Japan Pavillion Exhibition for Rugby World Cup
Rugby-like Football games were played on flat ground in Yokohama in south Tokyo by the British and perhaps other Europeans from the 1860’s. Who knows how many locals joined in too, perhaps also American sailors? Here we see an early engraving of a scrummage, during a game that is thought to be between Scottish and English players, watched by the intrigued populous. The flag of the Yokohama Foot Ball Club is flying on a bamboo pole, against the fine backdrop of a snow-tipped Mount Fuji.
FOOT-BALL AT YOKOHAMA, TOKYO in 1874
LFA were pleased to loan this historic Football print for display
A newspaper account in The Japan Times records a meeting held on January 26th 1866, to found the “Yokohama Foot-Ball Club”. Over forty names came forward to support the Club, including two or three Rugby and Winchester [school] men in the Community”, and it was stated that “we may be certain that we shall have really good scientific play.”
