Well,,,,we all know how close soccer (Association Football) is to rugby. Don't get me started. With the rugby World Cup starting this weekend in Japan it would be amiss not to say something about the "egg chasers", who seem to have preferred the rugged game. South Africa, of course, are top notch but the country has hosted a soccer World Cup and Japan, having won the opening match today, rate baseball and soccer as their most popular sports. Rugby comes somewhere after Judo and Sumo. In the top flight are also: PURORESU- professional wrestling, boxing, autoracing, golf and tennis.
Cuju which means kick ball (shukyu) later was known as kemari. The 3rd-2nd Century "game" was a simple juggling performance kicking a ball through a hoop into a net, which gradually developed into a competitive game.
Lieutenant-Commander Archibald Douglas of the British Navy taught his naval cadets the game in Japan between 1873-9, a time when the game was growing in England. In Japan during the 1920s, various local associations formed, importantly the national FA and by 1930 there was a national side. Japan took part in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, beating Sweden 3-2, but losing the quarter-final 8-0 to eventual Gold Medal winners, Italy. Great Britain also took part, losing to Poland in the quarter-final 5-4, with Shearer (Donald not Alan) and Bernard Joy-the famous journalist, scoring a goal each. Japan joined FIFA in 1939.
Known as Sakkaa after the USA influence, the game in Japan acquired a National League in 1965 with 8 amateur clubs formed by "companies". The national team won Olympic Bronze in Mexico 1968 and the Professional J-League formed in 1992, eventually with 18 teams. Lineker had something to do with that.
The Women's national side, known as the Samurai Blue won the Women's FIFA World Cup in 2011.
Yasuhito Endo has made 152 appearances for his country.
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