Considering the History of Badminton

Considering the History
of Badminton

Table of Contents

3

Introduction

3

1. Considering the early days of badminton history5

2. Collaging the history of shuttlecocks

5

6

The History Of Shuttlecocks And People Who Played With It

3. Analyzing the wall collage

Considering the History of Badminton.
Introduction
Talking about history is always an intriguing mix of fun and challenges. When I met badminton, I
was also interested in its history. I wanted to play good badminton and tell good badminton toothers. Since then, I have been endlessly curious about how people have encountered, accepted,
and nurtured badminton into something we can enjoy, visualize, and share feelings.
I have been a man of curiosity and an insect collector too. I have tried to collect everything I wasinterested in many fields. Looking back at the past when I spent most of my time with badminton, I
felt the urge to put my collection together under a certain theme, hoping that one day, I could open
at least one little museum of some sort as a badminton collector. But I am still unable to find eventhe right place to store my book collections in my late years. The best I could do has been to makea Collage using some of my display boxes to showcase the history of badminton with themes
attached to it.
Collage (collargé) is a French word that means pasting. It is one of the modern art technics initiatedby artists like Pablo Picasso, and Georges Braque during the Cubist era in art history.
Pieces of printed materials such as newspapers and magazines (letters and photos), colored or
decorated papers like packages, wallpapers, wood chips, films, etc. were pasted or pinned on apaper mount. Such works were called Papier Collé.

7

The Element Collage ① The 7th century China

10

The Element Collage ② The 13th century South America

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The Element Collage ③ The 14th century Japan

15

The Element Collage ④ The 17th century Sweden

Once I started making a Collage, I found it extremely difficult to neatly organize the collection in atiny box and select the right theme for each item, the related collections seemed to keep increasing
endlessly as I tried to organize them.

17

The Element Collage ⑤ The 18th century Germany

18

The Element Collage ⑥ The 19th century England

1. Considering the early days of badminton history21

4. History of the beginning of badminton activities in Japan30

5. The beginning of the organized badminton activities in Japan

32

Postscripts

33

6. Bibliography

Let’s talk about the meaning of the word「to begin」.
According to the Japanese dictionary JITOU by Shizuka Shirakawa, the Chinese letter for「tobegin」（始 shi） is derived from（姒 shi）and the right-side portion of this letter means a plow tostart farming using farmers’ power. The farming tools were used for sacred local rituals and were
thoroughly cleaned to prevent blight or other plant diseases. The letter(姒 shi) is also a family nameand the left side of this letter means a woman or the family who performs the ritual.
Everyone has a desire to find a clear and clean-cut beginning to all affairs. But this wishful desire
may sometimes distort history. When we consider the early days of badminton, we also tend toassume the beginning of badminton history must be clear and clean-cut. Thus, we need to be extra
cautious and take a tough stance when trying to find the true beginning of history. It seems that the
beginning of badminton gets more and more ambiguous as we research further, in this essay, I
would like to talk about two「Not-So-Clear」history topics. One is about the birth of badminton andthe other is about the beginning of badminton activities in Japan.

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The reason why the birth of badminton was not so clear is that there had been dozens of different
Shuttlecock Games in various parts of the world since ancient times, and whenever those games
were discovered, people propagated each ancient story as the origin of badminton. Badminton did
not just s uddenly appear out of nowhere but the birth came after the long history of development
and succession of those Shuttlecock Games over the centuries.
We must watch out for how to define the meaning of the word「the birth」. Badminton’s birthdiffers from the birth of something like badminton, but there may be some connection between
them. Judging if they are connected or not is a very difficult decision to make. Fig1
Fig1 This is an early 20th-century promotional card #39
by a coffee company in the U.S. The beautiful print
designs must have enticed consumers to collect all
series of lovely cards like this.
Once a shuttlecock game is found in Tibet, a sudden
conclusion can be made that the origin of badminton
was in Tibet.
This is a series of 50 cards with the illustrated history ofsports and pastimes of all nations. In the 20th century,with the spread of multicolor printing technology, small
novelty cards were attached to various products aspromotional goods to attract consumers to buy theirproducts.

2. Collaging the history of shuttlecocks
In the National Badminton Centre (MK8 9LA Milton Keynes, Loughton
Lodge, Bradwell Road, UK) which has the National Badminton Club and a
Museum, there is a large meeting room with walls and pillars on which a hugecollage of The History Of Shuttlecocks And People Who Played With It is
exhibited to catch the eyes of all visitors.
The collage was created by Monika Krucker, a student at the Higher School
for Creation and Art in Zurich, in her 1997 graduation work Chinese Picture
Roll. She was later invited to exhibit her work at the Swiss Open BadmintonChampionships in Basel and added some new precision drawings called 1250
years based on her original work. Fig2
Badminton England (formerly Badminton Association of England) purchased
this painting to commemorate the completion of the National Badminton
Centre to display on the wall in the meeting room and published a fascinatingbook called The Shuttlecock And The People Who Used to Play With It
consisting of 32 pages (15.6×33.4×0.84cm) in 1999. Monika’s approach to her
work was outstanding and the collage successfully conveyed the message ofthe historical development of badminton to the viewers.

Given the above reasons, let’s first consider the prerequisites for the game of badminton, not merely
a Shuttlecock Game. First, we need to have
➀ A shuttlecock➁ Rackets➂ A standard for the court and the net
Some old records show that those 3 elements could have existed in ancient times, but would it beenough to call it Badminton?
➃ Certain playing rules. It should be a must for badminton.
However, those alone are not enough for the formation of badminton.
➄ A club with members and an activity space➅ An association➆ Some kind of commercial activities to keep providing equipment, or even before that,➇ Any competitions? and so on.
Various conditions must be met to distinguish the game of badminton from Shuttlecock Games justtossing a shuttlecock.

Fig2 A storyboard
drawing Monika
Krucker drew
shown on the firstpage of the book.

Her remarkable approach is fully expressed even in the title itself. She precisely depicted the imageof shuttlecocks in each era and placed them in the historical context. By doing this, she vividly
showcased the lives of the people and how they interacted with badminton in the corresponding era.
This art piece sends graphical messages of the history of badminton to the viewers by having
shuttlecocks as focal points of each era to depict the activities of people. Fig3
Her original work was a 6m-long drawing in a Chinese Picture Roll style. Monika studied the Inca
and Japanese historical documents and referred to Historical Development of the Shuttlecock
written by Isolde Schmidt-Mollhöff who wrote this dissertation in 1957/58 to be a sports instructor.
Monika added to the collection her second work, called 1250 years which examines the theappreciation of this picture roll and for making it possible to publicize this intellectual art piece to theworld.

Under the variability of the above conditions, how can we possibly define the birth of badminton?
Difficult questions keep arising because this is how the history of badminton has slowly progressedwith all those variabilities. A vast amount of academic study is necessary to understand the detailsof history. In other words, the previous study of badminton has not been fully developed for lack ofenough evidence, and a historical survey of this sort is arguably a challenging job to complete.
To showcase the history of badminton, Monika Krucker used the technique of Papier Collé whichgently embraces the ambiguity of history in the form of an art piece, just like arranging historical
traces in tiny specimen boxes. Let’s start looking into the details of her artwork and the concepts
behind it.

Fig3 Monica’s Wall collage Chinese Picture Roll and 1250 years in the National Badminton Center meeting room.

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3. Analyzing the wall collage

The Element Collage ➀ The 7th century China

Let's analyze each page of the book and find out what fragments the wall collage is composed of
and what historical documents the components of the collage originated from as much as we can.
The wall collage depicts 6 shuttlecocks and shuttlecock games from different eras and locations.
Each element collage corresponds with the shuttlecock used in each era. Fig4

The Element Collage ➀ depicts lotus leaves as the symbol of China where the original idea of thepicture roll came from, and the main focal object of the story is a shuttlecock called Jianzi (毽子).
Jianzi is made from copper round coins with a square hole.
The sources of the drawing are from the images in the 18th to 19th centuries but Monika described
the origin of this Chinese shuttlecock game as in the 7th century, this may be because copper coins
started to be used for the first time during this period. Fig5

Element collage ➁The 13th Century South America
Element collage ➀The 7th Century
China

Element collage ➂The 14th Century Japan

Element collage ➅The 19th Century England
Element collage ➄The 18th Century Germany

Element collage ➃The 17th Century
Sweden7th Century
China

Symbols of China:
Lotus and Jianzi

A drawing by Monica and her pencil sketch
The shuttlecock is made from coins with a hole and bird feathers.
a Chinese-style picture role
From body and competition exercise

Fig5 Jianzi and the game scenery are introduced on pages 6-7 of Monika’s book.
Jianzi is made from coins and Chinese Silkie feathers

Tianyuan-Difang style coins (round coins with a square hole) were first minted during the reign ofthe first emperor of the Qin Dynasty (259 B.C. - 210 B.C.). The First Emperor decided the shape ofthe coin and set out the rule that the coin inscription should be consistent with the value of thecoins.
Fig4 The wall collage consists of 6 Element collages ➀➁➂➃➄➅
Each element collage corresponds with the shuttlecock used in each era.

There are from 6 different eras and locations as below:
The Element Collage ➀ The 7th century China
The Element Collage ➁ The 13th century South America
The Element Collage ➂ The 14th century JapanThe Element Collage ➃ The 17th century Sweden
The Element Collage ➄ The 18th century Germany
The Element Collage ➅ The 19th century England

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The 7th century is the period when King Gao Zu unified the country and founded the Tang Dynasty(618~907). Gao Zu minted the copper coin called Kaiyuan-Tongbao as the Tang Dynasty's standardcoin.
The inscriptions of the coin consist of four Chinese characters selected and written by the eminent
Tang scholar Ouyang Xun (also known as a famous calligrapher). This Kaiyuan-Tongbao was widely
spread and well-known by people worldwide. Monika or Schmidt dated the origin of Jianzi as the 7th
century may be because of the connection with the establishment of the Tang Dynasty.
As a side note, the ancient Japanese coin Wado-Kaichin was produced at about the same time
(708A.D.) following the footsteps of the Tang dynasty’s Kaiyuan-Tongbao. Fig6

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Kaiyuan-Tongbao
Minted anddistributed in China
after 621AD, theTang Dynasty

Wado-Kaichin
Ancient coin

A paper version purchased at
Kyushu National Museum

In the Guangdong region ofChina, it is called (鶏毛纓)(KaiMoYin) The word Yinmeans to tie with a string

Korean traditional New Year's game ofJegi (Jegi chagi) made with leaf coins,silk, and paper. Ancient Chinese kickballgame is said to have derived from
Chinese martial arts practice for training.

Fig6 Jianzi using the Tienyuan-Difang coin (round shape square hole)

Fig8 Playing at shuttlecock with the feet 1843 Allom, Thomas (1804-1872) Bernard Adams wrote and published「The Badminton Story」from the BBC with this photo in 1980, adding a modern styled caption「Playing at
shuttlecock with the feet - a Victorian engraving hinting at badminton's oriental origins」

Fig7 Natives of Cochin-China, Playing at Shittlecock with their Feet by J.Landseer & J. Shirt 1796. *Note thedifference in spelling from shuttlecock commonly used today. According to the dictionary by Samuel Johnson, thespelling「shittle」is older than「shuttle」.

The playgrounds depicted in the Element collage ➀ show that the images were taken from Nativesof Cochin-China, Playing at Shittlecock with their Feet by J.Landseer & J. Shirt 1796 Fig7 andthe shuttlecock game in Landseer and Allom's pictures Fig8.
*Note the difference in spelling from the shuttlecock commonly used today. According to thedictionary by Samuel Johnson, the spelling「shittle」is older than「shuttle」
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Fig9 Siamese shuttlecock game, source unknown.
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Drawings of Asian sceneries may imply some contempt for Asians that had developed during
Western domination since the 17th century. In 1555, Antonio Scaino (Italian scholar) classified sports
into two categories in his book「Ball Games」that「handling a ball with a bat or equipment is anelegant sport, and directly handling it with hands or feet is a vulgar sport」. Fig9
In「Nagasaki and the Western Settlements」which is said to have been painted by Toseki
Watanabe and other artists in the late Edo period (the 19th century), a Dutchman in the picture is
wearing shoes on a tatami mat in the room while other Asians are depicted In barefoot hitting a
Volant (a shuttlecock) with a racket, a Japanese man with a topknot is also depicted walking
barefoot in front of the pavilion with a pair of Zori Japanese traditional sandals in their hands.
Asian people living barefoot may have appeared uncultivated in the western value in those times.
The Element Collage ➁ The 13thcentury South America
A shuttlecock used in the Inca era is depicted and the scene is titled as To mythologicalsymbolism in the book. The origin of this game is described as in the 13th century may be because
the Kingdom of Cuzco was established at this time before the Inca Empire. More historicalinformation would be needed to verify this origin.
Monika briefly explained it in her book. “The Incas' economy was based mostly on agriculture, andtherefore fruits, plants, and also corn were highly honored and often depicted in art.”
It should be noted that the rich South American agricultural products which supported the Inca
civilization especially potatoes, corn, peanuts, pumpkins, etc. were brought to Europe after the
Spanish and Portuguese occupation in the 16th century, and they had become a major source of
dietary support for the previously impoverished Western Europeans.

In 2004, The illustrated history of Badminton was published by French Football association
official Jean-Yves Guillain and then translated into English by P. Herrudge and H. Nielsen. The
English version of this publication was brought to my office by my students Hideo and Chikako
Ikarugi who just finished their studies in England.
The picture that looks like an Indio shaman is from the religious painting collection of the National
Museum of France. A shuttlecock-like object is observed in the colored picture that Jean-Yves
Guillain introduced in his book. Fig11➀ Sto꞉lo tribe’s
shuttlecock
Played with a long
paddle carved out ofcedar.

➁ the Po-ke-an game
shuttlecock of the Zuni
American Indian tribe(Made of corn husk)➂ Sto꞉lo tribe’s
shuttlecock➃ Illustrated History of Sports 1991
by Tsuneo Sogawa introduces aritualistic shuttlecock game in the Inca
Mochica civilization describing thatthe shuttle-like object is thrown into
the air by a spear and falls to theground slowly in the wind.

➄ A ceremonial serpent garment
bearing the feathers of the
Quetzalcoatl (quetzal), the god of
the Aztecs feather civilization in
Latin America. A shuttle-like object is
depicted in manuscripts of the Aztec
civilization.

Fig10 The 13th Century South America

A corn leaf shuttlecock (ball) and two game images are depicted in Monika’s book.
The red feather ball is Indiaca shuttlecock designed by Karl-Hans Krohn.

The ball in this picture was made with pebbles wrapped with several corn leaves stacked on top ofeach other. The Taino people of Puerto Rico called this game BATEY and built a triangular or Ushaped playground in the center of their village where they made two teams battle against eachother. Players competed to keep this ball in motion by using their heads, elbows, shoulders, andknees. When it stops, the team loses a point. The score was marked on the ground, and it seems
that the winner was decided when the mistakes reached a certain number. The winner was treatedlike a hero, but the loser had to be sacrificed in a ritual. Monika drew a shuttlecock-like corn leaf ballon the image of this game.
Recently, the game called Indiaca has gained popularity even in Japan and was adopted as an
official event at the National Athletic Meeting. When a German physical education teacher Karl-Hans
Krohn was walking on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, he happened to come across agame called Peteca then he brought the game back to his hometown and introduced it to thepeople in 1936. Peteca is said to be a game of the South American Indio, and the name Indiaca isderived its name from the combination of the two words Indio and Peteca. Krohn introduced thisgame initially as a recreational game, but it became popular mainly because of the promotional
activities by YMCA Germany and the Sports Federation that developed the game into a competitive
sport. Monika’s imagination must have been inspired by this Indio game. Fig10
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Rackets used by Indians.

Fig11 The illustrated history of Badminton was published by French Football association official Jean-Yves
Guillain and then translated into English by P. Herrudge and H. Nielsen.

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Chapter 1 of the book, The ancient origin, spread into the world, interestingly introduces theorigin of Jianzi as below.
The truth and myth surrounding the shuttlecock game in China: Legendary Huang dynasty
practiced a Kicking ball game called Cuju, aiming to improve soldiers’ skills to battle against the ChiYou tribe in B.C.2500. People made a round black leather ball and played for the whole night. We
can imagine the ball was later gradually replaced with a shuttlecock called Jianzi. Fig 12

The Element Collage ➂ The 14thcentury JapanThe Element Collage➂ depicts the Japanese shuttlecock game of
Hanetsuki. Hane means a feather or a wing and Tsuki means to hit or toss.
We can see two players in Monika’s drawing playing a game called Oibane
while there is another game called Tsukihane played only by one player.
Monika misspelled Oibane as Cibane maybe because she read her own
handwriting wrong. Hanetsuki is commonly believed to have originated in
the Heian period (794~1192). Monika described the origin as in the 14th
century, which is around Japan's Kamakura-Muromachi period(1192~1568).
In a renowned historical document Kagaku-Shu written in the Bun ‘an era(1444~1449) of the Muromachi period, there is a description of a ball stickand battledore, and we can find a few passages that imply that Hanetsuki
may have originated from a New Year's auspicious event called Sagicho
court ceremony. Fig13
Fig13 Kagaku-Shu

Huangdi the first emperor
The first emperor in the
Chinese mythology,
BC2510~BC2448
Gained the trust of the lordsby defeating the Chi-you
tribe.

written in the Bun ‘an era 1444-1449
A Japanese hand-written dictionary consists of 2 volumes that contain about 3000 words in 18
categories. It reads that Hagoita-boards (battledore) are used in the new year ceremony andmentions about the Gitchou-sticks.

the Chi-You tribe in different styles
they appear in ancient mythology and are believed to be theancestor of Yandi, the leader of the Chi-you tribe who has 4 faces
and 6 arms with the head of a cow and hoof.

There are two possible origins of Hanetsuki.
One is the Gitchou game in the Sagicho court ceremony, in which people
strike a ball to ward off evils with a stick called Gitchou, the stick seems tohave a relation with the origin of the battledore racket called Hagoita.

Fig 12 Shuttle-kicking games of China and the South-east Asia introduced in Guillain’s book.

Another possible origin is from the Heian period (794-1185), people made ashuttlecock called Kogi-no-ko using a soapberry seed attached with some feathers and hit the
shuttlecock back and forth around the body to wish for good health. People saw it as a flying
dragonfly that could eat mosquitos that spread the febrile disease in Kyoto during the Heian period.
Shuttlecock game in China
The black and white engraving was introduced
in a French Journal in 1875.
Journal de la Jeunesse, France.1875
One of the intaglio printing technics called
Burin engraving drawing fine lines on a cooper
plate using a tool that has a thin, pointed blade
to etch or cut.
It is characterized by fine sharp lines.

Fig14, Fig15, Fig16

Fig14 Hane-Tsuki

Hane-Tsuki has 2 styles.
➀ Oibane played by two players➁ Agebane (Tsukihane) played by one player
The rackets were called Kogi-Ita, and the
shuttlecock was called Kogi-noko, made from asoapberry seed.
A soapberry seed in Chinese writes as a seed
without illness and thus used as a fortune item.
Kogi-noko was also called Tsuku-bane, whichmeans tossing a shuttlecock.

"Shuttle kick game" in Vietnam silkwatercolor painting by Le Chuon
The sound of flute from the palace gave us avibrant vibe,
The drum of the watchtower hastens the
blooming of flowers. Merchants are energized.
Streets strive for beauty. Young men pull up theirsleeves and some even take off their shirts while
playing shuttlecock games.
Spring of the Kingdom 1508

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The game's origin even traces back to theancient Shinto rituals called the Gitchou game,in which female participants used a flattened
wooden stick to strike a ball.
Later, believed to have transformed into thegame called Hane-Tsuki, using a soapberry
shuttlecock to distinguish the game from ritualsof the shrine Gichou game.

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The Element Collage ➃ The 17th century Sweden
The Element Collage ➃ is from the illustration of Students playing a game in one of Strasburg’s
ballgame halls (1618 Strasburg) by Jacob von der Heyden, which shows a scene of the medieval
tennis game. Fig18
The background depicted in this picture is not directly related to shuttlecock games but Monika
modified and used the figures to create a scene of the 17th century in her work.
In her Chinese Picture Roll displayed at the National Badminton Center and in her book, the scene
was titled 17th Century Sweden and featured Queen Christina. This story of the shuttlecock gameand Queen Christina is routinely and fragmentarily introduced in several books about the history of
badminton.

Gitchou
Fig11Game
Gitchou Game

Fig15 Gitchou GameThe origin of the game of Hago-Ita game “Hane-Tuki” is said to be “Gitchou Game” drawn in the “Nenchu Gyouji Picture Roll”. The
Japanese Shinto ritual games have their origin in the Nara century, Kemari kickball game was for men, Gichou game was for women inwhich players used a flattened stick to strike a ball. During the Heian period, the game is believed to have transformed into Hane-Tsuki
game using a shuttlecock wishing for children’s health because it looks like a flying dragonfly that eats harmful mosquitos.

Japanese shuttlecock game appeared
as a ceremonial game of art

14th century Japan

Fig16 The Shuttlecock And The People Who Used To Play With It

Monika’s images came from thelate Edo period Japanese culture
seen in Bigot or Wirgman, mainly
illustrating the people and cultureof the end of the Edo period to the
Meiji Restoration than the 14th
century Japan.
Monika introduced six pictures
including Hago, Hagoita, Oibane,
and the Japanese Atmosphere in
the book titled The 14th Century
Japan, From the Ceremonial Art
of Game.
She was trying to indicate how
Japanese women attach
importance to traditional customs
even when playing Hanetsuki inher work 1250 years. She also
noted that even now, clothes,shoes, and rackets are elegant
and not sporty, as is the case with“leisure” badminton. Fig17

Fig18 Students playing a game inone of Strasburg’s ballgame halls

From Kulturgeschichte des TENNIS Heiner
Gillmeister 1993. translated by Masahiro
Inagaki, Shigeyuki Nara, Hironori Funai,
Taishu-kan book.
It seems there were two ballgame stadiums
in Strasburg at the beginning of the 17th
century.
Monika carefully depicted even the outsidescenery visible through the gallery doors.

Fig17 Battledore & Shuttlecock drawn by Charles Wirgman 18321891

From Wirgman Japan sketch collection, artist correspondent’s eyes, p128-129
edited by Isao Shimizu.
Charles Wirgman is a British cartoonist and correspondent who came at the endof the Edo period. He is the founder of the illustrated magazine Japan Ponch.
And tutored Yoshimatsu Goseda and Yuichi Takahashi and others.

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Two books on the story of the queen are available in Japanese.
➀ Christina, Queen of Sweden; A Portrait of Baroque Spiritual History 1975 Chuo-Kouron by
Torataro Shimomura.
➁ Descartes, Corneille, Christina, Queen of Sweden 2000 Kousaku-Sha by Ernst Cassirer,
translated by Takeshi Asakura and Kenji Haga.
Monika must have gotten inspired by the portrait of Christina Fig19 and drawn an image of thequick-witted Queen playing the shuttlecock game. Her episode of the shuttlecock game is describedin a 19th-century French book Sports and Games of Skill (Sports et Jeux d'Adresse) by Henri
René. (date unknown)
In this book, the shuttlecock game is introduced in its French name Jeu de Volant.
To the game of the aristocracy (The 17th Century)

The Element Collage ➄ The 18th century Germany
The Element Collage ➄ is from the episode of Prussia's Frederic in the 18th century. Monika painted
this episode as in Fig20. The story’s origin is described in le Journal de Bouillon, which happened
when Little Frederick of Prussia was playing with a volant (shuttlecock) in the reading room of his
great-uncle King Frederick II in 1787.
When Little Frederick's volant fell on the King's desk while playing. The King kindly gave it back first,
but a few moments later, he dropped it again on the document on which the king was working. The
King strictly cautioned him and returned the toy to the young child. He was playing well for a while,
but then dropped it again on the King's finely lettered papers for the third time.
Frederick II took it away and hid it in his pocket this time. The child asked for the toy back, but theKing refused. The child asked several times only to get the King’s refusals. Finally, he shouted,“Does your Majesty deign to give me back my shuttlecock? Answer Yes or No!”.
The King was charmed by the language of his little nephew, who was supposed to become the heir
to his throne. The King returned the volant (Shuttlecock) and said,“Take your shuttlecock. I can see that you are a brave young man and that the Germans will
not be able to take Silesia away from you again!”from the children's game

18THcentury Germany“Take your shuttlecock. I can see that you are abrave young man and that the Germans will not
be able to take Silesia away from you again!”

Fig20 The 18th century Germany

We should be thankful for a story like this. It informs us a shuttlecock game was being played even in the 18th century.
From 1250 years

Fig19 Christina on horseback by Sebastian Bourdon

Swedish Queen’s Jeu de Volant drawn by Monika

Regarding this topic, the record in this 17th-century book is the most precise.
The famous Queen Christina of Sweden was so enthusiastic about this game that she demanded
the highest-ranking officials to play the game with her. The same was true for even the well-known
scientist and theologian Samuel Bochart. He thought her invitation was a royal command, and hecould not refuse the demand. People in the palace teased him for being too submissive to the
Queen, but it was not only for him. The Queen even obliged other nobles to remove their cloaks andwigs regardless of court etiquette. She was not satisfied unless not only all nobles were ready toplay, but also the Volant (Shuttlecock) started going back and forth between the rackets.

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Henry René Allemagne, who introduced this episode in his Sports and Games of Skill (Sports etJeux d'Adresse) (undated), wrote "The shuttlecock game is an excellent training tool for the youth, it
gives them calm and determination because players must run through to the end of the game whilepatiently wait for the right chance to win."

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The Element Collage ➅ The 19th century
EnglandIn March 2005, my students led me by hand to visit the Badminton House in England, coincidently
with the president of Badminton England Mr. and Mrs. Bill Rodger. It is Lord Beaufort’s country
house, believed to be one of the wealthiest descendants of the British patrician family.
Unfortunately, the walls of the legendary entrance room had several large cracks running acrossthem, and the house looked quite dilapidated. Moreover, just to show that this was the birthplace of
badminton, a piece of modern shuttlecock was perfunctorily placed on the bench by the window.
The battledore on which Miss. Somerset had written 2,117 continuous strokes on Saturday,
January 12, 1830, as her record, was so exposed to the air and people that the letters in the record
were almost no longer legible. The significance of this place where we can meet the history of
badminton remained heavily in my mind and my heart was crying.
「This room and the treasures must be protected. Right now!」
But I am yet to find the answer or the destination of my thought.
Fig22, Fig23

To competitive sport
The 17th century England

The Duke of Beaufort invites guests to the garden
party and explains the new sport of Badminton while
playing games with a shuttlecock.
The game was played with a net and the rules of thegame have been modified to the present badminton
since then.
From the Chinese picture rollFig22 Players dream, of visiting the Badminton House once in a lifetime.

The pictures in Fig21 depict the images
suggesting the birth of badminton.
The background is taken from the picture of aparty scene in the front yard of the Badminton
House which had become the origin of thename of the sport Badminton. What appears tobe the Badminton House is in the background.
At the end of the 19th century, a net was added
to the shuttlecock game called battledore in
England, court lines were drawn, certain game
rules were written, and eventually, a set of
equipment for the game named Badminton
appeared on the market.
There is a record of the product on the ordersheet of a stationary shop in London dated
1860. (Introduced in Bernard Adams' theBadminton Story 1980 BBC)➀The exhibition hall introduced on page 21 of the Badminton Story by B.Adams. ➁➂ taken from other angles.
➃The ladies’ doubles winner of the all-England Championships in 1972, 1973, and 1975 Ms.Etsuko Toganoo, was invited to the hall by
the International Badminton Federation. Fortunately, her photo taken with the record and signature of Miss. Summerset has been kept
as a precious memory of time. On this occasion, because of the special exhibition, an exception was made to permit photography inthe hall.

Fig21 The 17th century England

Monika’s book page 16-17 consists of 3 pictures of the
Monika's collage work does not describe these17th century Englandstories in detail, but it does help us visualize
how the shuttlecock games evolved into acompetitive sport. In other words, she does not describe the history of badminton in words but
successfully presents the flow of the history by cutting out the sceneries while maintaining their
original ambiguity. This kind of wisdom is truly admirable.
The biggest mystery in the history of the birth of badminton is when, why, where, and by whom thename of Badminton House came together with the Shuttlecock Game. Various birth myths
surrounding this question have been passed down by many people.

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The Badminton House

Fig23 Just to note, my trip to England was attentively arranged by my students, Hideo and Chikako Ikarugi who were studying in

England, and Akira and Kazumi Ohta in Germany. Kozue Miyama an assistant professor at Amherst University in the USA joined tohelp me translate in major visiting places, along with Kazuhiro Suda (Assistant professor at Tokyo Institute of Technology), Chika
Tanifuji (Chiba University Instructor), Hiromi Takahashi (Iwate University Instructor), Michiko Sasaki (Assistant Tsukuba University)

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19

4. History of the beginning of badminton activities in Japan
When did badminton come to Japan? When did competitive badminton begin in Japan? These are
two different questions. The distinction between Shuttlecock Games and Competitive Badminton
makes this issue even more complicated because both are generally called Badminton.
I would like to point out two widely believed misunderstandings in Japan.
The first mistake is that recognition「Badminton was introduced to Dejima Island in Nagasaki atthe end of the Edo period for the first time.」 The basis for this is the existence of the pictures of the
shuttlecock game played by foreigners depicted in Nagasaki Dejima Island drawings but
unfortunately, badminton had not yet been born at this time. Several Dejima Island drawings havebeen confirmed including copied versions. Fig26-1~6The second mistake is the recognition that「competitive badminton in Japan began in
Yokohama」.
Let’s consider the first mistake. It is known that a Dejima Island drawing was drawn and duplicatedto some copied versions in the 1780s, it doesn’t make sense if badminton came to Nagasaki before
the birth of badminton which is believed to be at the end of the 1800s. Therefore, the game playedin Holland and other parts of Europe as well as in Dejima island in those days was merely
Shuttlecock Game, not badminton. The origin of the shuttlecock game in Dejima Island can be seenin the following picture.
The image on the left is an interestinglandscape painting of an orphanage in
Batavia drawn in the illustrated travel
journal 1682 by Johan Nieuhof, amember of the East India Company
mission in 1655~1958. Fig25
The rackets and a shuttle in children’s
hands in the picture resemble those we
see in Dejima Island drawings. They
must be local orphans because it is thescenery of the orphanage.
Fig24 Monica's Chinese picture roll spread on pages 18-19

and a hand sketch of the pictorial development of 1250 years on page 23 of the book.

I wish that many badminton enthusiasts would also show a fraction of their interest in our history
and passionately remember the sceneries of history when they count their victories just like in
Monika’s Collage artwork.
A Full Picture of the History of Badminton Monika spread on the book’s front cover. What a beautiful
artwork it is. Fig24

Fig25 Johan Niehof 1618~1672
A world traveler from Holland
A view of the Orphanage

Elements in the picture:・Holland・Batavia・a Shuttlecock game・foreign residents
all seem to be related to the Dejima
Island drawings shown on the following
pages.

We can learn more about the Dejima Island drawings in the gorgeous commemorative publication
Dejima: Its Landscape and Transition 1987 edited by the Nagasaki City Dejima Historic Site
Improvement Council.
Some detailed descriptions are written by Jiro Numata and Yoshiko Morioka, and others after page
237 in this book. Morioka states that there are five almost identical pieces depicting Dejima Islandand the life of Dutch people of the time handed down in different places, but none of them seem tobe the original.

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21

Fig26-3 Rankan-Zu from Nagasaki Kanyo Kyoryu Zu, Rankan-zu 36.0x400.3 cm, paper, Kobe City Museum

Fig26-1 Dejima Island Picture Scroll 32.5x 472.1cm British Museum

Fig26-4 Kanyo Nagasaki Kyoryu Zu picture roll，Nagasaki Prefectural Art Museum,Fig26-2 Nagasaki Touran-Kan City picture roll (Ran-Annex) Paintings on paper 36.0 x 64.0 cm, Amsterdam National Museum

Fig26-5 Dejima-Zu Nagasaki drawings Kano Shunko 1639‐1707 Shokokan Suifu Meitokukai Mito City

According to the description of Dejima-Zu Island published by Fukuoka City Museum, Dejima Island was
built to prevent Christianity's spread and to house the Portuguese living in the city. The fan-shaped islandwith an area of 1,300 sqm was completed over a period of two years from 1634. After the Portuguese
were expelled in 1639, the Dutch East India Company trading house in Hirado city was invited to theisland, and the chief of the trading house (Kapitan) and about 10 to 15 other merchants as well as theirservants and personnel were stationed there.
The staff was not allowed to be accompanied by their wives from the home country. The head of the
trading post was allowed to go out from Dejima Island only with permission and under the guardianship ofshogunate officials. The chief of the trading house had to go to Edo once a year on New Year's Day to visit
the Tokugawa Shogun. Under Japan's national isolation policy, the Shogunate authorized only Dutch andChinese merchants to trade in Nagasaki. Until 1857 when the trading gates in Japan finally opened,
Dejima Island had been Japan's only gateway to Western culture.
Reference: Fukuoka City Museum Masterpieces Catalogue.
Fig26-6 Koui-jin Ryokan-Zu (scroll) 1782 copied in 1931, the Tokyo University Archives

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23

Several documents from that time indicate that the word Racket was already used in Holland in the
17th century, and then it was introduced to Nagasaki in later days. The word Racket was derived
from the Arabic word Raha meaning a palm from which the derivative Rahat (palm-shaped) spreadthroughout the Mediterranean region, eventually giving rise to words like the English word
Racquets in various regions. We can see that there were words such as Raketspel (Racket games)
and Raquette (Racket) even in my collections below. Fig27

A tinted Dutch Delft tile
named Children's Games,
mid-17th century

Caricature of a 19th-century Dutch-Flemish print with theGerman and Italian names Rakettspel Raqette, with an
inscription of the owner Jan Pluis, kinder sppelen op tegels

Furthermore, it was not until the establishment of foreign settlements in places like Yokohama thatthose Shuttlecock Games known as Battledore and Shuttlecock in English came to our country.
An English textbook called The First Reader was used at the Soukou-juku school of the Kaibara
clan at the end of the Edo period and there was an illustrated description of Battledore andShuttlecock as a recreational game. Fig29
Kaibara clan was founded in the present Hyogo Prefecture by Nobukane Oda, who was a younger
brother of the famous feudal lord Nobunaga Oda who attempted to unify the country at the end of
the Warring States period.

19th century Dutch-Flemish caricature
marked SPELEN MET TRAKET.
All From the author's collection

Fig27 Some shuttlecock game materials of those days in the Netherland (17th-19th century)

This can also be seen in the book Komou-zatsuwa (1787 Nakayoshi Morishima) which introducessome foreign games of that time. Fig28 In this book from the Edo period, the shuttlecock was
described as Woolang, the Feather in French was called Volant at that time, and V was sometimes
pronounced as U, thus we can assume that Volant was pronounced as Woolang in Dutch. At any
rate, it was not badminton that came to Nagasaki, but rather just a Shuttlecock Game.
The author of the book Komou-zatsuwa Nakayoshi Morishima (1765-1810) was the younger
brother of Hoshu Katsuragawa (a famous doctor in the Edo period), the author of Kaitai Shinsho. He
also helped his brother write the book "Hokusa-Bunryaku" which introduces the story of Koudayu
Daikokuya who got shipwrecked and landed in Russia in 1782.
He was said to be so eccentric that he would not wash his lice-covered kimono, and when his family
tried to wash it, he begged them to leave one louse on it so that he could breed more.

Fig29 The front-gate of Oda family’s old residence, Soukou-Juku family school,
Battledore and Shuttlecock appeared in the English textbook 「The First Reader」
Provided by Hideo and Chikako Ikarugi

At the end of the Edo period, the gateway to Japan moved from Dejima Island, which had been the
only gateway to foreign trades, to places like Yokohama, and the foreigners began to live in the newsettlements. Shuttlecock games then began to appear in the newspapers, magazines, and books
along with records of people’s daily activity, sketches, and even in the form of caricatures. The
writers of those records were shifting from Dutchmen to Englishmen or others, then the people
started to call this sport Battledore and Shuttlecock in English.
In 1862 THE JAPAN PUNCH, YOKO-HAMA was published, and many caricatures were drawn to
depict Japan's attempts to move out from the Edo era toward the Meiji Restoration. These
caricatures are called Ponchi-e drawings, illustrations drawn with humor and sometimes irony todepict the lives of people of the time. Fig30

Fig28 Churyou Morishima and his book Koumou-Zatsuwa
Morishima explains this game played in Dejima Island: Leisurely Foreigners’ game played with ashuttlecock, the bat is called a racket, and the shuttlecock is called Woolang as illustrated in the drawing.
Tsukuba University Library

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24

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25

In addition to the above foreign records, there are some records drawn by Japanese artists, but thegames introduced in those records still have not reached the standard to be called badminton.
The following are some examples. Fig31~33

1866 Game of Battle cock and Shuttle door, instead ofBattledore and Shuttlecock,ironically depicts a chaotic political conferenceCharles Wirgman and Kane-sanCharles Wirgman 18321891
English illustrator,
cartoonist
He vividly drew incidents
and culture of Japan at theend of the Edo era in theillustration called Ponchi-e
and launched Japan
Punch Magazine. Western
style drawing technic wasintroduced to theJapanese illustrators forthe first time. Married toKane Ozawa in1863, rests
in peace in Yokohama.

The first issue of The Japan Punch 1865

1872 The Japan Punch, Kobe’s ardent petition was dismissed
outright just like a return of a shuttlecock.

Fig31 Inside the foreign residence (Ijin Shoukan Naibu no Zu) (1865 Gountei Sadahide)
Kicking a shuttlecock was also practiced in Yokohama. Author’s collection
Illustrated Dictionary of theWestern Culture
Taisei Kunmou Zukai
Recreation section 1871

Yoshio Tanaka 1838-1916 a natural

historian born in Iida city who translated
Taisei Kunmou Zukai (Illustrated
Dictionary of the Western Culture)
A disciple of Siebold.
Battledore was translated to Hogoita
and he added it was not made of wood
but strung by the strings.

Fig32
1881 The joy of children, So childish!
(Depicting their infantile nature)

1884 The Tokyo Recreation Club, other boys are in the Billiardroom

Fig30 Battledore and Shuttlecock caricatures illustrated in Japan Punch by Charles Wirgman, correspondent of the Illustrated
London News (all of them are fulled with gags and ironies).

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26

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27

badminton racket was produced by Tohkichi Oka, the Naruto Sports company factory manager
founded by his brother Zenshichi Oka in 1933.
All we knew about the beginning of badminton in Japan was from the 80-Years History of Sports
before the discovery of a complete set of badminton equipment in Niigata, therefore the finding of
the rackets manufactured in 1918 was truly astonishing.

A Battledore (Hagoita)
and a shuttlecock (Hane)
spelled in English.

The Commerce of the world written by Kan-ichi Hashizume 1873? in Tokyo city
Sekai Shobai Orai continued edition, introducing Battledore and Shuttlecock Fig33

At the end of the 19th century, a net was added to the shuttlecock game called battledore in
England, court lines were drawn, certain game rules were written, and eventually, a set of
equipment for the game named Badminton appeared on the market.
There is a record of the product named Badminton Battledore on the order sheet of a stationary
shop in London dated 1860. (Introduced in Bernard Adams' the Badminton Story 1980 BBC) But
on what occasion the name got abbreviated to Badminton is uncertain.
Shuttlecock games imported in the 1870s appear to have been mainly English games of Battledore
and Shuttlecock. The first encounter with Badminton rackets in Japan is believed to be a
Badminton Set with a made-in-Paris inscription brought back from Europe as a souvenir in 1902
by photographer Kinsaku Asakura, the father of Ryozo Asakura who served as the president of the
Niigata Prefecture Badminton Association in the 1950s.
The second oldest record of the badminton set appeared in the Niigata Nippo Daily News on
December 16th, 1979. This set has the inscription A set of Badminton purchased in 1918, madeby Mimitsu Shoten, Hongo, Tokyo on the box found at the home of Tsunehiko Tamaki, an oldfamily in Niigata Prefecture. The price of this badminton set was 25 yen (about 30 cents) at thattime. Fig34

Taisei Kunmou Zukai (Illustrated Dictionary of theWestern Culture) 1871 The first illustrated dictionary by
the education ministry in English, German, French, andJapanese. Kunmou means to teach and mentor kids or
beginners.

A set of Badminton equipment with a box inscribed a set of
Badminton purchased in 1918, made by Mimitsu Shoten, Hongo,
Tokyo found at the home of Tsunehiko Tamaki, an old family in
Minami-Kambaragun Tagamimachi, Niigata Prefecture, published in
NiigataNippo Daily News December 16, 1979.

Fig34 A discovery of an old Badminton set in Niigata and Taisei Kunmou Zukai Illustrated Dictionary of theWestern Culture) Yoshio Tanaka

There is another document that seems to be even older. It is a General Products Catalog of
Nihon Taiiku Shoukai Company located in Kanda Sudacho, Tokyo. The date of issue is not
specified on the catalog, but according to this catalog, a top-quality set including seven items was
priced at 14 yen (about 17 cents). Based on this price, we can assume this record could havepossibly been issued before 1918. (Note that whether they were made in Japan or not was
uncertain) Fig35

Before the discovery of those new records, our widely recognized encounter with badminton and its
equipment in Japan had been limited only to the stories surrounding Yokohama.
According to the Badminton Section of the 80-Years History of Sports 1966 edited by the JapanSports Association, North American YMCA brought badminton equipment to YMCA Yokohama,Tokyo, and other cities sometime around 1924-1925. And it was just a leisurely activity hitting abirdie (note: American word for a shuttlecock) without complicated rules and techniques in the
beginning.
The book says some official matches were organized for the first time in the Inter-ports ExchangeGames with certain playing rules and played by foreign residents from both Yokohama and Kobe in
the spring of around 1929. And it was around 1935 that YMCA Yokohama officially introduced thisgame in their program. After Kanetoshi Hirota who studied badminton at the Danish School of
Gymnastics returned to Japan in the fall of 1937, an extensive technical study began and the gamerapidly transformed into a competitive sport.

Fig35 A General Products Catalog of Nihon Taiiku Shoukai Company

The book also mentions Tohkichi Oka, the only manufacturer of badminton equipment in Yokohama
at that time exporting large quantities to South East Asia and making a great contribution to thehistory of badminton in Japan. There had been a common recognition that the first domestic

The date of the issue can be roughly estimated by the following chronological analysis.
The catalog has descriptions of mainland Japan, the Taiwan quarter, and the Korean peninsula, so it
should be around or after 1910. The address is in “Tokyo City”, so the date must be after 1889. The
advertisement for the hammock mentions the Russo-Japanese War, so it should be after 19041905. The new style beam wood advertisement indicates the 5th National Industrial Exhibition Show,so it should be after 1902. It has an ad for the 22nd Murata-style gun, so it should be after 1889. If

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28

29

we consider the beginning of the unified school drill, it should be after 1925 when the Order for
Assignment of the Army Officers was issued. If we consider the military-style exercise, it should beafter 1886. It is safe to assume that the catalog was made and distributed by the end of the Taisho
period (1912-1926 CE). In any case, A complete set of badminton equipment had certainly
appeared in the Japanese sports market before 1933 when the Naruto Sports company was
founded by Oka.
5. The beginning of organized badminton activities in Japan
There must have been quite a few people interested in badminton, purchased rackets, and enjoyedplaying it already in the Meiji period (1868〜1912). But there was no organized activity then yet. If
the following three prerequisites are required, when were the first organized badminton activities inJapan?
➀ continuous organized activities➁ regularly scheduled tournaments➂ authorized game rules
Let’s look at the early days of sports in Japan, physical education and recreation activities began in1886 when YMCA Osaka organized a physical education activity group. The group was steadily
growing up with YMCA Tokyo and contributed to the development of modern sports activities inJapan.
In 1913, North American YMCA sports director J.H. Brown (USA) came to serve as the sports
director of Japan YMCA. He was working to develop and foster sports activities in Japan as aleading force for 17 years. He not only introduced basketball and volleyball to Japan but also guided
and assisted our national athletic teams to participate in international competitions like the Far East
Games and the Olympics. In the same year that Brown came to Japan, the general meeting of theJapan YMCA Union approved the promotion of physical education and resolved to improve physicaleducation facilities, especially the construction of gymnasiums.
YMCA Tokyo gymnasium was completed in 1917. W. Scott Ryan came to Japan to teach indoor
exercises and started teaching physical education to the instructors. The first Physical Education
Instructors' Seminar was organized by the Japan YMCA Union in 1918. Badminton appearedin the second program in this event held at YMCA Nagoya in 1919. The chief instructor was J.H.
Brown who had already established an activity base in YMCA Tokyo, so some badminton activities
could have been already organized at the YMCA Tokyo gymnasium even before that event.
In YMCA Nagoya, a plan to build a new stadium was launched immediately after the seminar andtried to raise funds, but the Great Kanto Earthquake hit central Japan in 1923, and the TokyoYokohama area was devastated. YMCA Nagoya needed to help with the reconstruction of
Yokohama and other cities using their funds. Their staff was dispatched to help with the support.
The construction of the Nagoya Gymnasium and the start of badminton activity had beenthus delayed until 1927. In The 60 years history of YMCA Nagoya, Kinji Yoshimura wrote a story
about the Mizuno Sports Company which had to purchase made-in-England equipment from
Shanghai to make the domestic badminton products to support starting this kick-off event in
Nagoya.

There is a record written by a participant of the Badminton program in YMCA Nagoya Tokusaburou
Matsuba who later started to promote badminton in Osaka YMCA, he wrote that the promotional
activities were not as successful as he wanted to be in the letter addressed to his friend Awoki.
Fig36

Tokusaburo Matsuba 1903-1981
Graduated from Tokyo Koshi High School, andobserved the Los Angeles Olympics in 1932 as
the Director of Athletics of the Osaka YMCA.
Visited the University of Southern California and Stanford
University where he was exposed to football. In 1934 heorganized a team at Kansai University. and started activities. In
1941, he became the president of the Kansai Federation. This is acopy of the letter from Matsuba to Awoki, protesting against Hirota
in Yokohama who publicly claimed to have coached Matsuba as
the founder of badminton.
Tokusaburo Matsuba and his handwriting letter provided by Shoji Awoki Fig36

Tokusaburo Matsuba visited the United States in 1932 and was followed by Shunichi Ishiwata of
YMCA Kobe, who later finished his studies in the U.S. succeeding Matsuba to support thedevelopment and promotion of badminton in the Osaka-Kobe region.
Their initiatives grew up to the regular programs organized by YMCA Kobe in 1937. With theparticipation of Sakumi Kawasaki and others who had learned badminton through exchange with
the Kobe Foreigner’s Club, organized and continuous badminton development activities started.
According to The Yokohama Youth Journal, Kanetoshi Hirota started badminton club activities at
YMCA Yokohama on two different occasions, The Start of Badminton Games in 1933 and theBadminton Club in 1937. Students at Keio University and other players joined the programs andstarted to play in different locations apart from YMCA activities. Tohkichi Oka of Naruto sports
published Badminton Rulebook in 1934 and helped promote this sport even further to other regions
and groups of players. Fig37

The「Badminton Rulebook」by Tohkichi Oka published in 1934, isalmost illegible due to its deterioration.
The figures on the left have finally become legible after digitally
reproducing the image. The words Badminton Rulebook can barely
be read below the logo mark of the kangaroo in the triangle, whichis the trademark of the Naruto company.
Hajime Imai retouched the original copy in 1992 after thoroughverification and made a reprinted edition.

Badminton Rule book edited by Naruto Sports Fig37

Given the above historical information, we can assume that the beginning of organized badminton
program activities in Japan began in 1927 for the first time at YMCA Nagoya followed by activities at
YMCA Tokyo.
Badminton activities in Yokohama, centering on YMCA Yokohama and Naruto Sports, andbadminton activities by Japanese residents in Shanghai and Indonesia during the same period
played a central role in developing badminton in Japan after World War II. However, it is also truethat sprouting badminton activities centered in Kobe, Osaka, and Nagoya around 1935 also played
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an important role in developing the full-fledged postwar badminton movements. We mustn’t forgetthat the development was launched by the second program of the Physical Education Instructors'
Seminar in Nagoya organized by J.H. Brown in 1919.
We don’t even have any badminton rackets made by Naruto Sports or Sambata company yet in thecollection as a source to talk about the history of badminton. However, I believe that the history of
badminton in Japan will become livelier if we continue assembling records and the documents of theforerunners of each era just like creating a collage piece by piece with our hands.
Badminton in Japan has been developed since then by the forerunners of the time including
Tokusaburo Matsuba, 松葉徳三郎
Sakumi Kawasaki, 川崎策実
Kiyoshi Kawaguchi, 川口清Sojiro Fukuda, 福田宗次郎
Shunichi Ishiwata, 石渡俊一
Kanetoshi Hirota, 廣田兼 敏
Hiroyuki Miyazawa, 宮澤宏之
Mitsuyasu Yawata, 八幡満胖Hajime Imai, 今井先
Tokubei Moritomo, 森友徳兵衛
Chuji Murakami, 村上忠治
Masao Imamura, 今村正雄
Sen Ikeda, 池田鮮
Fumio Yamada, 山田文雄
Kenzo Tsunoda, 角田賢三
Masahiko Hyodo, 兵藤昌彦
Tamotsu Sato, 佐藤保
Kenzo Naraoka,奈良岡健三
TohruYanagida,柳田享
Ryouzou Hiranuma,平沼亮三
and others.
The history of badminton has been stepping into the world after our great pioneers' footsteps.
I’d like to introduce the new chapter in the next opportunity to come.
The 7th of August, 2022 (End)Postscripts
Badminton Japan celebrates its 75th anniversary this year. I want to add a personal note of heartfelt
thanks to Chika Tanifuji at Chiba University, who worked with me to collect, organize, and edit thehistorical records for this publication.
Professor Chika Tanifuji notes,
I never used to enjoy reading history in my younger years because it was hard to sort out andunderstand multiple layered historical incidents.
However, after working on this project, I rediscovered all the challenging processes that have madeour history move step by step while touching on the efforts of the early pioneers who developed
badminton in our country.
The more unexpected historical records I encountered, the bigger my desire became to convey themessages more precisely to the readers.
I would be grateful if this essay helps readers get a step closer to those messages.
It was a small but meaningful project.
Last but not least, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude for giving me this brilliant
opportunity. I wish you all a bright new future in our badminton journey.
August 2022

JITOU the Japanese dictionary by Shizuka Shirakawa 『字統』白川静A Pictorial History of the Sports and Pastime of Nations GRIND YOUR COFFEE AT HOME
ARBUCKLE BROS No.39
3. Chinese Picture Roll,1250 years Monika Krucker
4. The Shuttlecock And The People Who Used to Play With It in 1999 Badminton England
5. Natives of Cochin-China, Playing at Shittlecock with their Feet by J.Landseer & J. Shirt
1796
6. Playing at shuttlecock with the feet 1843 Allom, Thomas (1804-1872)
7. The Badminton Story Bernard Adams from the BBC
8. The illustrated history of Badminton 2004 was published by French Football association
official Jean-Yves Guillain
9. Shuttlecock game in China Journal de la Jeunesse, France.1875
10. Shuttle kick game in Vietnam silk watercolor painting by Le Chuon
11. Kagaku-Shu written in the Bun ‘an era 1444-1449『下学集』：15 世紀
12. Battledore & Shuttlecock Charles Wirgman 1832-1891 Wirgman Japan sketch collection, artist
correspondent’s eyes, p128-129 edited by Isao Shimizu. 清水勲編『ワーグマン日本素描集』
13. Students playing a game in one of Strasburg’s ballgame halls (1618 Strasburg) by Jacobvon der Heyden Kulturgeschichte des TENNIS Heiner Gillmeister 1993, translated by
Masahiro Inagaki, Shigeyuki Nara, Hironori Funai, Taishu-kan book ハナー・ ギルマイスタ
ー著、稲 垣正浩・奈良重幸・船井廣則 訳『テニスの文化史』1993 年、大衆館書店
14. Christina, Queen of Sweden; A Portrait of Baroque Spiritual History 1975 Chuo-Kouron by
Torataro Shimomura. 下村寅太郎著 『スウェーデン女王クリスチナ：バロック精神史の一肖像』（中央公論社、1975 年）
15. Descartes, Corneille, Christina, Queen of Sweden 2000 Kousaku-Sha by Ernst Cassirer,
translated by Takeshi Asakura and Kenji Haga. E. カッシーラ著（朝倉剛、芳賀賢二郎訳）『デカルト、コルネーユ、スウェーデン女王クリス ティーナ』（工作舎、2000 年）
16. Sports and Games of Skill (Sports et Jeux d'Adresse) by Henry René Allemagne
17. le Journal de Bouillon
18. landscape painting of an orphanage in Batavia 1682 the illustrated travel journal Johan
Nieuhof19. Dejima: Its Landscape and Transition 1987 edited by the Nagasaki City Dejima Historic
Site Improvement Council 長崎市出島史跡整備審議会編『出島図̶その景観と変遷』
20. Dejima-Zu Island published by Fukuoka City Museum 福岡市博物館刊行『出島図』
21. Komou-zatsuwa 1787 Nakayoshi Morishima 森島中良『紅毛雑話』（1787 年）
22. The First Reader used at the Soukou-juku school of the Kaibara clan
23. THE JAPAN PUNCH, YOKO-HAMA 1862 by Charles Wirgman,
24. Inside the foreign residence (Ijin Shoukan Naibu no Zu) (1865 Gountei Sadahide) 五雲亭貞次作『異人商館内部之図（1865 年）』
25. Taisei Kunmou Zukai Illustrated Dictionary of the Western Culture Recreation section 1871『泰西訓蒙図解』「遊戯部」 文部省、1871 年
26. The Commerce of the world 1873? Kan-ichi Hashizume Sekai Shobai Orai continued edition
橋爪貫一『世界商売往来、続々』
27. the Niigata Nippo Daily News on December 16th, 1979 1979 年 12 月 16 日「新潟日報」
28. the 80-Years History of Sports the Badminton Section of 1966 the Japan Sports
Association 日本体育協会編『スポーツ 80 年史』（1966 年）
29. a General Products Catalog of Nihon Taiiku Shoukai Company Kanda Sudacho, Tokyo「日本軆育商會」『日本軆育商會総目録』
30. The 60 years history of YMCA Nagoya 『名古屋 YMCA60 年史』1964 吉村欣治著
31. Tokusaburo Matsuba and his handwriting letter provided by Shoji Awoki 松葉徳三郎 19031981 年
32. The Yokohama Youth Journal 横浜 YMCA 機関雑誌『横浜青年』
33. Badminton Rule book edited by Naruto Sports 岡藤吉が『バドミントン規則書』
1.
2.

Kazuyoshi Abe
Chika Tanifuji
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6. Bibliography

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Profile Kazuyoshi Abe
Born in Niigata City in 1940. He attended Minato Municipal Elementary School (where he won
an award for his bee research and served as chairman of the Niigata City Elementary SchoolStudent Council), Futaba Junior High School, Niigata High School, and Niigata University's
Department of Science, Chemistry Section.
He lost his father in the first year of high school and had to support his family by running acandy shop while coaching the badminton team at Niigata Prefectural Commercial HighSchool, which won victories over the inter-high school championships and the National Athletic
Meetings.
After graduating from university, he became a chemistry teacher at Niigata Women's Polytechnic High School (later
renamed Niigata Seiryo High School) and began a life focused on teaching badminton. With the expansion of thejunior college at Niigata Seiryo High School, he started a badminton club in the college section and coached later
All-England champions Ms. Aizawa, Ms. Takenaka (Toganoo), and other outstanding players, paving the way forworld-class players.
He then moved to Tokyo to study badminton coaching under Professor Hajime Imai and moved his base of work to
Abiko-Nikaido High School to coach players including Yamada, Hirano, and Seo, fostered by Makiko Watanabe of
Osaka Hananoi Junior High School. He studied human anatomy as a research student at the Keio University Schoolof Medicine with the support of Dr. Seiju and Kenju Nikaido and learned the basics of kinesiology.
There was a surprise visit by the head of the British badminton team, R. Mills, who came to Japan after visiting Mao
Zi Dong’s China. They went to the Japan Women's Athletic College to meet Mr. Imai, the head coach of renowned
national players at the time, including Takagi, Amano, Hiroe Yuki, and others. These two pioneer coaches opened
Abe’s eyes and sparked his interest in the world. He encountered Mr. Hata, the president of Shin-Taiikusha
Company and publisher of the magazine "New Physical Education," and became the editor-in-chief of the magazine,
introducing the "New Practical Skills Lecture Series" and other publications. In the process of reforming physicaleducation, he became acquainted with Mr. Iwanosuke Yamakawa, an official of the National Physical Education
Bureau.
Meanwhile, he became acquainted with Professor Asada Takao, the director of the Physical Education Center at the
University of Tsukuba, who invited him to Tsukuba to further extend his theoretical thinking on sports coaching at the
University of Tsukuba Department of Physical Education Science. His life dramatically changed, and he finallyobtained a place to fully open up his activities towards badminton. Incidentally, Mr. Zensaku Sakumichi, President ofMetro Leisure Co., Ltd., presented him with two books by Pat Davis, The Badminton Complete and The Badminton
Coach. He formulated physical education systems with a new coaching concept inspired by these books.
He refocused his training theory from exercise physiology and anatomy to biomechanics and kinesiology. Function
and wisdom are inseparable. He found this theory in Nicolai A. Bernstein's concept of dexterity. This concept was
brought to fruition in a meeting with Dr. Takao Asada, his former teacher at Tsukuba University, and resulted in thebooks "Badminton: A Practical Course for Modern Sports Coaches" by Gyosei and "Modern Physical
Education and Sports System Volume 27, Tennis, Table Tennis, and Badminton" Kodansha, co-authored by
Toshio Asami, Mitsumasa Miyashita, Toru Watanabe, Kazuyoshi Abe, and 16 others. His first book, "Basic Lessons
in Sports Graphics Badminton" co-written with Masahiro Watanabe, was published in 16 editions.
Specialty: Badminton Coaching Theory
University of Tsukuba honorary professor, University of Tsukuba physical education
professor, Shobi Gakuen University professor.
Publications:
1) "Badminton: A Practical Course for Modern Sports Coaches Vol. 12" Gyosei1985. , coauthored with Susumu Okamoto
2) "Tennis, Table Tennis, and Badminton: A System of Contemporary Physical Educationand Sports, Vol. 27" Kodansha1987
3) "SPORTS GRAPHICS Basic Lessons; Badminton" Taishukan-shoten1985 co-authoredwith Masahiro Watanabe
4) "My Badminton Book" Shin-Taiiku-sha1994, co-authored with Tomoko Abe
5) "For Players and Coaches; Practical Training for Badminton" Baseball Magazine1988 Jake Downey and David
Brodie (co-authors), co-translator Kazuyoshi Abe and two others,
etc.
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■ The Producers wish to thank■ Assistance■ Translator■ Design■ Coordinate

AX-ON Inc.
Chika Tanifuji Associate Professor, Chiba University
Naohisa Koyanagi Director of BADMINTON JAPANHaruhisa Hirata Novo Co., Ltd.
Itsuki Marui Unsung Hero.Co. Ltd.

BADMINTON JAPAN75th Commemorative Project

Considering the History of Badminton
AuthorKazuyoshi Abe

Professor Emeritus, University of Tsukuba

30th November 2022

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