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Sport in Kyoto is an integral part of the culture of the city. Kyoto is a city;
where traditional as well as modern sports are enjoy same popularity. Kyoto is
home to numerous indigenous sports like sumo and various forms of martial arts
that includes judo and kendo. But then, at the same time Western sports like baseball
and soccer are extremely popular in the city.
Soccer is one of the most popular sports of the city. Interest in the game
of football is recent phenomenon in Kyoto as well as Japan. Prior to the last
decade of the twentieth century, football was not that much popular in the country;
however things changed with the advent of the J league in the 1993. The year
marked a new era in the history of football in Japan and subsequently in Kyoto.
Today J league has become one of the most premium leagues in Asia and Japan
has emerged as one of the powerful football playing nations in the world. The
resurgence of soccer in Japan had a considerable impact on Kyoto and within
no time it became one of the most popular sorts in the city. Today the city
is represented by Kyoto Purple Sanga, which qualified for the J. League's Division
1 in 2005. Another significant football club in the city is Sagawa Printing
S.C. and the premier soccer stadium of Kyoto is Nishi Kyogoku, where most of
the football matches are played.
Baseball is another imported sport that enjoys immense popularity in Kyoto.
Like soccer, baseball is another sport which rose to popularity in the twentieth
century. But then since its arrival it has stormed the entire country and is
extremely popular with the children and young people. Today Japan boasts of
two professional baseball leagues, Central League and Pacific League. Baseball
in Kyoto enjoys immense popularity in the school and Kyoto's high school baseball
teams are strong. Some of the baseball teams that have made their mark in the
Japan are Heian and Toba. Both the teams have performed well in the annual baseball
tournament held in Koshien Stadium, Nishinomiya, which is located near Osaka.
Amongst the traditional sports in Kyoto, sumo wrestling enjoys popularity in
the city. It is the Japan's national sport and boasts of a legacy that extends
upto 1000 years. Along with sumo other forms of martial arts like judo, kendo,
karate-do, and aikido are also popular in the city.
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