Like many Western customs, rugby football[4] first reached Japan when gunboat diplomacy deployed by the United States and European powers ended the country's period of self-imposed isolation in 1854.

[5] The first recorded instance of a team being established and rugby being played in Japan was in 1866 with the founding of the Yokohama Foot Ball Club.

[6] The rules committee of the club consisted of notable Rugby School, Radley and Winchester College alumni including Capt.

Robert Blount of the 20th (The East Devonshire) Regiment of Foot and Royal Navy Lieutenant Lord Walter Kerr.

[8][9][10] Other games were played at other treaty ports such as Kobe between teams of long-term foreign residents and visiting ships' crews, garrisons etc.,[9] but they rarely involved indigenous Japanese people.

[10] The date of local Japanese participation in the sport is most frequently cited as 1899, when students at Keio University were introduced to the game by Professor Edward Bramwell Clarke (who was born in Yokohama) and Ginnosuke Tanaka (田中 銀之助).

[11] Clarke taught English and coached rugby union at Keio from 1899 to 1910, after which an injury to his right leg forced him to give up playing.

Clarke said that he wanted to give his students something constructive to do, as they In 1901, Keio University played "Yokohama Foreigners" losing 35–5, but the game demonstrated that the racial barriers in the sport were breaking down.

The Canadians ascribed their defeat to, "excessive entertaining, too many games in a short period, and the inspired play of the Japanese in front of the assembled nobility of Japan.

He was "converted" to rugby after, JRFU president, Shigeru Kayama returned from a long sea voyage and was able to "market" the game to Prince Chichibu.

[17] The consequences of World War II would leave many Japanese players dead, with bombing destroying much of its physical infrastructure.

[17] Japanese rugby made a surprisingly speedy recovery in the post-war period, despite massive damage to infrastructure, and the death of many players.

[17] In September 1945, less than a month after the end of the war, an advertisement for rugby players in Hokkaido managed to draw no less than fifty people to a meeting.

[17] Kobe Steel encouraged the game amongst its workers at the end of 1945, believing it would raise their morale, and set a precedent for the later heavy corporate involvement in Japanese rugby.

[8] Japan also has a praiseworthy lack of violence and thuggery in its rugby; according to legend, a game between army sides in 1975 got out of hand, resulting in both units being disbanded, the commanding officers sacked, and every player being banned sine die.

The Japanese team are known for their speed and resourcefulness,[citation needed] but have sometimes been at a disadvantage due to their smaller size compared to Southern Hemisphere and European players.

[8] They have qualified for every Rugby World Cup, and won nearly every Asian Championship, despite some strong challenges from South Korea, but they have hardly ever beaten the main teams.

In the world cups, their first victory was over Zimbabwe, who had qualified partly as the African representative (South Africa was excluded due to their racist apartheid regime).

[11] Japan gave Wales a fright in losing by a slim five-point margin, 24–29, at Cardiff Arms Park on 2 October 1983.

On 28 May 1989 a strong Japan coached by Hiroaki Shukuzawa defeated an under-strength Scotland, missing nine British Lions on tour in Australia, for the first ever time at Chichibunomiya rugby stadium, 28–24.

Scotland missed an incredible seven penalties and refused the kicking tee which was generously offered – as a surviving video of the game shows.

[24] Williams estimated in 1994 that there were 100 foreigners playing rugby in Japan, receiving double the local wage, and that maybe as few as half a dozen had "real jobs".

[26] The former Japanese prime minister, Yoshirō Mori (森 喜朗) in June 2005 became President of the Japan Rugby Football Union.

It had been hoped his clout would help secure the 2011 Rugby World Cup for Japan, but instead the event was awarded to New Zealand in late November 2005.

In the 1995 World Cup, Japan suffered a 145–17 loss to New Zealand, the second worst in the history of the tournament, at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein.

Their third group game against Samoa ended in another win, this time 38-19, while also securing a highly important bonus point (for scoring four or more tries).

[31] In the highly anticipated final group game against Scotland, both teams needed to win to progress to the knockout stages at the expense of the other.

[36] Twelve stadiums were used to host the 2019 World Cup matches:[37] In 2003, the Top League was created to improve the overall standards of Japanese rugby union.

The Super Cup was an annual international rugby union competition contested by national teams from Canada, Japan, Russia and United States.

A Super Rugby franchise known as the Sunwolves was created to take part in the 18-team competition, which also featured teams from Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.