These schoolchildren carry on a tradition that goes back well over a century.

After the heat and humidity of a Japanese summer, when temperatures commonly soar to around 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit), autumn (September to November) sees the return of more comfortable conditions. It is the ideal season for sports. The 1964 Tokyo Olympics were held in October, and October 10, the day of the opening ceremony for those games, was made a national holiday called Taiiku no Hi, or Sports Day. (This now falls on the second Monday in October.) Sports days are one of the classic symbols of autumn in Japan. Such events are held in kindergartens, in elementary, middle, and high schools, and in communities all across the country.

Origins in the Meiji Era
Sports days have a long history. This national custom is believed to have started in the 1870s when the students of a naval college in Tokyo held a sports day. A little later, the minister of education ordered similar events to be held in schools nationwide in order to improve the physical abilities of Japanese people, who were seen as poor at sports compared to Westerners. The government also encouraged the holding of sports days in towns and villages. Japanese people have long been fond of festivals, so it is no surprise that sports days quickly spread throughout the country.

Sports Days Are Local Festivals
Examples of the events held at sports days include running, kibasen (piggyback fights), tug of war, gymnastics, tamaire (throw the beanbags in the basket), relay, and dancing. In schools, many of these are contested among the classes in each grade, while in community events they are contested among towns or districts. Alongside traditional sports, more unusual disciplines like bread-eating contests, obstacle races, and costume parades add color and fun to the events. The variety of competitions means there is something for everyone. Sports day venues are traditionally decorated with bunting.

School sports days tend to be enjoyed by all the family. Particularly in elementary schools, parents come to cheer on their children while recording the day for posterity in photos and home-movie footage. They are even made to participate in some races, battling with their kids against other parent-child teams. In many schools, at lunchtime the students go to meet their parents among the spectators and, finding a tree to sit under or another nice spot on the school grounds, the families eat the boxed lunches they have brought from home. Autumnal treats like persimmons and chestnuts are popular choices as dessert or as a snack, and families can often be heard exchanging recommendations for tasty foods. Sports days are opportunities for families to bond and to deepen their friendships with other people in their communities.

Hip-Hop Dancing
The style of some sports-day events is changing. Whereas in the past dancing at sports days mostly consisted of folk dances, nowadays elementary schools are using hip-hop and other pop music to get students and families grooving, such as the songs of Morning Musume, a girl group that is popular among children. And while events on the field used to be accompanied by famous classical pieces like marches and polkas, now spectators are just as likely to hear chart hits as they watch children compete. There has been no change, however, in the status of the sports day as an annual chance for families and communities to come together and have fun.