Japan has been enjoying rugby long before the
World Cup arrives on its shores but its history is blurred by urban myths
On 31 March 2016, an urgent call went out from the president of the rugby section of the Yokohama Country & Athletic Club. The guest speaker at a gala dinner at the club planned for 2 April had pulled out and a replacement was needed. The problem was this was no ordinary dinner. It was the centrepiece of a weekend celebrating 150 years of rugby in Japan, which arrived in the country five years before the creation of the Rugby
Football Union.
More of the emergency stand-in later but fast forward to last week as
Japan kickstarted its buildup to the World Cup with the unveiling of a memorial plaque in Yokohama’s Chinatown area, close to where the then Yokohama Foot Ball Club held its first meeting.