Physical Education Day in Japan

In Japan, everyone loves sports: old, young, Japanese, and foreign.“The moon that we admired in those days in Rome today illuminates the sky above our capital.
The firm promise that four years will pass and we will meet again is not a dream.
The cheerful and cheerful song*, written in honor of the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, accompanied not only the Olympics, but also became a perennial sports anthem.

And Physical Education Day in Japan is a bright memory of the Japanese from the Tokyo Olympics in 1964.

In 1966, two years after the Olympics in Tokyo, the National Holidays Act established a holiday – Physical Education Day. Traditionally, it was celebrated on October 10, the day of the opening ceremony of the Olympics. But since 2000, the celebration was moved to the second Monday of October, giving the “sports” and “non-sports” population of the country three “sports” weekends in a row.

The opening ceremony of the Olympics took place on October 10, and the fact that the Summer Olympics were held in the middle of autumn, the Japanese have an undeniable explanation. In early October, according to long-term statistics, the front of autumn rains goes away, and sunny weather sets over Tokyo. According to the same inexorable statistics, from 1966 to 1999, that is, in 34 years, there were only 5 rainy days of physical education in the Tokyo area.

It is no exaggeration to say that the Tokyo Olympics was a grand event for Japan and a concentration of hopes for a prosperous future of the country.
Rising from the ruins of World War II and rebuilding the economy, Japan took part in the Olympics, thereby declaring economic competitiveness and a return to the international arena. After winning the right to host the Summer Games against Detroit, Vienna and Brussels, Tokyo became the first city in Asia to host the Olympics. It is symbolic that the opening of the Olympics was officially proclaimed by Emperor Showa (Hirohito), and the final torchbearer in the Olympic torch relay was a student born in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, the day of the atomic bombing of the city.

Students supported the athletes of all countries with welcome posters.

The most recent sporting event in Japan was the 11th IAAF World Athletics Championships, held from August 25 to September 2, 2007 in Osaka (11th IAAF World Championships in Athletics Osaka 2007). The Japanese carried out a grandiose preparatory work and did everything to make the athletes comfortable not only in the stadium, but also in the hotel, dining room, and in Osaka itself. Unfortunately, the results of the championship brought the Japanese only one medal: the “bronze” in the women’s marathon with great difficulty won by Reiko Tosa. And the Russian team became the third in the number of medals, losing first place to the Americans, and the second to the Kenyans.

“Sports Autumn” – the Japanese say this autumn. In September and October, before and after Physical Education Day, sports holidays and runner days are held everywhere in schools and stadiums of cities. There are amateur races at the marathon distance and international sports competitions. Everything and everything in Japan is covered by sports and its active promotion to the masses. Special attention is paid to attracting children and schoolchildren to sports.

Just the other day, a neighbor’s second-grader told me that the school hosted a big sports festival, for which they had been preparing “as early as the summer.” “We raced, we played,” she said, “and then everyone danced very fast and sang at the same time, and sometimes you had to look at the teacher who showed you what to do next.” It was very difficult, but so much fun!

Anthem song "Tokyo Gorin Ondo" written in 1963
** Tai-iku no Hi (Tai-iku no Hi)