The X-League

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Believe it or not, Japan has its very own American football league. It’s not a pro league like the NFL, but it’s still a league. Japan’s X-League was founded in 1971 as the Japan American Football League and they changed their name to the X-league in 1997. There are four tiers (X1-4) and the teams are split into east, west, and central divisions.

There are two types of teams, one being a company team which only employees of that particular sponsoring company may participate as a player, and the other kind is a club team which is more or less open to anyone. Since it’s not a pro league, the players have to balance their day jobs with football. It really takes dedication to be part of the X-League because you have very little free time between work, practice, and games.

Game rules are based on America’s NCAA college division rules with the only difference being 12 minute quarters instead of 15. Americans are often recruited to play for the X-League with a strict rule of no more than four Americans per team. No more than two foreign players are allowed to be fielded at any given time.

This is kind of a funny rule, but it makes sense. It’s a Japanese football league for Japanese teams and players, not a league for teams with the most money and influence to hire the most beefy Americans to play for them. This rule ensures that you really get the full Japanese football experience.

Japan Might be the Second Best Country at American Football

Who would expect Japan to be the second best football country in the world? Not me, that’s for sure. But according to the World Championship of American Football, they certainly seem to be second best (to America, of course).

The World Championship of American Football is an international American football competition held every four years. As an American myself, I am surprised I had no idea this was even a thing until a few weeks ago. The competition is run by the International Federation of American Football (IFAF), the international governing body for the sport. Oddly enough, the president of the IFAF is Swedish. This organization makes no sense to me.

Of the fifty-four countries that currently field a national American football team, only eight teams qualify for the championship. I’m not sure what the qualifications are, but only eight teams seems a bit small for a world championship, don’t you think? The championship started in 1999 and has been held every four years since then.

Even though there have only been four tournaments so far, and America didn’t actually participate in the first two, Japan won the first two tournaments, placed 2nd in 2007, and 3rd in 2011. Even though only eight countries participate, Japan still does pretty well for themselves here.

Hopefully in time the championship will open itself up to more teams and Japan will really be able to show the world what they’re made of. Or they’ll get crushed into an endless abyss of embarrassment, you know, one of the two.

Will Japan Ever Make it in the NFL?

According to The Japan Times Online, former Dallas Cowboys scout Larry Dixon believes that as the world gets smaller through globalization, there will one day be more Japanese players in the National Football League. As to when, he’s not really sure. He thinks it’s just a matter of time until there are more Japanese athletes who are good enough to play in the NFL.

Scouts have even started coming over to Japan to assess the skills of the hopeful X-League and college players. The Japanese kickers are usually the most impressive out of the bunch, so if there’s a chance for a Japanese athlete to crack the NFL roster, it’ll probably start there.

There are currently some Japanese and mixed Japanese players in the NFL, but as far as I can tell, they were born and/or raised in America, not recruited straight from Japan. I’m sure as things move along and more Japanese kids get into playing football in high school and become interested in playing football outside of Japan, we’ll eventually see a Japanese player recruited into the NFL. Will it be soon? Maybe not, but it’ll happen eventually, I think.

So tell me, what do you think of American Football in Japan? Were you expecting them to be the best at American football after America? How long do you think it’ll be before a Japanese player finally makes it in the NFL? Let us know in the comments!

Sites Referenced:
American Football World Cup Wikipedia
X-League Wikipedia

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The objective of the game is to topple the opposing team’s pole to a predetermined degree from the ground before the other team reaches the same goal. I have read different variations of the objectives for the game, such as the existence of team flags, and appending them to the top of the pole. If I had to take a gander, these differing of play is probably meant to establish a safer playing environment. I, for one, wouldn’t want to have my little kid to be involved in such a game. Maybe when he or she turns 8.

The game is typically played during a Japanese school’s (yes, even elementary school) annual sports day, although a notable amount have banned the sport due to the very aggressive style of play (polite way of saying that parents are getting soft).

So what are the rules of the game? There isn’t much information available on the game itself, but here is what I’ve gathered:

• Two teams face off with each other. Each team divided into an offense and defense force.
• Offensive force is free to roam anywhere, while the defense force is restricted to an area around the pole.
• Pole’s are around 3-5 meters in length (~ 10-16 feet).
• One end of the pole must be in contact of the ground at all times.
• Game ends when the angle of the pole relative to the ground reaches to the predetermined angle. Typically, 30 degrees off the ground.
• Due to the aggressiveness, footwear is banned (Did you see the guy get stomped in the face in the YouTube video? Ouch…or should I say stinky?)
• Head gear is also encouraged, to limit the effects of the concussion you’ll most like be getting.
• Hand-to-hand combat is strong discouraged, but I suppose kicking is okay?

Photo Credit: Japan Ministry of Defense

Botaoshi is famously played during the National Defense Academy of Japan’s annual induction ceremony of new cadets. Every Spring, the school’s four battalions form teams of 150 students each to fight for their battalion’s honor in front of a crowd of peers and family.

Each of the battalion teams are split into a 75-person defense group and a 75-person offensive group. To distinguish the two, the defensive group’s are equipped with white garb, while the offensive groups wear their battalion colors (green, blue, red, and orange).

If you watch the video, it may at first seem to be an unorganized brawl to topple over the pole, but I assure you there is some strategy to the game. Within each offensive and defensive groups, each person has a role to play out.

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Within the defensive group, there exists five important roles:

• Pole support — These people support the pole to the upright position.
• Barrier — The hoards of people that form a barricade around the pole.
• Interference — Harasses and interrupts any opposing force that makes it inside the barrier.
• Scrum Disabler — Scrum is the offensive force’s defensive formation that allows the offensive set up “spring-board humans” to “fly” above the barricade. Take notice in the video where the some of the offensive bend over and allow their backs to be used as a stepping ground for their teammates. The disabler does whatever it can to hinder the formation and stop the offensive from spring-boarding straight to the pole.
• The Ninja (aka Ezio) — This is the person that is standing on the pole and drop kicking anyone’s face that gets near it. Probably one of the most important roles in the defense line up. If the pole is shifting to one side, it is their responsibility to counter the shifting by directing their weight to the opposite side. It doesn’t take much weight to topple over the pole if the offense controls the top of the pole.

As for the offensive group, three important roles exists:

• Springboard/Scrum — Act as stepping blocks for teammates to launch themselves over barricade and straight to pole.
• Pole Attackers — Attack and take over the pole from Mr. Ezio. Responsible for starting the collapse of the pole by using their weight and gravity on the top end of the pole.
• General support attacks — Harassment, distraction, etc.

Header Photo Credit: 3yrsinjapan

But Japan’s not all about serious one-on-one fighting; there’s a thriving pro wrestling scene in Japan. It’s called puroresu (プロレス), a shortened version of “professional wrestling.” And just like the American professional wrestling, like the WWE, puroresu is more about crazy story lines and soap-opera drama than about who’s the strongest or quickest. Japan loves showmanship in the ring, so let’s take a look at some of the funniest, coolest, and wackiest puroresu acts in Japan in recent years.

Hard Gay

Have you ever heard of Japanese wrestler and TV personality Masaki Sumitani? No? Well how about leather-clad, waist-gyrating Japanese superstar Hard Gay?

フウ〜！

Hard Gay is Sumitani’s wrestling alter-ego who became hugely popular in 2005 when he started appearing on a Japanese variety show. On the show, Bakusho Mondai no Bakuten!, Hard Gay was a do-gooder who roamed the streets of Japan helping people solve their problems, or sometimes even promoting himself, as you can see in the video below:

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Hard Gay’s popularity continue to grow and grow, culminating in his release of the song “Young Man,” a cover of the Village People’s famous “YMCA.” But in what was surely one of the greatest scandals in Japanese history, Sumitani revealed that he wasn’t as gay as previously believed when he married Japanese swimsuit model Anna Suzuki. The two now have a child together, and the leather hot pants have been in retirement for a few years. Maybe one day our bondage-themed friend will return for us but for now, he’s MIA.

Bob Sapp

Bob Sapp is an American football player and wrestler who never quite found success in America. He was drafted and kicked out by four different NFL teams before he decided to try his hand at something else. At first, Sapp joined an American professional wrestling league but when that didn’t work out, he decided to move to Japan and give puroresu a shot.

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Going to Japan revitalized his career. He quickly became a sensation in the country, becoming a force in puroresu along with making appearances on daytime TV shows and in commercials, eventually releasing his own album It’s Sapp Time, the cover of which bears a slight resemblance to Michael Jackson’s Thriller:

I can’t tell the difference!

Apparently, Bob Sapp’s time in Japan gave his career just the jump start it needed He’ll be playing a part in this year’s upcoming summer action movie, Conan the Barbarian. But Bob Sapp hasn’t forgotten about the country he owes so much too. After this year’s Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, Sapp has pledged to return to Japan and help in any way he can.

Joshi Puroresu

The puroresu scene in Japan isn’t all about huge, muscle clad dudes.Women in Japan have a big part in wrestling, with female wrestling called joshi puroresu (女子プロレス). Joshi puroresu can be just as popular as men wrestling in Japan, attracting legions of fans to see tough ladies duke it out in the ring.

90s joshi puroresu superstar, Kyoko Inoue

Just like puroresu, joshi puroresu has its share of novelty acts and showmanship. Just take one look at Kyoko Inoue’s outrageous face paint and costume, and you know that her appearance is for the entertainment of her fans. One of the biggest novelty fights in joshi puroresu was between her and Thai fighter and transwoman Nong Toom.

So what’s your favorite puroresu act? Let me know in the comments or give me a shout on Twitter or Facebook.

I think that we can all agree that doing battle with fluorescent lighting is a bad idea, but that certainly didn’t stop the Japanese. I think Neatorama says it best: “It’s like WWF meets WTF” … with extra emphasis on the WTF part.

I don’t even know what to say about this, so instead of saying anything at all, I’m just going to post pictures. It’s up to you to tell the world what you think, because I don’t think I can think anymore.

Seriously, this has to be either a prank or a scene from a Takashi Miike film. I’m pretty sure if these guys don’t die form inhaling shards of glass, they’ll die of something a bit more cancerous. I like how they tie the rods together, too. Maybe so the fluorescent rods don’t break while they’re being swung? Anyone know what it’s like to get one of these things broken over your head?

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