For nearly one hundred years, basketball has been an important part of Japanese American life. Women’s basketball holds a special place in the contemporary scene of highly organized and expansive Japanese American leagues in California, in part because these leagues have produced numerous talented female players. Using data from interviews and observations, Nicole Willms explores the interplay of social forces and community dynamics that have shaped this unique context of female athletic empowerment. As Japanese American women have excelled in mainstream basketball, they have emerged as local stars who have passed on the torch by becoming role models and building networks for others.

This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open Access programme and is available on www.bloomsburycollections.com. In 'Japanese Women and Sport', Robin Kietlinski sets out to problematize the hegemonic image of the delicate Japanese woman, highlighting an overlooked area in the history of modern Japan. Previous studies of gender in the Japanese context do not explore the history of female participation in sport, and recent academic studies of women and sport tend to focus on Western countries. Kietlinski locates the discussion of Japanese women in sport within a larger East Asian context and considers the socio-economic position and history of modern Japan. Reaching from the early 20th century to the present day, Kietlinski traces the progression of Japanese women's participation in sport from the first female school for physical education and the foundations of competitive sport through to their growing presence in the Olympics and international sport.

This is the first book to survey the participation of women in sport and physical education across Asia, from the Middle East and South Asia through to the Asia-Pacific region. Covering sport and physical activity at all levels, from school-based PE and community sport to elite, high-performance sport, the book provides an important overview of developments in policy, theory and research across this complex and dynamic region. It has a strong focus on gender equity but is informed by important intersecting influences that affect the lives of girls and women and their participation in sport. Including contributions from leading scholars from across the region, the book draws on multi-disciplinary perspectives, including sociology, cultural studies, anthropology, and history, and makes an important contribution to global understanding of diversity, challenges, and achievements in the sporting lives of Asian Women. This book will be a fascinating read for any student, researcher, or policy-maker working in sport studies, gender studies, women’s studies or Asian studies.

This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open Access programme and is available on www.bloomsburycollections.com. In 'Japanese Women and Sport', Robin Kietlinski sets out to problematize the hegemonic image of the delicate Japanese woman, highlighting an overlooked area in the history of modern Japan. Previous studies of gender in the Japanese context do not explore the history of female participation in sport, and recent academic studies of women and sport tend to focus on Western countries. Kietlinski locates the discussion of Japanese women in sport within a larger East Asian context and considers the socio-economic position and history of modern Japan. Reaching from the early 20th century to the present day, Kietlinski traces the progression of Japanese women's participation in sport from the first female school for physical education and the foundations of competitive sport through to their growing presence in the Olympics and international sport.

What if there were a land where people lived longer than anywhere else on earth, the obesity rate was the lowest in the developed world, and women in their forties still looked like they were in their twenties? Wouldn't you want to know their extraordinary secret? Japanese-born Naomi Moriyama reveals the secret to her own high-energy, successful lifestyle–and the key to the enduring health and beauty of Japanese women–in this exciting new book. The Japanese have the pleasure of eating one of the most delicious, nutritious, and naturally satisfying cuisines in the world without denial, without guilt…and, yes, without getting fat or looking old. As a young girl living in Tokyo, Naomi Moriyama grew up in the food utopia of the world, where fresh, simple, wholesome fare is prized as one of the greatest joys of life. She also spent much time basking in that other great center of Japanese food culture: her mother Chizuko's Tokyo kitchen. Now she brings the traditional secrets of her mother's kitchen to you in a book that embodies the perfect marriage of nature and culinary wisdom–Japanese home-style cooking. If you think you've eaten Japanese food, you haven't tasted anything yet. Japanese home-style cooking isn't just about sushi and raw fish but good, old-fashioned everyday-Japanese-mom's cooking that's stood the test of time–and waistlines–for decades. Reflected in this unique way of cooking are the age-old traditional values of family and the abiding Japanese love of simplicity, nature, and good health. It's the kind of food that millions of Japanese women like Naomi eat every day to stay healthy, slim, and youthful while pursuing an energetic, successful, on-the-go lifestyle. Even better, it's fast, it's easy, and you can start with something as simple as introducing brown rice to your diet. You'll begin feeling the benefits that keep Japanese women among the youngest-looking in the world after your very next meal! If you're tired of counting calories, counting carbs, and counting on being disappointed with diets that don't work and don't satisfy, it's time to discover one of the best-kept and most delicious secrets for a healthier, slimmer, and long-living lifestyle. It's time to discover the Japanese fountain of youth….

In 22 original essays, experienced scholars and writers describe and analyze the historical background, current status, and future prospects for Japanese women living in Japan today. "A truly remarkable volume".--Mariam K. Chamberlain, Founding President, National Council for Research on Women.

In this first synthetic, comprehensive survey of Japanese sports in English, the authors are attentive to the complex and fascinating interaction of traditional and modern elements. In the course of tracing the emergence and development of sumo, the martial arts, and other traditional sports from their origins to the present, they demonstrate that some cherished "ancient" traditions were, in fact, invented less than a century ago. They also register their skepticism about the use of the samurai tradition to explain Japan's success in sports. Special attention is given to Meiji-era Japan's frequently ambivalent adoption and adaptation of European and American sports--a particularly telling example of Japan's love-hate relationship with the West. The book goes on the describe the history of physical education in the school system, the emergence of amateur and professional leagues, the involvement of business and the media in sports promotion, and Japan's participation in the Olympics. Japanese Sports Trivia Quiz (openli)Japan's first professional baseball team was founded in 1921. When were the Central and Pacific Leagues established? a. 1930; b. 1940; c. 1950; d. 1960 (openli)Oh Sadaharu hit 51 home runs in 1973 and 49 in 1974. How many did he hit in his lifetime? a. 597; b. 602; c. 755; d. 868 (openli)Sugiura Tadashi pitched 42 games for the Nankai Hawks in 1959 and won 38. How many games did he pitch and win against the Yomiuri Giants in the Japan Series that same year? a. 1; b. 2; c. 3; d. 4 (openli)The first Japanese radio broadcast of an entire sports event occurred at the national middle-school baseball tournament at Koshien Stadium in 1927, with a Ministry of Communication censor standing by since the script couldn't be approved in advance. The national middle-school tournament was suspended in 1941. When was it resumed? a. 1945; b. 1946; c. 1947; d. 1948 (openli)In 1791 Shogun Tokugawa Ienari observed a new ring-entering ceremony similar to that now performed by yokozuna. When did the Sumo Association officially recognize the rank of yokozuna? a. 1789; b. 1890; c. 1909; d. 1951 (openli)Which famous sumo rikishi won 69 successive bouts over the course of 7 tournaments, the longest winning streak ever recorded? a. Futabayama (Sadaji); b. Wakanohana (Kanji); c. Taiho (Koki); d. Chiyonofuji (Mitsugu) (openli)When the first karate dojo was established in Okinawa in 1889, the characters for karate were written 'Chinese hand'. When were they first written 'empty hand'? a. 1889; b. 1922; c. 1929; d. 1935 (openli)Only one major school of aikido holds competitive tournaments. When did the name aikido first appear on the list of government-sanctioned martial arts. a. 1883; b. 1890; c. 1931; d. 1942 (openli)In 1951 Tanaka Shigeki became the first Japanese runner to win the Boston Marathon. When was the first Fukuoka Marathon held? a. 1927; b. 1937; c. 1947; d. 1957 (openli)At the infamous 1936 "Nazi Olympics" in Berlin, Japanese athletes won gold medals in track and field, swimming, and diving. In what event did a Korean win the gold for Japan? a. marathon; b. triple jump; c. pole vault; d. 1500-m freestyle Answers: 1. c. (the Pacific League was the expansion league); 2. d. (Japanese ballparks are shorter than U.S. parks, but the season is also shorter); 3. d. (his arm never recovered from that year); 4. b.; 5. c. (the rank "yokozuna" first appeared on the banzuke ratings in 1890; and the first solo ring-entering ceremonies by wrestlers wearing the "yokozuna" rope was in 1789); 6. a.; 7. c. (by members of Keio's karate club who were impressed by a Zen priest of the Rinzai sect); 8. d. (its founder Ueshiba Morihei was born in 1883); 9. c. (the year after the first footrace around Lake Biwa); 10. a.