#JAPANESE SPORT CLASSICS PROFESSIONAL#

In the Olympic Games, archers shoot over a distance of only 70 meters. This is even more remarkable when one considers the shooting range for this attempt, a 120-meter-long corridor with a ceiling of only 2.2 meters. On April 26, 1686, a samurai named Wasa Daihachiro competing in the Tōshiya made an unsurpassed record of shooting 13,053 arrows and hitting the mark 8,133 times over a 24-hour period. Kyūdō was encouraged by shōguns and daimyōs as a pastime, and contests as well as record making attempts were held. A notice to punish playing and betting on sumo without authorization was repeatedly posted to little effect. The only problem was that they were often accompanied by gambling.

In the Edo period, sports became a popular way to spend time. Yabusame also started as a sport in this period, but is now considered a sacred ceremony. Kyūdō became popular as kyujutsu, literally bow skill, as a pastime for the samurai class. The Kamakura period was a starting point for many martial arts. if a well-liked fisherman competed and won, a good catch was predicted for the year. It is believed that some ancient sumo matches were purely religious events with predetermined outcomes as an offering to kami, with some matches regarded as divination – e.g. Many sumo rituals are closely associated with Shinto belief. Sumo shows an important side of traditional Japanese sport, a religious occasion as well as a sporting event. History Pre-Edo period Painting of an ancient Sumo competition, Heian or Kamakura period

#JAPANESE SPORT CLASSICS PROFESSIONAL#

In 2021, the Nagoya Diamond Dolphins became the first top-tier professional Japanese sports club to sign on to a climate change initiative, as part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Some new sports were invented by changing elements of imported sports. Other popular sports include figure skating, rugby union, golf, table tennis and racing, especially auto racing. Association football has gained wide popularity since the founding of the Japan Professional Football League in 1992. Martial arts such as judo, karate and modern kendō are also widely practiced and enjoyed by spectators in the country. The Nippon Professional Baseball league has been Japan's largest professional sports competition in terms of television ratings and spectators.

Baseball was introduced to the country by visiting Americans in the 19th century.

Sumo is considered Japan's national sport. Both traditional sports such as sumo and martial arts, and Western imports like baseball, association football, basketball and tennis are popular with both participants and spectators. Sports in Japan are a significant part of Japanese culture.

Japanese sport classics