Waseda University has produced many excellent athletes since its founding in 1882. Learning a little about the university's leadership role in student sports and how it has contributed to Japanese sports could make next year's Tokyo Olympics even more enjoyable.
The Waseda Arena was completed in December 2018 on the site of what was the Memorial Hall, the fencing venue during the 1964 Olympics. The museum is on the arena's third floor.
Visitors are greeted at the entrance with the words of Waseda's founder, Shigenobu Okuma (1838-1922), that nothing compares to strengthening the body for doing great things in the world.
After a small display describing the value Okuma placed on sports as well as learning, the exhibition goes through the history of each of Waseda's athletic clubs.
An exhibit of large panels in chronological order takes visitors through Waseda's sporting history. Photos accompany descriptions from the founding of the baseball club in 1901 up to the recent excellent performances of Waseda alumni and others at the Olympics.
The baseball club's 1905 tour of the United States ended with seven wins and 19 losses, but the team took back knowledge and skills -- from bunting to defensive tactics, equipment and uniforms -- from the more advanced baseball nation to spread the sport and develop the baseball circle in Japan.
One highlight is a section that describes several episodes alongside valuable items from the museum's collection. These include the cleats worn by Kunishige Kamamoto, one of the greats of Japanese soccer and the top scorer of the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, and a card autographed by the Japanese national team members.
The exhibits emphasize Waseda's proud history in university baseball with stories of how the team's student managers, who were mainly responsible for team management, during World War II kept baseballs safe by hiding them in shelters during air raids, and supplied the balls to other university teams after the war.
"I really felt how Waseda's long sports history connects to the present. It made me nostalgic for my student days," said Akihiro Ichimura, 62, a former member of the yacht club who now lives in Suginami Ward, Tokyo.
Waseda Sports Museum: Waseda Arena 3F, Waseda Toyama Campus, 1-24-1, Toyama, Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo
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