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

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…

YC&AC WELCOMES NEW RUGBY PLAYERS
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YC&AC WELCOMES NEW RUGBY PLAYERS

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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1972 Interport Rugby in Japan

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.

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

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…

JAPANESE RUGBY PLAYERS IMPRESSIVE DURING FIRST TOUR OVERSEAS DURING 1925-26 NEW YEAR HOLIDAY

JAPANESE RUGBY PLAYERS IMPRESSIVE DURING FIRST TOUR OVERSEAS DURING 1925-26 NEW YEAR HOLIDAY

Keio was the first Japanese team to play overseas and at the time they arrived in Shanghai they still had never lost a rugby match to a Japanese team in Japan. Keio played two matches on the tour – December 26 1925 against Shanghai on and the other against Hong Kong on December 30. Newspaper…

RWC2019 MATCH PROGRAM’S HISTORY OF RUGBY IN JAPAN IS AN INSULT

RWC2019 MATCH PROGRAM’S HISTORY OF RUGBY IN JAPAN IS AN INSULT

The content of the article ‘Brief history of rugby in Japan’ which is around 850 words long in the 114 –page RWC 2019 publication being sold at the early RWC games could be judged by some as an insult to Japan’s present and past rugby players and teams.  The layout of the Japanese text in…

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

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…

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

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

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

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

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.

FIRST JAPANESE TO PLAY AN EARLY FORM OF RUGBY: KIKUCHI DAIROKU

FIRST JAPANESE TO PLAY AN EARLY FORM OF RUGBY: KIKUCHI DAIROKU

The first recorded playing of an early form of rugby by a Japanese is that of 17-year old KIKUCHI Dairoku (1855 – 1917) while studying at University College School in London. KIKUCHI Dairoku Yasuyuki1 was the second son of Dr. MITSUKURI Shuhei whose family produced a number of leading scholars.  In 1866 he was the…

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

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…

The ABC interviews Mike Galbraith on Sporty
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The ABC interviews Mike Galbraith on Sporty

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?…

FUWAKU – WORLD’S FIRST SENIOR RUGBY CLUB
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FUWAKU – WORLD’S FIRST SENIOR RUGBY CLUB

Over-40’s rugby originated in Japan in the aftermath of the second world war. Its beginnings can be traced back to one evening in October 1947, two years after the end of the war, when Tokyo was still utterly devastated having been reduced to heaps of rubble. Life was a struggle characterized by confusion and disorder.

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

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.

HOW THE EARLY HISTORY OF RUGBY IN JAPAN WAS “LOST”

HOW THE EARLY HISTORY OF RUGBY IN JAPAN WAS “LOST”

However, the conventional history of rugby in Japan, at least since World War II, has been that rugby was introduced to Japan by Cambridge University graduates Ginnosuke Tanaka and Edward Bramwell Clarke who taught Keio students how to play the sport and arranged Keio’s first game against the YC&AC in Yokohama Koen in 1901

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

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

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…

YCAC Over 35s Tournament – Saturday 21st March
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YCAC Over 35s Tournament – Saturday 21st March

Playing SquadYoshi Amano, Bill Baker, Masahiko Ikeda, Fumitaka Katakura “The Cherry”, Junji Kikkawa, Michael King, Kats Matsuo, Yoshio Nike, “Caviar Ken“ Noguchi, Masa Nozaki, Hiroyuki Nozawa, Nao Obata, Daisuke Okada, Ryosuke Okawara, Scott Sizemore, Simon Tross Youle (captain), Shunichi Tsushima, Masafumi Uchiyama, Yasufumi Uchiyama The post YCAC Over 35s Tournament – Saturday 21st March appeared…

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