In Japan, sports are considered as a healthy activity that develops some good qualities in human life. Japanese people believe sport develops good discipline, builds character, encourages fair play, and instills sportsmanship. Win, lose, or draw what ever it is Japanese passionately cheer the sportsperson who makes a firm and sincere attempt.
Modern sports in Japan started in 1870s when the sports in schools became an activity. The first addition in school and universities were the baseball, track and field events, rowing, baseball and tennis.
After the World War II baseball and professional wrestling were popular along with boxing and sumo. Judo has been recognized as an official event in the Olympic Games of 1964 in Tokyo. Soccer in Japan second most widely practiced sport in Japan amongst the elementary school along with baseball. Motor sport has become quite popular in Japan late 20th century. The reason for its popularity can be seen as motorists use cars as form of personal expression.
Sports in Japan are both native and the western that have been imported. Each year Japan observes second Monday in October as Health and Sports Day. Now playing and watching sports in Japan are popular activities be it the traditional sport like the Judo, a team sport like the baseball or the new sport like the BMX or the motor sports.
The martial arts like the judo, kendo, karate and akido are popular in Japan.
Sports in Japan not only leads to a better physical and mental well being but also sports also adds on to the domestic economy and thereby creating employment.
Case Study #1: Sumo
It’s that time again for the Sumo tournaments to begin for the 2008 season. The first tournament of the year will take place in Tokyo from January 7th -21st. The next tournament will be the Osaka tournament that will be held on March 11th -25th. If you happen to be in Tokyo and you can't attend a match, you can always visit the Sumo Museum on the first floor of the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Ryogoku to some of past sumo wrestlers. If you are wanting more you can also book a tour where you can catch a morning sumo practice, have a photo session with sumo wrestlers, and have lunch with the oyakata (stable master) while eating chanko-nabe.
Case Study #2: Play Ball! Puro Yakyu in Japan
Ichiro Suzuki, Hideki Matsui, Daisuke Matsuzaka are just a few players that have come from Japanese Pro Baseball. As spring rolls around, it is that time again for baseball to begin. In Japan, baseball or in Japanese, Puro Yakyu, is a time when all the crazy fans come out to cheer on teams like the Carp, Giants, Tigers, and Dragons. The atmosphere at the park is a bit different from MLB baseball. First off, the fans, they are crazy! You have fans sitting in the outfield bleachers waving flags, playing instruments, and cheering every minute of the game. Going to a Puro Yakyu game is part of modern day Japanese cultural and it is a must see event, even if you don’t like baseball.
Both short extracts are taken from http://www.japantravelinfo.com/features/features_item.php?featuresid=87.
It is mentioned in both extracts that these season are held on a yearly basis, showing that it is a tradition for the country. As such, it can be inferred that these sports are held highly in the opinion of the Japanese. Not only so, these events are considered to be a must to attend, for it is a national wide sports event that promotes a national identity through togetherness and understanding of the sport.
By: Clarissa Chang, Dawn Lee, Erika Lee, Siti Nurbaya, and James Dizon.
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