I'm a year behind on this, but so are the next Olympics, so...just finished Roy Tomizawa's "1964: The Greatest Year in the History of Japan", and it's a must-read for Olympic aficionados out there. Inspired by his father's work as a journalist at Tokyo 1964, and by, as he notes himself, the dearth of '64 retrospectives, Tomizawa crafts a look back at those Games that recalls the charm and passion of David Wallechinsky's "The Complete Book of the Olympics".
That biennial encyclopedia had been a mainstay read for me and countless Olympic fact geeks, with its countless anecdotes and statistics. Although "1964" reminded me of the pain of missing Wallechinsky's works since he retired the title post-2014, it certainly brought back the joy of discovering background notes and anecdotes even for just one Games.
From insight into the exploits of famed champions like Bob Hayes, Ann Packer, Yukio Endo, Billy Mills, Dawn Fraser, and Dick Roth (who has an appendix on exhibit!) to the charms of also-rans of like Sri Lanka's multi-lapped Ranatunge Karunananda and the unique Hong Kong field hockey team, "1964" offers a satisfying array of personal connection. Where Tomizawa shines, though, is his presentation of the 1964 Games as a "coming out" for the Japanese, primed to showcase themselves and Asia after a post-World War II rebuild and imposed introspection. The passion of the host nation to impress is laid bare through its hospitality - witness long jumper Diana Yorgova's Japanese wedding - to its rise in technology as visitors are wowed by Seiko's sporting emergence and the sleek bullet trains. (Japanese cameras were certainly becoming the must-buy for visitors then!). The hosts' rapt attention to the medal efforts of its women's volleyball team, marathoner Kokichi Tsubaraya, or judoka Akio Kaminaga against Anton Geesink showcase a competitive spirit to prove themselves on the world stage.
Juxtaposed is the sense of what Tokyo 2020 might portend. While 1964 followed a post-war reconstruction, 2020's Games follow a period marked by recession, earthquakes, and tsunamis, and a fall behind China in Asian prominence. Published in July 2019 before the Games' postponement, "1964" still is a relevant pre-cursor to those interested in the to-be, hoped-for grandeur of Tokyo 2020.
p.s. Find more of Tomizawa's work on his own Olympic blog, theolympians.co. There, he includes a treasure trove of images of action and ephemera, not available on at least my e-book edition. The site offers more in-depth reporting on his stories, plus additional retrospection on related personalities and events.
p.p.s. I also highly recommend Alex Kerr's "Lost Japan" from 1994, which showcases the author's intimate view of Japan and provides a wonderfully compelling perspective of the country today (er, in the 1990's) to compare against when viewing Tokyo in 2021.
That biennial encyclopedia had been a mainstay read for me and countless Olympic fact geeks, with its countless anecdotes and statistics. Although "1964" reminded me of the pain of missing Wallechinsky's works since he retired the title post-2014, it certainly brought back the joy of discovering background notes and anecdotes even for just one Games.
From insight into the exploits of famed champions like Bob Hayes, Ann Packer, Yukio Endo, Billy Mills, Dawn Fraser, and Dick Roth (who has an appendix on exhibit!) to the charms of also-rans of like Sri Lanka's multi-lapped Ranatunge Karunananda and the unique Hong Kong field hockey team, "1964" offers a satisfying array of personal connection. Where Tomizawa shines, though, is his presentation of the 1964 Games as a "coming out" for the Japanese, primed to showcase themselves and Asia after a post-World War II rebuild and imposed introspection. The passion of the host nation to impress is laid bare through its hospitality - witness long jumper Diana Yorgova's Japanese wedding - to its rise in technology as visitors are wowed by Seiko's sporting emergence and the sleek bullet trains. (Japanese cameras were certainly becoming the must-buy for visitors then!). The hosts' rapt attention to the medal efforts of its women's volleyball team, marathoner Kokichi Tsubaraya, or judoka Akio Kaminaga against Anton Geesink showcase a competitive spirit to prove themselves on the world stage.
Juxtaposed is the sense of what Tokyo 2020 might portend. While 1964 followed a post-war reconstruction, 2020's Games follow a period marked by recession, earthquakes, and tsunamis, and a fall behind China in Asian prominence. Published in July 2019 before the Games' postponement, "1964" still is a relevant pre-cursor to those interested in the to-be, hoped-for grandeur of Tokyo 2020.
p.s. Find more of Tomizawa's work on his own Olympic blog, theolympians.co. There, he includes a treasure trove of images of action and ephemera, not available on at least my e-book edition. The site offers more in-depth reporting on his stories, plus additional retrospection on related personalities and events.
p.p.s. I also highly recommend Alex Kerr's "Lost Japan" from 1994, which showcases the author's intimate view of Japan and provides a wonderfully compelling perspective of the country today (er, in the 1990's) to compare against when viewing Tokyo in 2021.
 |  |
Next up on my list...an interesting Irish Times column by running great Sonia O-Sullivan, reflecting on her career after reading "The Russian Affair" has prompted the book's place on my to-do reading list. Profiling the whistle-blowing athletic couple Vitaly and Yuliya Stepanov(a), "The Russian Affair", published late last month, promises to "read like a spy novel...and an epic love story". The coach and athlete got caught in the Russian system of doping, before going public with their experiences and helping spur attention to Russia's corruption in drug testing (and taking). O'Sullivan, like many, is wistful and frustrated when thinking about the Russians she competed against. As an Olympic fan, I expect to be similarly saddened by what has happened while hopeful that individuals like Vitaly and Yuliya have conviction.
RSS Feed