Category Archives: Japan

The Original Brave Blossom

Posted on July 20, 2020 by

A few weeks before the last year’s Rugby World Cup, an article was posted on a website of Kyoto Shimbun (newspaper). The story featured Ishi Fukui, a woman who ran a sporting goods business from 1922 in Kyoto. The writer … Continue reading →

Posted in Countries, Japan | 1 Comment

Brave Blossoms exhibition in Tokyo

Posted on September 23, 2019 by

Following its display during 2018/19 at the World Rugby Museum in Twickenham, the exhibition has traveled to Japan to tell the story of rugby in the tournament’s host nation, charting the evolution of rugby alongside the development of modern Japan. Continue reading →

Posted in Japan, Museum Collection, Rugby World Cup | 1 Comment

The Shimogamo Shrine: Rugby’s First Religious Monument

Posted on June 24, 2019 by

The Shimogamo Shrine is a designated UNESCO world heritage site that dates from the 6th Century. It is described in the Japanese origin myth as the final resting place of Yatagarasu, the three legged crow, who guided Japan’s first Emperor to his place of residence at Yamato. Continue reading →

Posted in Japan, Rugby World Cup | 1 Comment

Edmund Blunden – the War Poet who went to Japan

Posted on February 25, 2019 by

Edmund Charles Blunden CBE MC is remembered as a well-travelled poet and war hero but fewer people are aware of his impact on the early development of rugby in Japan. Continue reading →

Posted in Japan, Museum Collection | Leave a comment

England Students to Japan, 1982

Posted on January 14, 2019 by

In 1982 an England Students side travelled to Japan to play a match against Japan at the Hanazono Stadium in Osaka…  Continue reading →

Posted in Countries, England, International Players, Japan | Leave a comment

SPECIAL EXHIBITION – Brave Blossoms: the History of Rugby in Japan

Posted on November 12, 2018 by

As the rugby world turns towards the land of the rising sun in anticipation of Asia’s first Rugby World Cup, the World Rugby Museum is delighted to present its new special exhibition ‘Brave Blossoms: the History of Rugby in Japan’. Continue reading →

Posted in Countries, Japan, Museum Collection, Rugby World Cup, Twickenham | 2 Comments

Eyes Wide Open: The Demi Sakata Story

Posted on October 15, 2018 by

In 1968 Japan shocked the rugby world by defeating the Junior All-Blacks in Wellington.  Japanese Wing Yoshihiro ‘Demi’ Sakata scored four of Japan’s six tries that day and would go on to demonstrate that the performance was no fluke. This … Continue reading →

Posted in Countries, International Players, Japan | 2 Comments

Tanaka and Clarke: The friends that took rugby from Cambridge to Japan

Posted on July 2, 2018 by

Rugby football arrived in Japan relatively early by worldwide standards, but it was not until the turn of the twentieth century that the sport would be played by Japanese nationals.  Continue reading →

Posted in Clubs, Countries, Japan | 3 Comments

Remembering Seiji Hirao, 1963-2016

Posted on February 20, 2017 by

On Friday February 10th in the lavish setting of the Portopia Hotel in Kobe, the Japan Rugby Football Union together with the Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers Rugby Club staged a remarkable memorial event to celebrate the life of Seiji Hirao, … Continue reading →

Posted in Clubs, Japan, Rugby World Cup | 2 Comments

Special Exhibition celebrates 150 years of rugby in Yokohama

Posted on December 7, 2016 by

A new installation has opened in the World Rugby Museum highlighting the development of rugby in Yokohama and the history of rugby at the Yokohama Country and Athletic Club, now recognised to be the first football club in Asia. By … Continue reading →

Posted in Clubs, Japan | Leave a comment