Our Festival of Cricket features Japan’s men’s and women’s national teams, a British Embassy team and a YC&AC team. A short re-enactment of the remarkable 1863 cricket match will be held, as will some rugby! Meanwhile a special one-day exhibition of rare photosrelating to the 1863 match will include the oldest photos of western sports in Japan and some of the oldest photos of cricket anywhere in the world. A commemorative dinner will feature live music and personalities from the world of sport.
This Festival of Cricket commemorates the 150th anniversary of the first recorded cricket match ever played in Japan, in June 1863, between a team from the Royal Navy and residents of Yokohama’s Foreign Settlement. It was no ordinary match, with players carrying arms in case of attack from Japanese political activists, at a time when Anglo-Japanese relations were highly strained. Since friendly relations were renewed in 1859 with the opening up of Yokohama, western sports have flourished in Japan. The Yokohama Country and Athletic Club (YC&AC), founded in 1868, was responsible for the introduction of many western sports into Japan and also provided the first strong opposition for Japanese teams, helping them to grow from strength to strength.
YC&AC webpage and facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/145839108941863/
Organised and hosted by Yokohama Country & Athletic Club (YC&AC) in association with the Japan Cricket Association and British Embassy Tokyo