Japan at the 1920 Summer Olympics

The Empire of Japan competed at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium.

Japan at the 1920 Summer Olympics
IOC code	JPN
NOC	Japanese Olympic Committee
Website	www.joc.or.jp (in Japanese and English)
in Antwerp
Competitors	15 in 4 sports
Flag bearer	Gensabulo Noguchi[1]
Medals Ranked 17th	Gold 0 Silver 2 Bronze 0 Total 2
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
1912 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024

Background

Following Japan's poor showing during its Olympic debut at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden, Japan planned for increased participation and the discipline of its athletes in the 1916 Summer Olympics planned for Berlin, Germany (which was subsequently cancelled by World War I. Japan also expanded its participation in international sporting events, by competing in the Far Eastern Games held in Manila in 1913, Shanghai in 1915, Tokyo in 1917 and Manila in 1919. By the time of the 1920 Olympics, Japan was able to field a fifteen-man team. Although most of its track-and-field runners and swimmers failed to pass the initial heats, Japan did considerably better in tennis, securing its first Olympic medals. However, the Japan Amateur Athletic Association, which sponsored the team, grossly underestimated the costs of journey, and was unable to pay for the team's return from Belgium. Local representatives of the Mitsubishi and Mitsui zaibatsu agreed to pay the $15,000 necessary for the stranded team to come home, but the embarrassment was so great that the Japanese government agreed to provide subsidies for future Olympic participation.^[2]

Medalists

Medal Name Sport Event Date  Silver Ichiya Kumagae Tennis Men's singles August 23  Silver Seiichiro Kashio Ichiya Kumagae Tennis Men's doubles August 23

Medals by sport Sport Total Tennis 0 2 0 3 Total 0 2 0 2

Aquatics

Diving

Main article: Diving at the 1920 Summer Olympics

A single diver represented Japan in 1920. It was the nation's debut in the sport. Masayoshi Uchida was unable to advance past the first round of the plain high diving competition.

Men

Ranks given are within the semifinal group.

Diver	Event	Semifinals			Final
		Points	Score	Rank	Points	Score	Rank
Masayoshi Uchida	Plain high dive	40	94.0	8	did not advance

Swimming

Main article: Swimming at the 1920 Summer Olympics

Two swimmers, both men, represented Japan in 1920. It was the nation's debut in the sport. Neither of the swimmers advanced to the finals.

Ranks given are within the heat.

Men

Swimmer	Event	Quarterfinals		Semifinals		Final
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Kenkichi Saito	100 m free	Unknown	6	did not advance
	400 m free	6:16.8	2 Q	did not finish
Masayoshi Uchida	100 m free	Unknown	5	did not advance
	400 m free	6:40.0	3	did not advance

Athletics

Main article: Athletics at the 1920 Summer Olympics

11 athletes represented Japan in 1920. It was the nation's second appearance in athletics, having competed in the sport both times Japan had appeared at the Olympics. Japan continued to seek its first medals in the sport unsuccessfully, with a 12th-place finish in the decathlon the best result of the Games for Japanese athletes.

Ranks given are within the heat.

Athlete	Event	Heats		Quarterfinals		Semifinals		Final
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Saburo Hasumi	800 m	N/A		2:02.2	6	did not advance
	1500 m	N/A					6	did not advance
Ichiro Kaga	100 m		5	did not advance
	200 m		4	did not advance
Shizo Kanakuri	Marathon	N/A						2:48:45.4	16
Hiroshi Masuda	Pentathlon	N/A						did not finish
Yahei Miura	Marathon	N/A						2:59:37.0	24
Zensaku Motegi	10000 m	N/A					12	did not advance
	Marathon	N/A						2:51:09.4	20
Gensabulo Noguchi	Decathlon	N/A						3668.630	12
Tomeichi Oura	5000 m	N/A					6	did not advance
Kunosuke Sano	5000 m	N/A					7	did not advance
	10000 m	N/A					8	did not advance
Shinichi Yamaoka	100 m	11.6	4	did not advance
	200 m	23.9	4	did not advance
Kenzo Yashima	Marathon	N/A						2:57:02.0	21

Tennis

Main article: Tennis at the 1920 Summer Olympics

Two tennis players, both men, competed for Japan in 1920. It was the nation's debut in the sport. Kumagae took the men's singles silver medal, and the pair also took silver in the men's doubles. The two would have faced each other in the quarterfinals of the singles tournament had Kashio advanced that far, so could not have won any more than the two medals they did win.

Player	Event	Round of 64	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Finals	Rank
		Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score
Seiichiro Kashio	Men's singles	Bye	Tegner (DEN) W 6–3, 6–1, 6–2	Dodd (RSA) L 6–3, 4–6, 6–2, 3–6, 6–1	did not advance			9
Ichiya Kumagae	Men's singles	Alonso (ESP) W 7–5, 6–3, 6–3	de Laveleye (BEL) W 6–0, 6–1, 6–0	Lammens (BEL) W 7–5, 6–1, 6–4	Dodd (RSA) W 7–5, 6–1, 6–1	Winslow (RSA) W 6–2, 6–2, 6–2	Raymond (RSA) L 5–7, 6–4, 7–5, 6–4
Seiichiro Kashio Ichiya Kumagae	Men's doubles	N/A	Bye	Lammens & Washer (BEL) W 6–1, 6–4, 6–4	Norton & Raymond (RSA) W 6–3, 6–2, 4–6, 6–3	Blanchy & Brugnon (FRA) W 6–4, 4–6, 6–3, 6–1	Turnbull & Woosnam (GBR) L 6–2, 5–7, 7–5, 7–5

Opponent nation Wins Losses Percent  Belgium 3 0 1.000  Denmark 1 0 1.000  France 1 0 1.000  Great Britain 0 1 .000  South Africa 3 2 .600  Spain 1 0 1.000 Total 9 3 .750

Round Wins Losses Percent Round of 64 1 0 1.000 Round of 32 2 0 1.000 Round of 16 2 1 .667 Quarterfinals 2 0 1.000 Semifinals 2 0 1.000 Final 0 2 .000 Bronze match 0 0 – Total 9 3 .750

References

1. "Flagbearers for Japan". olympedia.org. OlyMADMen. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
2. Guttman, Allen. Japanese Sports: A History (University of Hawaii Press, 2001), p. 119-120.

• Belgium Olympic Committee (1957). Olympic Games Antwerp 1920: Official Report (in French).
• Wudarski, Pawel (1999). "Wyniki Igrzysk Olimpijskich" (in Polish). Archived from the original on 16 February 2009. Retrieved 16 August 2007.
• International Olympic Committee results database