体育の日 - Health-Sports Day

Health-Sports Day, called taiiku-no-hi in Japanese, is a national holiday when people are encouraged to enjoy sports and use physical exercise to develop their mental and physical health. Health-Sports Day fell on October 10th until 1999, regardless of what day of the week it was. The law concerning National Holidays was amended, however, and Health-Sports Day now falls on the second Monday in October.

「体育の日」は、スポーツに親しみ、健康な心身を培うことを趣旨とする国民の祝日です。1999年までは、曜日に関係なく毎年10月10日が「体育の日」と定められていましたが、法律の改正によって、2000年からは10月の第2月曜日を「体育の日」とすることになりました。

Health-Sports Day was instituted to commemorate the Tokyo Olympic Games which were held in October 1964. The government designated October 10th, the day the Olympics opened, as a national holiday. The Tokyo Olympics were the first Olympics held in Asia, and the government prepared by investing enormous amounts of money in constructing the main stadium and other athletic facilities, and in building two new railways, the Tokaido Shinkansen and the Haneda Monorail. The government opened the new railways, and improved the existing subways and expressways. The government also emphasized supporting the Japanese Olympic team and spent enormous amounts of money on the team. The Japanese women’s volleyball team won the gold medal, and many other Japanese players also won gold medals in various events including the Japanese martial art of judo, wrestling, and weight lifting. The Olympic Games were broadcast throughout the country, and many families purchased televisions to watch the games. The Tokyo Olympics ended the period of postwar chaos and started the period of high economic growth in Japan. The Olympics helped Japan in the process of developing from a poor country into a wealthy one.

1964年、政府はこの年の10月に開催された東京オリンピックを記念して、このオリンピックが開幕された10月10日を「体育の日」とし、祝日に定めました。東京オリンピックはアジアで初めて開かれたオリンピックで、国はこのオリンピックに向けて巨額の費用を投じて、会場となる体育施設の建設、東海道新幹線・羽田モノレールの開業、高速道路や地下鉄の整備などを押し進めました。国は選手強化にも力を入れ、その結果女子バレーが優勝を果たしたほか、柔道・レスリング・重量挙げでも多くの金メダルを獲得しました。オリンピックの様子は全国にテレビで報道され、そのために多くの家庭が新しくテレビを買い求めました。東京オリンピックを境に、日本は戦後の混乱期を脱出し、高度経済成長時代を迎えました。東京オリンピックは、日本が貧しい国から豊かな国に発展していくきっかけとなったのです。

Schools, neighborhood associations and businesses hold athletic meets during the period around Health-Sports Day. The participants are divided into several teams at the athletic meets, and they compete with one another at relays, obstacle races, tug of war, tamaire which is throwing balls in baskets, kibasen which are mock cavalry battles, and bun-eating races. Children play in earnest at their school athletic meets, and their parents watch them and cheer. This makes the school athletic meets particularly exciting.

「体育の日」の前後には、学校や町内会、会社などで運動会が行われます。運動会では、参加者がいくつかのチームに分かれて、リレー・障害物競走・綱引き・玉入れ・騎馬戦・パン食い競争などのゲームをして戦います。学校の運動会は、特に熱のこもったもので、子供は真剣に競技し、親も応援に駆けつけて声援を送ります。