, formerly , is a public holiday in Japan held annually on the second Monday in October. It commemorates the opening of the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subseq ...

held in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, and exists to promote sports and an active lifestyle.

History and current practice

The first Health and Sports Day was held on October 10, 1966, two years after the

. October was chosen for the unusually late Summer Olympics to avoid the Japanese

rainy season The rainy season is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Rainy Season may also refer to: * ''Rainy Season'' (short story), a 1989 short horror story by Stephen King * "Rainy Season", a 2018 song by Monni * '' ...

, and Health and Sports Day continues to be one of the fairest days of the year.Kid's Web Japan: Sports Day
retrieved November 21, 2005 In 2000, as a result of the Happy Monday System, Health and Sports Day was moved to the second Monday in October.Consulate General of Japan in New York: Health Sports Day in Japan
, retrieved November 21, 2005 As Sports Day is a day to promote sports and physical and mental health, many schools and businesses choose this day to hold their annual , or

sports day Sports Day (British English & Canadian English), field days (American English), or play days (Canadian English) are events staged by many schools and offices in which people participate in competitive sporting activities, often with the aim of w ...

. This typically consists of a range of physical events ranging from more traditional track-and-field events such as the

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

or 4 x 100 metres relay to more uncommon events such as the

tug of war Tug of war (also known as tug o' war, tug war, rope war, rope pulling, or tugging war) is a sport in which two teams compete by pulling on opposite ends of a rope, with the goal of bringing the rope a certain distance in one direction against ...

and the . Most communities and schools across Japan celebrate Sports Day with a sports festival which is similar to a mini Olympics. These festivals include many of the traditional track and field events, such as 4 × 100 m

relay A relay Electromechanical relay schematic showing a control coil, four pairs of normally open and one pair of normally closed contacts An automotive-style miniature relay with the dust cover taken off A relay is an electrically operated switc ...

, 100m sprinting, and

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

, as well as many other events. Some of the events include: ball toss,

, rugby-ball dribbling races, sack races, and so on. Another common event is often simply called the “exciting relay”, which is an

obstacle course An obstacle course is a series of challenging physical obstacles an individual, team or animal must navigate, usually while being timed. Obstacle courses can include running, climbing, jumping, crawling, swimming, and balancing elements with the ...

relay including any number of different challenges: Three-legged races, making a stretcher with a blanket and

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...

poles and then carrying an “injured” teammate, laundry hanging, tug-o-war, crawling on hands and knees under a net, and doing cartwheels across a mat. The festival usually begins with a parade featuring all the different teams that will be participating: it could be divided by neighbourhood, class, geographic area, or school. There is sometimes a local

marching band A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who play while marching. Historically they were used in armed forces and many marching bands remain military bands. Others are still associated with military units or emulate a military sty ...

providing music. Once the parade has gone around the field and lined up in the middle, the band will play

Kimigayo is the national anthem of Japan. The lyrics are from a ' poem written by an unnamed author in the Heian period (794–1185), and the current melody was chosen in 1880, replacing an unpopular melody composed by John William Fenton in 1869. W ...

and the Japanese flag will be raised. Local officials will make speeches welcoming everyone. Often everyone will spread out across the grounds for group

stretching Stretching is a form of physical exercise in which a specific muscle or tendon (or muscle group) is deliberately expanded and flexed in order to improve the muscle's felt elasticity and achieve comfortable muscle tone. The result is a feelin ...

(this stretching routine was developed by the government and is done daily by many Japanese people; the stretching routine music is broadcast daily on the radio and TV). Then it is time to start the events. Beginning in 2020, Health and Sports Day was permanently renamed , as the word "sports" is more broad than "physical education" and also implies voluntary enjoyment. This change mirrors other organizations that have made or plan to make corresponding changes to their name in Japanese, such as the Japan Sports Association and the

National Sports Festival of Japan The is the national premier sports event of Japan. It consists of three stages. The skating and ice hockey stage takes place in January, the skiing stage takes place in February, and the main Autumn tournament takes place in September and Octob ...

. As a special arrangement for the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

, the 2020 date for Sports Day was moved to July 24, to coincide with the opening of the Olympics. With the Olympics and Paralympics postponed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the government left this change in place for 2020 and passed an amendment to the Olympic and Paralympic Special Measures Act to make a corresponding change to the holiday in 2021, moving it to July 23.

Sources

External links

What is sports day?
{{Japan Holidays Public holidays in Japan 1964 Summer Olympics October observances Monday observances Holidays and observances by scheduling (nth weekday of the month) Physical education Children's sport 1966 establishments in Japan