What are sports?
There are two different kinds of play. The first is unrestrained and spontaneous. There are numerous examples. A young child picks up a flat stone and sends it skipping across a pond’s surface after spotting it. An adult who has accidentally made a pun laughs at himself. Both actions are at least somewhat unconstrained, and neither was planned in advance. Play in the second category is controlled. Some guidelines specify what behaviors are acceptable and what are not. These regulations turn unstructured play into games, which are referred to as regulated or rule-bound play. Leapfrog, chess, “playing house,” and basketball are all games, some with very straightforward rules and others with slightly more complicated ones. Rulebooks for sports like basketball can run into hundreds of pages.
Chess and basketball are unquestionably different games from playing house and leapfrog. While the second and third games are not competitive, the first two are. It is possible to win a game of basketball, but it is absurd to inquire as to who the winner of a leapfrog match is. So chess and basketball are competitions (Gutmann, 2023).
Origin of sports
- Soccer
It’s fascinating to see how soccer and its predecessors have evolved and how it has become such a beloved sport worldwide. From Ancient Egypt to China, Rome, and beyond, people have enjoyed playing games involving kicking a ball for thousands of years. And with the standardization and organization of the sport in the form of the Football Association in England, we now have a well-defined set of rules and regulations that allow for fair and competitive play at all levels.
- Baseball
Baseball has a long and fascinating history, and its evolution over time has led to the game we know and love today. Despite the lack of evidence to support the Doubleday myth, it is still often cited as the origin of baseball. However, it is clear that baseball has roots in English games like rounders and cricket, which were brought to the United States by early colonists.
The New York Knickerbocker Baseball Club, founded in 1845, played a significant role in the development of baseball as a modern sport. Alexander Joy Cartwright, a member of the club, helped establish many of the rules that are still used in baseball today, including the diamond-shaped infield, the use of foul lines, and the three-strike rule.
Although some of Cartwright’s rules have since been modified or eliminated, the basic structure of baseball remains largely unchanged. From its humble beginnings as a children’s game in colonial New England to its current status as one of the most beloved sports in America, baseball has a rich and fascinating history that continues to captivate fans around the world (Grimminck, 2016).
When to complete the concept of sports
That progress resulted in an expansion of impact. Over the last 100 years, sports have influenced contemporary popular culture and frequently served as a reflection of shifting societal views and expectations. The dedication of sportsmen and sportswomen to training to be the best and/or greatest has also led to advancements in techniques, records, and levels. Due in part to fashion firms’ financial support of sports and in part to our desire to be like our heroes and heroines, sportswear is increasingly frequently reflected in current trends.
Difference between modern sports and ancient sports
Based on his notion to restore the games that had been conducted every four years at Olympia in ancient Greece, the French educator Baron Pierre de Coubertin originally suggested the modern Olympic Games in 1892 during a speech at the University of Paris, Pantheon-Sorbonne. He subsequently gained backing from a number of powerful people for this plan by describing the Olympic Games as a way to promote world peace via athletic competition. An International Olympic Committee (IOC) was established in June 1894 during a meeting to promote the growth of sports that was held at the University of Paris in order to resuscitate the Olympic Games. The first modern Olympic Games were staged in Athens just two years later, in 1896, beginning a tradition that endures today despite breaks caused by two world wars (The Lost Tokyo Olympics of 1940, Kaleidoscope of Books, 2013).
Modern sport development process with background and history in Japan
Beginning of sports in Japan
Japan can be seen as being fairly athletic due to the country’s intense interest in various sports. Baseball and soccer are two of the most popular and extensively viewed sports in Japan. However, there are a ton more sports and pastimes out there, many of which are still popular in Japan today. Both traditional sports and sports that have been influenced by others have many contemporary variations (Clarke, 2021).
When should we start developing sports in Japan?
Sport for Development (SfD) has been developing in the worldwide community for some time, but the Japanese government just recently started looking for methods to support the area in the context of Tokyo’s bid to host the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. In order to support Tokyo’s candidacy, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe unveiled the “Sport for Tomorrow (SFT)” initiative, which aims to spread the love of sports to at least 10 million kids in 100 nations by the year 2020. The progress made as of 2016 indicates that, at the current rate, accomplishing this objective would be difficult. The slow economic growth of Japan is having a lot of negative effects on the sports business there, and the value of utilizing sport to aid developing countries has not been clearly stated. The majority of Japanese people are unfamiliar with SfD and SFT, but it is projected that as the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games approach, the scope and volume of SFT activities will increase.
We must first ask whether the Japanese trial of SFT has the same concept as the world community does with SfD or if it was merely a ploy to get the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Although Japan has started SfD activities in line with the current Olympic and Paralympic bidding trends, this trial may only last until 2020 if the concept of SfD is not generally adopted and does not attain legitimacy in the context of sport development.
This article looks at Japan’s little experience with SfD in the first place, despite the fact that most of these activities were dominated by Sport Development (SD) programs mostly in poor nations prior to the country’s 2013 Olympic bid. The second part of the study looks at the context in which SFT was introduced in Japan and the surroundings in which it operates. Finally, the challenges SfD is now experiencing in Japan are listed, and potential solutions to ensuring SfD continues to exist in Japan after 2020 are considered (Okada, 2018).
Timing to create the sports concept in Japan
Other nations do not frequently associate Japan with having a vibrant sports culture. This is most likely a result of the numerous other national perspectives that, perhaps properly, dominate this culture. Sports culture is frequently an afterthought, whether it be because of its distinctive history spanning hundreds of years, technological innovation, or even video games and anime. Despite this, there is little doubt that Japan has a greater love for sports than any other country.
You can frequently see Japan’s pervasive sports culture just by walking around. Whether it’s the soccer team you’re forced to ride the same train car with in the afternoon or the baseball bars you may find walking around, Students frequently bring Kendo or Kyudo equipment home from school, which is extremely distinctive to Japan. All around Tokyo Prefecture are absurdly big driving range nets, and it is quite difficult to go through a town for fifteen minutes without coming across at least one baseball diamond or soccer field.
It looks at Japan’s little experience with SfD in the first place, despite the fact that most of these activities were dominated by Sport Development (SD) programs mostly in poor nations prior to the country’s 2013 Olympic bid. The second part of the study looks at the context in which SFT was introduced in Japan and the surroundings in which it operates. Finally, the challenges SfD is now experiencing in Japan are listed, and potential solutions to ensuring SfD continues to exist in Japan after 2020 are considered (Okada, 2018).
Characteristics of modern sports in Japan
Despite being a few years away, the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics have a website that offers the most recent information on every facet of the next event, from the ongoing infrastructure developments in Tokyo to the most recent corporate sponsors. The 2020 Games’ “vision,” which includes “leaving a legacy for the future,” is also described on the website. The Tokyo 1964 Games, according to the organizers, “totally altered Japan, improved the Japanese people’s knowledge of the outside world, and contributed to the swift rise of Japan’s economy. The 2020 Games will provide Japan, a country with a developed economy, the chance to encourage global change and leave a lasting legacy for future generations. Despite the fact that this website is obviously promotional propaganda, it highlights the unusually strong emphasis Japan has put on the Olympics’ ability to spur good change in both Japan and the rest of the globe.
The 2020 Games, which will follow the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics, the 1972 Sapporo Winter Olympics, and the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics, will be Japan’s fourth Olympic Games. Fewer people are aware that Japan has attempted twelve times to host the Olympic Games, winning the bid five times if you add the 1940 Games, which were postponed due to World War II. This implies that, since the 1930s, Japan has effectively been campaigning, bidding, organizing, or hosting the Olympic Games.
The Olympics, which were revived as a contemporary event in Athens 120 years ago, continue to have a significant impact on society because of their widespread visibility, significant economic impact, and perceived ability to change a country’s prestige. Numerous factors, including the archipelago’s shifting positions in both global and regional geopolitical arenas, contribute to Japan’s continued interest in hosting the event. In the essay that follows, I outline Japan’s involvement in the Olympic movement’s history and make a case for why the country has committed such significant resources to it for more than a century. No matter how interested readers are in the sports themselves, it’s critical to comprehend the historical significance of the Olympics and how they might or might not act as catalysts for social change (Kietlinski, 2016).
Olympic results for Japan
Starting period to join the Olympics
During the Meiji Era (1868–1922), Japan was keen to be recognized as a progressive nation, motivated by a need to counter the Western threat to its nationhood. The slogans “fukoku kyōhei,” “wakon yōsai,” and “bunmei kaika” exemplify Japan’s desire to be seen as progressive by the rest of the world. To achieve this goal, the Meiji government recognized the importance of education, including the introduction of compulsory primary education. The government believed that a literate and “enlightened” population was essential to Japan’s international recognition. In 1905, as part of the education reform, physical education in the Western style was formally required in the elementary curricula for both boys and girls (Kietlinski, 2016).
First Japanese Olympic winner
Kano Jigoro was a crucial player in the evolution of physical education in Japanese schools. Kan worked for the Ministry of Education in addition to being a professor and headmaster at the Tokyo University of Education (later the University of Tsukuba). He is most known for creating the sport of judo, a type of unarmed fighting that mixes aspects of samurai jujutsu with methods intended to modernize ancient martial arts. In fact, Kan was particularly interested in modernizing Japan through an emphasis on physical culture, which was at the time popular in Europe. Physical education was thought to strengthen both one’s body and morals. He believed that Japanese residents might incorporate the ideals and teachings learned via modern sports, such as judo, swimming, running, tennis, and soccer, into their daily lives (The Lost Tokyo Olympics of 1940, Kaleidoscope of Books, 2013).
References
Clarke, A. (2021). 10 Most Popular Sports in Japan. [online] Unique Japan Tours. Available at: https://www.uniquejapantours.com/10-most-popular-sports-in-japan/ [Accessed 15 May 2023].
Grimminck, R. (2016). 10 Origin Stories of Famous Sports. [online] Toptenz.net. Available at: https://www.toptenz.net/10-origin-stories-famous-sports.php [Accessed 25 May 2023].
Kietlinski, R. (2016). Japan in the Olympics, the Olympics in Japan. [online] Association for Asian Studies. Available at: https://www.asianstudies.org/publications/eaa/archives/japan-in-the-olympics-the-olympics-in-japan/ [Accessed 25 May 2023].
Maguire, J.A., Rowe, D.C., Guttmann, A. and Luebering, J.E. (2023). Sports. [online] Encyclopedia Britannica. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/sports/sports#ref253547 [Accessed 25 May 2023].
Okada, C. (2018). ‘Sport for development’ in Japan. [online] Journal of Sport for Development. Available at: https://jsfd.org/2018/07/01/sport-for-development-in-japan/ [Accessed 25 May 2023].
The Lost Tokyo Olympics of 1940 – Kaleidoscope of Books. (2013). Chapter 1. [online] Available at: https://www.ndl.go.jp/kaleido/e/entry/15/1.html [Accessed 25 May 2023].
