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水泳大会(1933年撮影) / 写真原板データベース

Swimming

The modern swimming style developed from martial art practice of suijutsu.

An ancient Japanese martial art for fighting underwater was known as suijutsu, or ‘water skills’. In modern times, the idea of suijutsu has been eclipsed by swimming for health and recreation. Swimming emerged as a popular sport during the Meiji era. As the country entered the competitive swimming arena, Japanese swimmers began to dominate the world stage. At the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, Yoshiyuki Tsuruta earned the first gold medal for Japan in the Men's 200-meter breaststroke. One team and four swimmers, including Tsuruta, earned gold medals at the 1932 Los Angeles Games. Japan earned four more gold medals at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. Female swimmer Hideko Maehata became famous for her exciting performance, inspiring radio announcers to shout "Maehata Ganbare!" (“Go, Maehata!”) repeatedly during the broadcast. Immediately after WWII, Hironoshin Furuhashi, affectionately nicknamed “The Flying Fish of Fujiyama”, became a national hero by continually breaking world records in free-form swimming. Since then, Tsuyoshi Yamanaka, Daichi Suzuki, and Kosuke Kitajima have all continued the successful tradition of Japanese swimming.

Related People, Things and Events

Olympic

Books

Suijutsu・Japanese traditional swimming methods・Ancient orignis of swimming in Japan

Related Works

Videos

External Links

  • 日本泳法の解説

  • 古橋広之進氏へのインタビュー

  • 水泳選手 前畑秀子

References