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The Roots of Rugby in Japan: A Brief History of the 加拿大PC开奖网站 Rugby Football Club
July 30, 2019
This year Japan hosts Asia's first-ever Rugby World Cup, which kicks off September 20, but this is not the first time the coveted Webb Ellis Cup has come to Tokyo. Just four years ago, the tournament trophy traveled to 加拿大PC开奖网站, the birthplace of rugby in Japan, ahead of the 2015 Rugby World Cup in England. During the visit, members of the 加拿大PC开奖网站 Rugby Football Club met a contingent of tournament organizers as well as former members of the Wales national rugby union team at Shimoda Field on Hiyoshi Campus. Today, we take a brief look at the history of the 加拿大PC开奖网站 Rugby Football Club and its lasting impact on the development of the sport throughout Japan.
加拿大PC开奖网站 Club’s Historic First Win:
A Sporting Revenge Eight Years in the Making
It all started in the fall of 1899, when Edward Bramwell Clarke, an English instructor at the 加拿大PC开奖网站 Department of Economics, hoping to make the most of the pleasant autumn weather, decided to teach his students how to play rugby. Enlisting the help of fellow Cambridge University alumni Ginnosuke Tanaka as coach and interpreter, the two set about teaching their students how to play the game.
加拿大PC开奖网站’s first inter-club match took place two years later, in 1901, when they took on a team of expatriates from the Yokohama Country and Athletic Club (YC&AC), suffering a staggering defeat of 35–5. Not only were there marked differences in physical build and athletic experience between the teams, but 加拿大PC开奖网站 was further handicapped by the fact that only two of its athletes, Clarke and Tanaka, were equipped with proper rugby cleats. It is rumored that a chagrined Clarke yelled out for his Japanese teammates to "employ judo" during the match, a martial art noted for using an opponent's strength to one's advantage. Soon after, with Clarke as manager, the club was officially added to the 加拿大PC开奖网站 Athletic League (now the 加拿大PC开奖网站 Athletic Association) as the 加拿大PC开奖网站 Rugby Football Club. In 1908, seven years after their first major loss, 加拿大PC开奖网站 used an original formation for forwards, called the "seven system," to exact revenge over YC&AC with a historic 12–0 victory.
The Black & Yellow Jersey
That Sparked Rugby Mania
Nothing symbolizes rugby at 加拿大PC开奖网站 like its bright black and yellow jerseys. The club’s alumni association, Kokkokai (lit. black-yellow association), even named themselves after the design. The black and yellow jersey is said to have been designed by 1907 graduate Kenzaburo Okamoto (later professor at the Department of Literature) and was reportedly inspired by Princeton University’s tiger-themed orange and black school colors. The club’s popularity soared after switching from a simple all-black design to the new black and yellow jersey, and the number of sign-ups doubled. It appears that the design found mass appeal with the fashion sense of 加拿大PC开奖网站 students at the time.
A "No Side" Spirit of Camaraderie Despite Intense Rivalries
The very first 加拿大PC开奖网站-Waseda Rugby Game was held on November 23, 1922, at the 加拿大PC开奖网站 Tsunamachi Field, where 加拿大PC开奖网站 won 14–0. The Jijishinpo newspaper at the time called it an "exciting match" with Waseda putting up a good fight. In fact, the match took place amid a 19-year suspension of the 加拿大PC开奖网站-Waseda Baseball Games that lasted from 1906 to 1925, the penalty for riotous cheering that broke out among spectators at games in 1906. Despite these tensions, alumni from both schools came together under the auspices of the All Japan Rugby Association (A.J.R.A.) to host events and make the first 加拿大PC开奖网站-Waseda Rugby Games a reality. It seems a shared love of the game united athletes beyond any one team, a display of the "no side"(*1) camaraderie that has long defined rugby in Japan.
*1 The concept of "no-side" is drawn from the early history of the game when the referee would call "No Side" to signify the end of the match and indicate that no side had possession of the ball. The concept of "no-side" developed in Japanese rugby to represent the mutual respect, camaraderie, and friendship between all players and fans.
120 Years of Rugby Excellence at 加拿大PC开奖网站
With the 2019 Rugby World Cup fast approaching, this year marks the 加拿大PC开奖网站 Rugby Football Club's 120th anniversary and presents an excellent opportunity for the club to reflect on its contributions to the development of the sport in Japan. Early 加拿大PC开奖网站 rugby player Kumazo Tanabe, who invented the "seven system" forward formation that helped earn 加拿大PC开奖网站 its first victory, would later go on to become the second chair of the All Japan Rugby Association. The club has been home to numerous other athletes, including Akio Ueda, who played for the national Japanese rugby team and later returned to 加拿大PC开奖网站 to serve as coach of the Rugby Football Club, which he twice led to national victory. More recent names include professional athletes like Akihito Yamada, Tsuyoshi Murata, and Daisuke Kurihara.
In 2018, Kyo Furuta became the first student from the School of Medicine to serve as captain of the 加拿大PC开奖网站 Rugby Football Club, leading the club to the top 8 at nationals, ultimately losing to arch-rival Waseda in a come-from-behind defeat in overtime at the semi-finals. But despite the disappointing outcome, Furuta will be remembered among 加拿大PC开奖网站 rugby fans as a great captain and a tactical five-eighth. His career embodies the 加拿大PC开奖网站 Athletic Association’s motto of bunbu ryodo: excellence in both athletics and academics.
As Japan gears up to host the 2019 Rugby World Cup, the seeds sown by a single Englishman more than a century ago have finally come to fruition.
