ABSTRACT
Introduction: Invented Tradition of Japanese Women’s Athleticism A new form of idealised Japanese women was created as part of the emerging educational ideology required to build a modern Japanese nation state during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. British cultural forms were involved in this process. One regularly used concept was ‘ryo¯saikenbo’, a mixed ideology, drawing together idealised images of the ‘British Lady’ and ‘traditional’ Japanese women. This term literally meant ‘a good wife and wise mother’, a great administrator at home, and was initially formed for educational purposes within girls’ secondary education including girls’ physical education. Despite an occidental veneer, the new values were combined with traditional Japanese religion.1 This process was in parallel with the creation of the image of the ideal boy. The Japanese bushi-spirit, which was thought to be the long traditional chivalry of a Japanese ruling class (popularly the so-called samurai-spirit) in the feudal era, was reinterpreted and integrated into an indigenous Japanese ‘athleticism’ – this word was literally translated from ‘the spirit of athletic world’ expressed in a Japanese sporting journal with the English title The Athletic World. This phrase was thought to be a translation of ‘athleticism’ as it had the explanation that the spirit was originated from the
i niversity, Yamaguchi-city, Japan
characters of the people at British school. As it is well known, athleticism was strongly influenced by British public school morality closely associated with the games field.2 Along with this nature, Japanese ‘Undo¯ no Seisin’ (the spirit of the athletic world) meant ‘athleticism’ in the journal entitled The Athletic World as explained below:
This article was based on the speech made by the President of Tokyo Imperial University, Dr Dairoku Kikuchi. Later, Kikuchi combined this character with the concept of the traditional Japanese moral code Bushido¯. He described Bushido¯ as fair play, ‘What is called fair play, means playing fair by a person with character in all competitions, which should be sought more widely in Japan. In other words, Bushido¯, what I desire, signifies this’. He also used phrases such as ‘British peoples’ Bushi-like competition’, ‘Competition without cowardice’, ‘British Bushi-spirit appeared in Competition’.4
