerem onious

custom s of tho se tim es are still retained in S u m o to-day.

T h e m atches are held on a round elevation of sand 4 . 5 4 m. in diam eter w hich is spanked

dow n and bordered w ith 2 0 rice-bales. T h e re are four posts opposing one another on the

e dge of the circle, which sym bolize the cardinal p o in t s— north, east, south, and west. The

canopy spread above the posts represents Heaven and the sand sym bolizes Earth. Thus, a

m iniature universe is created. A c ro s s the four posts are tied the sacred ropes used in shrines,

and over the sand is scattered salt, w hich from olden days has sym bolized purity. Before

beg inn ing the tournam ent the w restlers g o th rough a m ost solem n and stately cerem ony, and

the referee, w earing a costum e of the o lden times, ho ld s in h is hand a w ooden fan which

was used by warriors in tim es o f battle to d irect and com m and their men.*’*' T h is respect for

form, th is im portance of cerem ony and th is sign ificance placed upon the spiritual s ide of sports

was, toge the r w ith the effort to make athletic activities an art, the m ost s ign ifican t character­

istic of Japanese sports. T h is tendency can be found even to -day in the sports w hich have

been in troduced from the W e ste rn countries.

A m o n g the com m on people, to o , various ath letic recreations developed, particularly, the

spo rts o f the ch ildren, w hich had a singular trait o f their ow n. W e are able to find s ign s of

K e m a r i and D a k y u , which developed in the C o u rt, am ong the com m on people, but it was

S u m o that was com plete ly adapted by them. Furtherm ore, there appeared a g roup o f professional

* T h e w re stle r Is d e fe a te d if any p a rt o f h is body, e xce p t th e so le o f the foo t, to u c h e s th e g ro u n d , o r if any

p a rt o f h is b o d y is o u t o f th e circle. A ro u n d th e fo u r p o sts is h u n g a co lou red cu rta in re p re se n tin g the fo u r season s,

b lack re p re se n tin g w in te r; b lue , s p r in g ; red, su m m e r; and w h ite , au tum n . T h i s re f le c ts the t rad it io n o f p ray in g fo r a

r ich h a rve st and a sm o o th c h a n g e o f th e season s, p ro v in g t h a t J a p a n w as an a g r ic u ltu ra l coun try . T h e sh rine -like

a rch ite c tu re o f the d o h y o c o n f irm s the fa c t th a t S u m o tou rn a m e n ts w ere he ld b e fo re the sh rines.

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wrestlers, and from the latter part of the seventeenth century S u m o becam e very popular among

the people.

T h is illustrates the constant re lationsh ip between the upper and the lower classes. S u m o

is a typical exam ple o f th is. W re st le rs w ho were orig ina lly cou rt guards becam e associat­

ed w ith the com m on peo p le ; and a form o f sports appropriate to the lower classes developed.

N o t only was S u m o an object o f p leasure and am usem ent am ong the com m on people, it was

actually practised by them , and to -day w e can hardly f ind a person w ho does not know the

art o f S u m o .

D u rin g the T okugaw a period , S u m o was patronized by the feudal lords. O th e r sports

w hich were popular am ong the people w ere a lso popular w ith and fostered by their rulers.

E ven after they had been adapted by the com m on people they continued to be clo se ly connect­

ed w ith shrine and tem ple festivities. T h is w as not on ly the case w ith S u m o , but a lso with

bale-lifting and stone -lifting w hich are som ewhat sim ilar to W este rn w eight-lifting.

It has been m entioned that the Japanese had a tendency to make an art o f their sports.

T h is tendency can a lso be found in S u m o . T h e ideal physical constitu tion o f a Japanese

w restler d iffers fundam entally from that o f a W este rn w restler. A n ideal w restler w ho is

popular am ong the Japanese is not a pow erfu lly bu ilt brawny man, bu t one w ho has elegant

physical lines and features like those which can be seen in the o ld Japanese prints. T o look

upon S u m o as som eth ing which resem bles g lad iatory in the Rom an C o lo sse u m w ou ld be making

a great m istake.

P H Y S I C A L C U L T U R E S I N C E T H E M E I J 1 E R A

The Meiji Restoration in 1868 brought forth great changes both in politics and in cultural

activities. With the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate after its three hundred years of power,

the feudal system was completely abolished. Also, with the abrogation of the seclusion policy,

the doors of the nation were thrown open to the rushing torrents of Western culture, and the

nation found its old culture fading and going to decay. Needless to say the physical culture

and sports of Japan followed the same tendency.

F o r exam ple, w hen the carrying o f sw ords, which was the custom of the samurai up to

that tim e, was prohib ited it was qu ite natural that K e n d o lo st its practicality. In fact, about

the m iddle of the Tokugaw a period the underly ing princip les o f K e n d o b rough t about a certain

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ph ilo sophy of life, w hich had a special sp iritual sign ificance. T h is aspect has been increasingly

em phasized after the M e ij i era ; and spiritual tra in ing has been m ore h igh ly va lued than the

acquirem ent o f technical skill in u sing the sw ord. In th is respect the educational value of

K e n d o was h igh ly considered. H ere again, w e cannot overlook the fact that th is sp irit of

B u sh ido w hich held a trad ition of several hundred years, and w hich had penetrated into the

racial characteristics o f the Japane se people was not in fluenced by the im portation of W estern

cultural though t, desp ite the fact that B u d ô lost its practical use after the M e ij i era. O n the

contrary, B u sh id o has been preserved w ith no alterations whatsoever. A n d th is is w hy B u d ô was

able to overcom e its m om entary decay, and accom plish a glam orous revival w orthy o f the new age.

Prio r to the M e ij i Re storation, even as early as 1850 , the Tokugaw a Sh o gu n a te had begun

to study the European m ilitary system through the Dutch. T h e Sh o gu n a te G ove rnm en t, towards

the end of its regim e, established m ilitary schoo ls in many o f the prom inent fiefs. M ilita ry

drill in these schoo ls began w ith the application o f W este rn gym nastics. It is s ign ifican t that

the W e ste rn sty le physical culture w as first applied to m ilitary drill in Japan.

T o ge the r w ith the operation o f the m ilitary system in 1873 the new M e ij i G ove rnm ent

estab lished a M ilita ry A ca d e m y in T o k yo for the purpose o f train ing its army officers. Bu t in

1874 the G ove rn m e n t invited D uc lo t, a gym nastic instructor, from France to conduct the train­

ing in formal W e ste rn gym nastics. T h is , know n as Sw e d ish gym nastics, which was originated

by Per H en rik L ing , has com e to be one o f the m ost popular form s o f gym nastics in schools

and in the A rm y to-day.

As has been mentioned, physical culture through gymnastics was first adopted by the Army,

and eventually in the schools, where the foundation of the so-called " School Gymnastics ”

was firmly established.

In 1872, w ith the establishm ent o f the educational system , gym nastics w ere added to the

schoo l curriculum . It may be of interest to refer here to the ord inance on the prim ary school

curriculum w hich w as issued in the sam e year. " In the primary schoo l o rthography, vocabu­

lary, conversation, reading, morals, grammar, arithm etic, hygiene, outline o f geography, gym nas­

tics and s in g in g shall be ta ugh t.” T h e necessity o f schoo l gym nastics w as thus defin itely

recognized.

S c h o o l gym nastics, how ever, made its sound developm ent still later in 1878 when the

undertaking w as made to train professional instructors in gym nastics th rough the establishm ent

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o f a tra in ing school. T h e G ove rn m e n t sent its Educationa l M in is te r, Fujim aro Tanaka, to the

U n ite d S ta te s fo r the purpose of v is iting various educational institutions. D u rin g his v is it he

d iscovered the great im portance o f gym nastics in schoo l education. S o it was that Lee land,

a gym nastic instructor, w as engaged to lay the plans fo r e stab lish ing a train ing school for

gym nastics.

In 1879 tw enty applicants w ere adm itted and in 1881 the first graduates w ere sent out.

T h u s in 1885 the M in is te r o f Education, M r . A r in o r i M o r i, took schoo l gym nastics into great

consideration, and toge the r w ith m ilitary train ing he prom oted their developm ent to a great

extent. T h e gym nastics com prised, doubtless, both the ligh t and heavy types. W h en gym ­

nastics became com pulsory in prim ary schoo ls, m iddle schoo ls, g ir ls ’ h igh schoo ls and in techni­

cal schoo ls, the foundation o f Japanese school physical culture was established.

S o far we have seen how the gym nastics in Japan has developed w ith its centre in the

A rm y and in schoo ls ; but later, how ever, the necessity of physical culture in soc ie ty was re­

cogn ized . In 1891 the Japan Physica l C u ltu re A sso c ia t io n w as e stab lished, its object being

to prom ote the techn ique of gym nastics. T h is A sso c ia t io n , w ith the aim of prom oting

gym nastics not only in the A rm y and schoo ls but also am ong the people, bu ilt an athletic field

contain ing sim ple sport facilities, and opened it to the general public on Su n d a ys and holidays.

S o o n after the S in o -Ja p a n e se W a r, in 1897 to be exact, the main parks in T o k yo w ere equ ip ­

ped w ith horizontal bars and other ath letic equipm ent.

Thus the public in general began to realize the need for gymnastics, and also became

gradually acquainted with various gymnastic methods. To-day the horizontal bar can be found

in most of our parks, a unique tradition from the early days of foreign sport in Japan.

W e have so far seen how W este rn physical culture was adapted in our schoo ls, but here

it shou ld be noted that to ge the r w ith the im portation o f th is fore ign physical culture, Japanese

B u d o made a trium phant revival as one o f the branches of physical cu lture in schools.

T h e late M r . J ig o ro Kano, w idely know n as a member o f the International O ly m p ic C o m ­

m ittee, d id much fo r the developm ent of education in Japan. H e made constant efforts to

standardize the various schoo ls o f J u j i t s u which had existed from o f old, and at length

succeeded in 1882 to synthesize them into one w hich he named J u d o . H e then established

the K odokan , m aking it the centre of the instruction of J u d o , and later from here J u d o

spread w idely th roughou t the country. T h is revival of J u j i t s u in the form of J u d o made

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by Mr. Kanô was something, both in form and substance, which was most attractive to the spirit

of the new age.

M r . Kano later becam e the principal o f the T o k yo H igh e r Norm al S c h o o l, and there he

m ade J ú d ô the main course o f physical culture. T h rough the graduates o f that school he

w as also able to prom ote the spread o f J u d ô in the m iddle schoo ls th roughou t Japan. In

the prom inent m iddle schoo ls J u d ô w as instituted as a regular subject in the courses o f phy­

sical education.

T o ge the r w ith J u d ô , K e n d o , or Japanese fencing, a lso made an unprecedented revival.

T h e num erous com plicated form s o f various sch oo ls w ere unified, and th rough the establishm ent

of the Butokukai in K y o to a sim plified form of K e n d o , which is m ost popular to -day in

Japan, was d issem inated th ro ughou t the country.

Thus, J u d ô and K e n d o entered into the physical education o f schoo ls. Bu t they both

w ent beyond the lim its o f a mere physical cu ltu re ; they w ere a m eans of mental culture as

well, and great em phasis was placed upon this point. It was the o ld sp irit o f J u d ô and K e n d o

which gave them such an educational sign ificance, and which d istin gu ishe s them from ord inary

gym nastics.

P R E S E N T S T A T E O F P H Y S I C A L C U L T U R E

It has already been m entioned how the theory and practice o f European physical culture

was im ported into Japan, and how the foundation o f physical tra in ing in Japanese schools was

established. It has a lso been show n how B u d ô , on the other hand, made a revival in a new

form m ost su itab le to the new age and entered into the curriculum of the schools.

O cc id en ta l sports w ere introduced into Japan through various channels. R eco rd s show that

a track and fie ld meet w as held as early as 1874 at the Naval A ca de m y in H irosh im a. E n g ­

lish, French, and Am erican teachers were invited to Japan in the early years of the M e iji era

and it was th rough them that our youth w as made fam iliar w ith W estern sports.

For example, Professor Frederic William Strange, who was invited by the preparatory depart­

ment of the Imperial University (Tokyo) and the First Higher School, taught his students various

English outdoor sports and initiated the custom of holding track and field meets in his schools.

O n J u n e l6 , 1883, an athletic m eet was held at the Imperial U n ive rsity under the super­

v is ion o f P ro fe sso r S trange . T h is meet, which has been continued ever since, came to re-

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present fo r many years the centre o f track and fie ld athletics in Japan. In the fo llow ing year

he w rote a book, " O u td o o r G am es ” (in Eng lish ), which was very popular am ong the students.

From about th is time the popularity o f track and field, baseball and boat-racing began to spread

th roughou t Japan. In J u ly , 1889, T o k y o m ourned the untim ely death of th is valuable teacher,

to w hose effo rts the developm ent of sports in Japan can indeed be attributed. T h e late Dr.

S e iic h i K ish i, once an active member o f the International O ly m p ic Com m ittee, was one of h is pupils.

L ike w ise , in 1878, at the tim e o f the establishm ent o f the A g ricu ltu ra l C o lle g e of S a p ­

poro, P ro fe sso r C la rk from A m h e rst C o lle g e came and taught his students athletics. Thus,

track and fie ld sports in Japan had three centres o f deve lopm ent: namely, H irosh im a, T okyo ,

and H okka ido .

T h e athletic m eet of the T o k yo Imperial U n ive rsity w hich w as orig inated by P rofessor

S tra n g e is held annually in the fall. A n o th e r annual event is the boat races on the Sum ida

R iver w hich are held every spring. T he se tw o activ ities reflect the g lo ry of the M e ij i era.

In th is manner, sports w ere im ported into Japan mainly from Eng land and Am erica . Before

the introduction o f the Y . M . C . A . m ovem ent into Japan the school teachers w ere the only

m edium through which sports entered the country.

T h e se sports, how ever, w ere not w idely practised until tow ards the latter part o f the

M e ij i era, the beg inn ing of th is century. T hey w ere enjoyed m ostly by students and resident

fo re igners w ith on ly a very few amateurs from am ong the general public.

It was only when Japan began to take part in sports abroad that a regular and fundam en­

tal deve lopm ent to o k place w ithin the country.

In 1896 the International O ly m p ic G a m e s w ere orig inated through the e fforts o f Baron

P ie rre de C o u b e rt in , and in 1909 , M r . J ig o ro Kano w as appointed to the International O ly m p ic

C om m ittee , the first representative from an Eastern country. H e to o k th is opportun ity to

gather men interested in sports, and in 1911 he established the present Japan A m a te u r A th le t ic

A sso c ia t io n and became its president. In 1912, S h is o Kanaguri, the marathon runner, and

Yah iko M ish im a , the sprinter, w ere chosen to represent Japan at the V th O ly m p ic G am es

held in Stockho lm .

T h is , indeed, was the turn ing po int in the progress o f Japanese sports. T h e y progressed

after th is tim e by leaps and bounds, the m ost outstand ing exam ple be ing sw im m ing. The

Japane se sw im m ers at the X th and X lt h O lym p iad s held at L o s A n g e le s ( l9 3 2 ) and Berlin ( l9 3 6 ) ,

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respective ly, b rough t international fame to Japan. It w as on ly in 1920 that Japan com pleted

her adaptation of fore ign sty le sw im m ing such as the crawl, breast and back strokes. Y e t the

fact that ten years later she was ab le to defeat her sister countries s ign ifie s how sw iftly she

had advanced. It m ust a lso be rem em bered, how ever, that the Japanese art of sw im m ing

already possessed fundam ental techniques.

As has previously been mentioned, owing to the geographical circumstances of the coun­

try swimming constituted one phase of Budo , and various characteristic forms of swimming

were originated. These, however, emphasized long-distance swimming rather than speed. Its

purpose, like other Japanese arts of self-defence, was to cultivate the spirit as well as the

body.It was in the '9 o ’s o f the last century that the necessity for speed in sw im m ing came to

be realized and various techn iques w ere tried from that tim e on to add speed to the then

ex isting sty le of sw im m ing. T he se techn iques w ere put into v igo ro u s practice, and led even­

tually to the ho ld ing of sw im m ing m atches w ith the fo re igners re sid ing in Japan. T h rough

these m atches the effic iency and desirab ility o f fore ign sty le sw im m ing w as appreciated. Parti­

cularly, at the V llth O lym p ia d in A n tw e rp ( l9 2 o ) d id Japan v iv id ly realize the strong points of

O cc id e n ta l sw im m ing. S in ce then the enthusiasm for it becam e so great that by 1925 Japan

had already accom plished her study and application. In add ition Japan applied her ow n style

to these new form s, and w ith this a new art of sw im m ing w as com pleted. T h is is called the

" Renaissance of Japane se S w im m in g , " and Yosh iyuk i T su ru ta ’s w inn ing the 2 0 0 -m e tre breast­

stroke at the IX th O lym p iad at Am sterdam in 1928 can be regarded a fitting testim onial to

th is Renaissance.

We have thus far made a brief survey of the peculiar nature of Japanese sports mainly

through the history of swimming. We shall now turn to the other important branches of Japanese

athletics, examining their respective courses of development and their present condition.

T h e m ost popu lar spo rt am ong the Japane se is baseball. T h e biannual league gam es of

the " B i g S i x " un iversities in T o k y o — T e ida i, W aseda , K e io , M e ij i, R ikkyo , and H o s e i- a t t r a c t

a large num ber o f spectators, at least 1 0 0 ,0 0 0 every spring or autum n. T h ou gh these inter-

university m atches are more or less local, baseball m atches between secondary schoo ls held

every sp ring and summer are participated in by tw enty o r more cham pion schoo ls representing

more than 2 , 0 0 0 schoo ls th roughout the country. N ew spapers devote considerab le space to

9

the games, which are usually broadcast throughout the country. Many people who find it dif­

ficult to attend are thus enabled to get a word picture of the happenings. Fans swarm around

the loudspeakers in radio shops during the baseball seasons.

Baseball games have appealed to the national taste so much that our soldiers in China

to-day play baseball during their spare hours just as the British armymen at the front took to

football during the World War.

O f course baseball was introduced into this country from America, and Japanese en­

thusiasm for the game has become as great as the American. It had made itself fairly popular

by 1890 , and universities and colleges were soon playing it enthusiastically.

In 1905, a baseball team of the Waseda University, under the leadership of Professor Isoo

Abe, went to the United States to challenge some of the university teams there. This was

the first time that a Japanese baseball team had gone to America, the very homeland of the

game. Mention must be made of the fact that this was undertaken in the midst of the Russo-

Japanese War (1 904 -5 ). This single incident bears witness to the Japanese interest in and

respect towards sports in general. It was duly appreciated by Americans, thus contributing

greatly to the understanding and friendship between these two countries.

Baseball played with a softer ball is also in vogue here, and is especially popular among

the young labourers, and almost every open space in the parks of Tokyo and Osaka is filled

with them. It is indeed an important means of recreation in this country.

In 1933, the Yom iuri, one of the lead ing m etropolitan dailies, invited som e of the A m e r­

ican professional baseball team s to th is country. T h e y made a great hit, and professional teams

sprang up in Japan one after another. T o -d ay w e have nine of these professiona l team s, which

conduct league gam es in T o k yo or in O sa k a the year round.

It is interesting to note that this game, which is rarely played in Europe, met with such

a great popularity in our country. Perhaps many characteristics of the game have appealed to

the Japanese mind and sentiment.

On the other hand, rugby, imported from England, has also succeeded in gaining extreme

popularity among the Japanese public. It is now included among the most important sports of

foreign origin in this country, the others being baseball and swimming.

Japanese ath letes have made w orld records in various fie ld events as well as in sw im m ing.

O u r ath letes first made them selves know n to the w orld at the V ll lt h O lym p ia d ( l9 2 4 ) when

10

M ik io O d a w on sixth place in the hop, step and jump. In the 1928 m eeting at Am sterdam ,

O d a w on first place in the same event, and the honour was passed on to C h u h e i Nam bu in

the X th O lym p ia d at L o s A n g e le s . A t the Berlin O ly m p ic s (1936), Tajima estab lished the

w o r ld 's record ( l 6 metres).

Japane se ath letes have also made good records in the broad jump, h igh jump and the pole

vault. T h e marathon race at the last O lym p iad (Berlin ) was w on also by a Japanese, So n

K ite i, w h ile K ohe i M u ra k o so had a c lose race w ith the three runners from Fin land. L o n g ­

d istance races and the marathon are especially popular w ith the Japanese.

W ith regard to the superiority o f the Japanese in jumping, H e rr W e ize r of G e rm any, the

fam ous coach w ho once v is ited our country, sugge sted that it m ight be explained by the Japa­

nese custom of squatting, which may have caused in all p robab ility a stronger knee-joint. H is

is certainly an interesting op in ion , and convincing, too, in a sense, but it m ust be remembered

that th is custom has not been know n to the Japanese long enough to deve lop the strength in

the knee-joints indicated. A subtler explanation may be found in the extrem e dexterity of

the Japanese. T h e same tra it has long m anifested itself in Japanese industria l art, and is now

beg inn ing to appear in certain sports. T h e quasi-vegetarian d ie t o f the nation at large seems

to have cultivated the m arvelous enduring capacity o f the Japanese physique w hich is mainly

re sponsib le for Ja p a n ’s superiority in long-d istance races.

T h e sam e dexterity and endurance seem s to have enabled the Japanese tennis p layers to

cut a con sp icuous f igu re in w orld athletics. Ich iya Kum agai and Zenzo Sh im izu were the first

Japanese to play in the International Davis C u p Tournam ent (l9 2 l).

O f the m odern w om en athletes, w e shall never fo rget the brilliant accom plishm ents o f the

late M is s K in u e H itom i, w ho w on the 8 0 0 m etres in the 1928 Am sterdam O lym p ic s, next to

Frau Radke of G erm any. H e r successors have since been appearing in rapid succession. C u r io u s

as it m3y seem , w om en’s records are on the w hole nearer the w orld level than tho se made by

men. A s a m atter of fact, w om en are now active in various branches of athletics, inc luding

fie ld events, sw im m ing, and tenn is, in sharp contrast to the secluded cond it ion of their pre-

Restoration sisters.

Amateur sports in Japan are controlled by the Japan Amateur Athletic Association, which

consists of 2 4 sport federations and has the privilege of functioning as a member of the 1 . 0 .C.

T h e three Japanese on the 1 . 0 .C . at present are C o u n t M ich im asa Soye sh im a, M a tsu zo Naga i,

and Sh in g o ro Takaish i.

In short, the restoration and reestablishm ent o f B u s h i d o , or the " W a y o f the K n ig h t s , "

is the ideo logy o f ou r physical education as well as of the Japane se sporting w orld at large.

Sp o rts and gam es im ported from fore ign countries have often been adapted to the specific con­

d it ion s and characteristics of the country and the people are now enjoying great popu larity side

by side w ith the traditional physical culture. Japan is and w ill forever remain one o f the

sincerest believers in the sp irit o f the O ly m p ic movement.

12

K.B.S. PUBLICATION SERIES-B. No. 50K.B.S. Foto Series on Japanese Life and C ulture

V o l. i

S P O R T S

Price: Is. 25 c.

Published June 1939

K O K U SA I BU N K A SH1NKOKAI(The Society fo r In terna tional C ultural Relations)

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