SWIMMING IN JAPAN Published by the International Young Women and Children’s Society Tokyo, Japan 1935

Early History of Swimming in Japan Part IV (1931 – 1935) In 1931, a year before the Tenth Olympic Games, Los Angeles, Japan invited an American team and a Swimming Meet between America and Japan took place at the pool of the Meiji Grounds, Tokyo. The American team came to Japan with thirteen champions and coach, Robert Kiputh. Truly this meet was a great achievement for the Japanese swimming world. The score was forty to twenty-three, Japan winning. This meet added a great impetus. After this meet Miyazaki broke the record of Takaishi in the 100 metres with his time of 59.2 sec. Besides, new champions came out continuously. The Tenth Olympic Games In preparation for the Tenth Olympic Games at Los Angeles, candidates, picked from the champions, trained and lodged together from December 25th in 1931 to January 10, and from March 21st to April 10th. The trial heats of the champions for the Olympic Games were held, and a staff and twenty-two swimming champions were chosen. The formation was as follows : Staff: Tabata, supervisor, Matsuzawa, coach ; Noda, assistant coach; and Shimazaki, diving coach. Champions: Free style: Takaishi (captain), Miyazaki, Yusa, Toyota, Katayama, Takahashi, Kawaishi, Ohyokota, Yokoyama, Ishiharada, Makino, Sugimoto, Takemura brothers and Kitamura. Breast stroke: Tsuruta, Koike and Nakagawa. Back stroke: Kiyokawa, Iriye, Kawazu and Suzuki. Besides these, four diving champions, a coach for women, six women champions, and a water polo team took part. Except for the 400 metres race, Japan won in five events, and in most of them three champions placed. In the best records Japanese won first, second awld third places. The time of the races were better in the trial heats than in the finals. In the semi-finals 100 metres, Miyazaki swain in 58 sec.; in the 200 metres breast stroke, Koike made the time of 2 min. 44.9 sec. So they made new Olympic records in every event except the back stroke. In the women's division, the Japanese swimmers were dropped in the trial heats with the exception of Miss Hideko Machata. She took second place in the 200 metres breast stroke with the time of 3 minutes, 06.4 seconds linking a very close race to Miss Clare Dennis of Australia. In diving K. Kobayashi won sixth place in Springboard Diving, Ikue won eighth, and in High Diving, Ishida took eighth. Water Polo team was beaten by America, Hungary, and Germany, and by default of brazil, Japan won only one game. By the great victory in these swimming races, the Japanese swimming world became outstanding at one bound. On the way from Los Angeles, at the Swimming Meet between the three continents held at San Francisco, Japan won again in the 800 metres relay with the time of 9 mm. 1.4 sec. and so established her standing. Though at that time Japan was criticized in many ways by every nation, this great victory was due to the excellence of our system of training, and the fact that our swimmers endeavored to excel in the field. In 1933 at the All-Japan Swimming Championship Meet, Makino made a new world record of 4 min. 46 sec. in the 400 metres; Yusa swam the 200 metres, in 2 min. 13 sec.; Koike swam the 100 metres breast stroke, in 1min. 14.8 sec. so they renewed the world records in a long course pool. Also in the 1000 metres Kitarura made a new world record of 12 min. 46 sec. and in the 1500 metres he swans in 19 min. 8 sec. which was next to the world record of Arne Borg which is 19 min. 7.2 sec. Moreover at the Swimming Events of' the Sixth Meiji Shrine Gaines Kiyokawa made the record of 5 min. 34.0 sec. in the 400 metres back stroke. Titus rapid progress has been made in the swimming of Japan. In 1934, at the Tenth Far Eastern Championship Games held in Manila Japanese swimmers won all the events except the 200 metres breast stroke. But tired from this trip they were not restored to good health, till the All-Japan Swimming Championship Meet in A ugust ; and leading swimmers became ill one after another. Albert Van de Weghe, America, took the championship of this meet with the time of 1 min. 8.8 sec. in the 100 metres back stroke ; and with 2 min. 33.2 sec. in the 200 metres back stroke which was the world record. In the 400 metres Jack Medica beat Iakino in 4 mist. 47.8 see. In the 1000 metres Honda, it new man, made a new record of 12 min. 41.8 sec. and showed that the swimming power of' Japan would not decline. Meanwhile fresh men came out and are continuing to come into the swimming circle. The Second American-Japanese Swimming Meet The Japanese Swimming world was enlivened by the Second American-Japanese Swimming Meet held in 1935. From about June of that year, the various universities field dual meets but there were no outstanding records made, leaving the Japanese swimming world to believe that Japanese swimming was on the decline. But just before the meet, new records were made in the various events. During the practice, Hiroshi Negami swam the 400 metres race in the record time of 4 min. 41.4 sec. This was the beginning of the surprising new records which were made simultaneously with the Opening of the preliminary meet. The head coach for the Japanese team, Ikkaku Matsuzwa was again selected. The coach for the American team was Robert J.H. Kiputh. Since 1931 those two men have faced each other as coaches of opposing teams. The American-Japanese Swimming Meet was held for three days, August 17,18,19 at the Tokyo Meiji Shrine which as a capacity of 12,000. The meet was packed with fans during those days, thus the interest of the Japanese in swimming can be seen. Because of this, one can infer that the development of Japan’s swimming was as rapid as the Japanese team won the meet by 36-27 points.