Mike Galbraith

1974 YC&AC Rugby Tour to Korea

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In 1974 the YC&AC rugby section went on tour to Seoul and played to matches. This appears to be the first overseas tour made by any YC&AC sports team and is one of the first rugby tour to Korea by any team. Alex Russell allowed me to copy his rugby photos displayed before he left Japan. The text is from the YC&AC magazine.

BEST YC&AC RUGBY PLAYER IN 1930s

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BEST YC&AC RUGBY PLAYER IN 1930s Background: As explained in the story about Bill Salter’s reminiscences, in 1989 I decided to track down and interview the ex-YC&AC rugby player living  in Japan who had first played for the club before anyone else. I thought I might be looking for someone who had played in the late … Read more

FIRST INTERPORT RUGBY MATCH (YC&AC vs KR&AC) IN 1902

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Background At the end of the 19th century the two leading international trading ports in Japan were Yokohama and Kobe and they were both home to foreign sports clubs, the largest of which were the Yokohama Cricket and Athletic Club (YC&AC) and the Kobe Regatta and Athletic Club. (KR&AC). Not long after the latter was … Read more

YC&AC WELCOMES NEW RUGBY PLAYERS

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Play rugby in Japan. If you are looking for a great rugby club, check out the YC&AC whose rugby team’s establishment preceded that of the the RFU by five years. The club is one of the very few clubs in Japan to have its own ground on a hill with a great view of Mt. Fuji and has a special sports bar for after-match receptions yards from the pitch ….

1972 Interport Rugby in Japan

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The annual rugby interport match played between Yokohama (YC&AC) and Kobe (KR&AC) started on Xmas day 1902 and was Japan’s longest running rugby fixture. Kobe hasn’t been able to field a team for more than 10 years. Here is a report on the 1972 match that was published in the club’s monthly in-house magazine and forwarded to me by John Quin, who played for the YC&AC that day.

殺害予告がきっかけで日本初のクリケットゲームが誕生｜The Japan Times

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The Japan Timesに私が書いた記事が掲載されました。

1863年6月25日、日本にいるイギリス人駐在員を保護するために派遣された船の士官から構成されたイギリス海軍チームは、横浜のクリケット場の謝罪のために、小柄なジェームズ・キャンベル・フレーザーが打席に立ったことで、多くの心配をすることになりました。

1866: The untold early history of rugby in Japan | The Japan Times

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1866 and all that: the untold early history of rugby in Japan Article written by JMG for The Japan Times published in March 2014 before Tokyo International 7s The history of rugby in Japan is arguably longer than that of every major rugby-playing country in the world outside of the British Isles and Australia. Very … Read more

OFFICIAL RECOGNITION OF BEGINNINGS OF RUGBY IN JAPAN IN YOKOHAMA, WHY IT TOOK SO LONG AND ROCK-SITTING

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Days before the eagerly awaited RWC2019 commences, Yokohama City will commemorate the city’s leading role in the start of rugby in Japan and Asia by unveiling a plaque. This article takes a look at the background to this event and why such post-WW2 recognition took almost 75 years. On September 5 there will be a … Read more

CRITIQUE OF TWO ENGLISH LANGUAGE EXHIBITS EXPLAINING JAPAN’S RUGBY HISTORY IN JAPAN PAVILION IN LONDON DURING RWC2015: PART 1

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I wrote and circulated the information below with Japanese translations to a number of people involved in the rugby world in Japan including at least one director after initially making a complaint to the two Japanese officials on the spot at the Japan Pavilion in London during the RWC 2015 in the UK immediately after reading the information about the history of rugby in Japan that was offered in the display. I didn’t expect to get any response and I didn’t get any.

SPOTLIGHT ON E. B. CLARKE – ONE FATHER OF RUGBY IN JAPAN

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E. B. studied at the Victoria Public School alongside TANAKA Ginnosuke who helped him to introduce rugby in 1899 to the students of Keio University. At the age of 15 he won nearly all the academic and sporting prizes in the school, except that for mathematics which was awarded to Tanaka, and had several inspirational meetings with the famous writer Lafcadio Hearn while Hearn was a guest in the headmaster’s house.

Mike’s search into Japan’s mysterious rugby past – by BBC Sport

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BBC Sport recently published this articles following an interview Rugby World Cup: One man’s search into Japan’s mysterious rugby past Reward for 10 years of dedicated study – Mike Galbraith’s labour of love is perhaps now finally at an end Becky Grey – BBC Sport Read the full article on BBC Sport: Mike’s search into … Read more

The ABC interviews Mike Galbraith on Sporty

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The ABC interviews Mike Galbraith on Sporty Mike was interviewed last week on Sporty – ABC Radio National  –  the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Part1. This broadcast discussed  ‘When is it too hot to exercise or play sport?’ and is Heat stroke is potentially fatal. …and how do you know when it’s hot enough to stop? … Read more

YC&AC 100 YEARS AGO DURING WW1

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The YC&AC grounds and sports facilities at Yaguchidai have been enjoyed by the club’s sporting members for just over 100 years and those of no other “open” club in Japan’s major cities come anywhere near matching them.  Many members over those years happily played field sports at the YC&AC for ten or even twenty years … Read more

THE 1874 “FOOTBALL IN YOKOHAMA” ILLUSTRATION AND THE ARTIST WHO CREATED IT

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The image is most likely the oldest image of rugby in Asia and one of the very oldest in the world relating to ‘club’ football – at glance at the picture will tell you that the players were certainly not playing a game of soccer –  actually being played as opposed to football/rugby played in schools and universities.

東京と京都のおける初の大学生と旧制高校ラグビー

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日本のラグビーの歴史研究者によると、1899年に初めて田中銀之助とエドワード・B・F・クラークが慶応義塾の学生にラグビーを教え、1901年12月、慶応義塾が横浜カントリー＆アスレチックグランド(YC&AC)と横浜公園にあるクリケットグランドで試合したと言われている。 しかし、1899年以前にも横浜でラグビー方式のルールによる試合を通常していた証拠も判明した。 また1870年代後半、工部大学校（明治初期に工部省が管轄した教育機関、多くの外国人教師が在籍した。東京大学工学部の前身）の日本人学生がフットボール（サッカーでない）をしていた証拠も存在した。ある英国教授は、次のように書いている。「フットボールクラブが立ち上がり、学生たちはゲームのルールを無視してプレーしていると実際徐々に熱くなってきた」と。残念ながらこのフットボールは長くは続かなかった。 1890年初期に旧制一高で野球の日本化と武士道化が見られたが、慶応義塾は今なお日本スポーツに占めるユニークな学生ラグビー文化を生み出した創始者であることには間違いない。 何人かのライターは、慶応義塾がラグビーを紹介した後、ラグビーが普及したと主張するが、明らかにこのチームの次にできたのは東京、横浜、神戸でもなく古都京都であった。それは慶応義塾の10以上年後であった。 ラグビーを導入した2番目のチームは1901年、旧制三高であったが、まだ正式に発足したクラブではなかった。旧制三高はその後、京都大学になり、ラグビー部は1922年に発足した。同志社高校から遠くない下賀茂神社の大きな石にどのようにして慶応義塾の指導で神社の旧制三高の学生が関西で初めてラグビーが行われたか碑に描かれている。 お分かりのように、彼らは旧制一高の学生同様に20代前半の旧制三高の学生だった。旧制三高は1911年4月、初めて慶応義塾と対戦し、39対0で負けた。同志社は1912年1月、やはり慶応義塾と対戦し24対3で負けた。 それからおおよそ10年、この3チームの他、YC&AC （横浜カントリー＆アスレチッククラブ）KR&AC（神戸レガッタ＆アスレチッククラブ）だけが日本でラグビーを楽しんでいた。1920年頃になると慶応義塾と旧制三高、同志社の力の差は縮まり、慶応義塾は勝てなくなった時代を迎えた。しかし、第一次世界大戦の間、試合は行われなかった。 YC&ACに勝つことをめざしていた慶応義塾のように、旧制三高もまた神戸のKR&ACのラグビーチームを打ち負かすことをめざしていた。 KR&ACで数年キャプテンだったW.P.ジエイムスは彼の息子に「1913年、試合で旧制三高のグランドに着いた時、2千名以上の学生がラグビースタイルでおり、試合の準備をしていたのには驚いた」と語っている。1922年、エドワード・プリンス・ウェールズ（後のエドワード8世）がKR&ACと旧制三高の試合を観に来られたことは京都のラグビー史の残るひとつ画期的なことである。（写真参照） しかしながら、学生ラグビーといえばすなわち大学ラグビーのことである。1911年に創設された同志社高校は、日本で最初にラグビーをプレーした高校であると言われている。同志社大学ラグビー部100周年記念誌によると、1912年5月（明治45年）、明治時代の終わる2ヶ月前、同志社中学（現同志社高校）と京都第一中学（現市立洛北高校）の試合が高校生（U18,19）のラグビーの試合が最初と記録されている。 重要な普及成長の期間に、日本にラグビーの普及を果たした役割がより認知されるほど京都が評価されているにもかかわらず、中学校でのスポーツの導入は大学と同じように遅かった。

FIRST STUDENT AND HIGH SCHOOL RUGBY TEAMS AND GAMES IN TOKYO & KYOTO

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According to most Japanese historians rugby was first introduced to Japan when Ginnosuke TANAKA and Edward B. F. Clarke started teaching students of Keio Gijuku University how to play the sport in 1899. In December1901 Keio played its first ever game against the Yokohama Country & Athletic Club (YC&AC) on the cricket ground in Yokohama … Read more

VIDEO OF FCCJ PRESENTATION ON HISTORY OF RUGBY IN JAPAN & RECENT PODCAST

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  1. Slide presentation on 150 years of rugby in Japan at FCCJ in Tokyo  on March 31st 2016                                                                                                       The video on the FCCJ website is nearly one and half hours long including almost five minutes of filming before the press conference actually starts so here is quick guide to the starting point of the key parts: a. Official start of the press conference – 4 mins 27 secs; b. Kazumi Ohigashi speech – 7 mins 3  secs; Nobuyuki Ueyama speech – 15 mins 58  secs; Mike Galbraith speech – 20  mins 48  secs; Questions – 57 mins 45 sec.
  2. Interview about rugby history in Japan in audio podcast called JRugby Podcast (Lee Watkins & Taito Sakurai) in early September 2016                 The interview starts at the 16 mins 32 secs mark

A version of the publicity prepared by the FCCJ for the press conference  and slightly modified by me before the event and again after the event 

Japan’s 2015 World Cup shock 34-32 victory over mighty South Africa catapulted the national team into the limelight, giving the 2019 Rugby World Cup host badly needed momentum to pull their sport out of near obscurity on their own home ground. Heralded around the world as the biggest upset in World Cup history, television ratings in Japan soared overnight from single digit to record breaking heights unimaginable in recent years, while the world clamours to learn about the nation’s rugby and rugby team which had previously only ever won one World Cup match.

Unbeknownst to the world of rugby in general, rugby in Japan has a long and rich history dating back to the age of Shoguns and samurai, The country is, for example, home to the oldest rugby club in Asia – the Yokohama Country & Athletic Club (YC&AC), which held a special 150th commemorative rugby festival and dinner on April 2 2016. No club in either New Zealand, home of the legendary All Blacks, or Wales, another home of rugby, has reached the 150 mark yet.

This history is known and recognised by, for example, the World Rugby Museum in London, but Japan is only just starting to change its view that rugby started in Japan in 1899.

fccjpron150yearsofrugbypressie

MARLBOROUGH COLLEGE’S UNKNOWN REMARKABLE CONTRIBUTIONS TO 19th CENTURY JAPAN ESPECIALLY IN FIELD OF RUGBY AND OTHER SPORTS

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SCHOOL’S ALUMNI HELPED INTRODUCE MANY SPORTS IN JAPAN, INCLUDING RUGBY, INITIATED FOUNDING OF KEY YOKOHAMA & KOBE SPORTS CLUBS, & EVEN HELPED WRITE JAPAN’S CONSTITUTION Marlborough College is justly proud of its rugby history and pedigree in the UK. The school played the first inter-school game in 1864 when it played a match against Clifton … Read more