1823, 1899 and All That: Demystifying the Origins of Rugby in England and Japan

Wednesday October 18, 7:00 PM

With Speaker Mike Galbraith

Nearly every rugby player and fan in the world today has heard the name of the schoolboy William Webb Ellis, that he allegedly started the sport exactly two hundred years ago in 1823 at Rugby School, and that the Rugby World Cup trophy is named after him. However, not many fans or players really understand what Ellis supposedly did, and he himself had no idea while he was alive that he had invented a new sport! Sound strange?

A lot of debate and controversy surrounds the start of rugby in Britain, not only in Britain, but also in Japan where official histories even today proclaim the sport started in 1899 when Keiō University students were taught how to play by Edward Bramwell Clarke. This is despite the fact that there is now abundant contemporary documentary evidence that British officers and civilians introduced the sport to Japan and played it here in the 1860s.

Mike Galbraith, a rugby-loving sports historian with a master’s degree in sports history and culture, will take you on his journeys to find out how the sport really started in both Britain and Japan. He will also introduce you to the Scotsman who, having been a pioneer of the sport in Britain, moved to Japan in 1870 and became a leading figure in the development of the sport here too.

The talk will be in English and will be followed by a Q & A session. Maximum capacity at the Yokohama Country & Athletic Club’s second-floor function room is 54 people. Admission is free. To attend, please complete the form at the link below.

https://ycac.jp/history-talk/

Food and drinks may be purchased from Mollison’s restaurant on the ground floor at YC&AC. If you wish to eat before the talk, we recommend you arrive by 18:00 latest in case the restaurant is busy.