そうか、サッカー
Association Football, or in this case Soccer, is the second most popular sport in Japan, after baseball. Before the second world war, the sport was referred to as 蹴球 / shūkyū, comprised of the chinese words for “kick” and “ball”. The second character is still used for “sphere”, “ball” and curiously also “baseball pitch”. Due to American influence after the war, Japan adopted サッカー, pronounced “sakkā”, obviously derived from soccer. This makes Japan the only non-English speaking country to primarily use soccer over football.
The Japanese national football competition started in 1965 and was fittingly called the Japan Soccer League. Virtually all teams taking part were company teams, owned and ran by Japan’s largest industrial powerhouses. It was active until 1992, with the record champions being Yomiuri FC (a media conglomerate) and Mazda SC (a car manufacturer). Other teams with at least three championships are Mitsubishi Motors (more cars), Yanmar Diesel (engine and machinery) and Fujita SC (real estate).
In 1993, the Japanese FA started a new professional football league, the Japan Professional Football League, aka the J.League. Untlike the semi-professional JSL, it was fully professional, and wanted professional clubs. Corporate identity had to be removed, and teams were renamed to better represent their local area and attract a real fanbase. Yomiuri FC became Tokyo Verdy, Mazda SC renamed to Sanfrecce Hiroshima, and Yanmar Diesel became Cerezo Osaka. You might notice none of the words before the city names sound particularly Japanese. Clubs wanted to evoke the spirit of European football, and chose names that reflected that, filled with words from European languages mixed together in unrecognisable ways. Here’s a table showing the creativity of all teams in the top 2 divisions:
| Name | Element 1 | Element 2 | Language | Location | Former Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACTUAL JAPANESE NAMES | ||||||
| Gamba Osaka | Ganbaru (頑張る) meaning to work hard or do one’s best | Japanese | City/Prefecture | Matsushita Electric | their nickname is “nerazzuri” (black and blues in Italian) | |
| Sagan Tosu | Sagan ( 砂岩 ) meaning Sandstone | Japanese | City | also from Saga-n Tosu ( 佐賀ん鳥栖 ) aka Saga of Tosu aka the local dialect | ||
| ENGLISH IS A GLOBAL LANGUAGE | ||||||
| Kashima Antlers | Antlers | English | City | Sumitomo Metal Industries | Kashima means Deer Island | |
| Nagoya Grampus | Grampus (former word for Orca) | English | City | Toyota Motor | Just read the wikipedia this etymology is absurd | |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | S (Soccer, Shizuoka, Shimizu, Supporter, Soccer) | Pulse | English | Ward | Shimizu SC | Founded as professional team for the new league |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | Red | Diamonds | English | Former City | Mitsubishi Motors | The Mitsubishi logo is three red diamonds |
| Vissel Kobe | Victory | Vessel | English | City | Kawasaki Steel SC | Kobe is a port city |
| Fujieda MYFC | From the MyFootballClub IPS which allowed fans to invest money in a club | English | City | Nelson / Shizuoka | Fujieda Nelson was named after Japanese-Brazilian player Nelson Yoshimura | |
| JEF United Chiba | JR East / Furukawa Electric | United | English | City/Prefecture | Furukawa Electric SC | Merger of two company clubs |
| Mito HollyHock | Hollyhock (the flower of the Tokugawa Clan) | English | City | Prima Ham FC | Prima means “first”or “best” in Italian | |
| Renofa Yamaguchi | Combination of Renovation, Fight and Fine | English | City/Prefecture | Yamaguchi pref. Teachers FC | one of three teachers clubs in the top three tiers | |
| Vegalta Sendai | Vega | Altair | English  |
City | Tohoku Electric Power | Names of stars related to the local Tanabata festival |
| ITALIA CALCIO | ||||||
| Fagiano Okayama | Fagiano (Pheasant) | Italian | City/Prefecture | River Free Kickers | Phoenix club of Kawasaki Steel FC after they moved | |
| Kawasaki Frontale | Frontale (Frontal) | Italian | City | Fujitsu SC | Club colours and crest based on Grêmio from Brazil | |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | San (三) meaning Three | Frecce (Arrows) | Italian | City/Prefecture | Toyo Kogyo / Mazda | based on a story about a feudal lord |
| Shonan Bellmare | Bella (Beautiful) | Mare (Sea) | Italian | Region | Fujita Kogyo SC | Is in fact on the coast |
| Montedio Yamagata | Monte (Mountain) | Dio (God) | Italian | Prefecture | NEC Yamagata SC | Their hometown Tendo Is next to the Ou mountains |
| Oita Trinita | Trinita (Trinity) | Italian | City/Prefecture | Oita Trinity | Changed to Italian due to copyright concerns | |
| Roassa Kumamoto | Rosso (Red) | Asso (Ace) | Italian | City/Prefecture | NTT Kumamoto | NTT means Nippon Telegraph and Telephone |
| Tokushima Vortis | Vortice (Whirlpool) | Italian | City/Prefecture | Otsuka Pharamaceutical SC | From the Naruto whirlpools in the nearby strait | |
| IT’S NOT FOOTBALL IT’S LA LIGA | ||||||
| Avispa Fukuoka | Avispa (Wasp) | Spanish | City/Prefecture | Chuo Bohan SC | Name changed from Fukuoka Blux | |
| Cerezo Osaka | Cerezo (Cherry Blossom) | Spanish | City/Prefecture | Yanmar Diesel | Name adopted from public contest | |
| Kashiwa Reysol | Rey (King) | Sol (Sun) | Spanish | City | Hitachi SC | Hitachi means Rising Sun |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | Flügels (German for Wings) merged with Marinos | Marinos (Marines) | Spanish | City | Nissan Motors | Yokohama Flügels was All Nippon Airways |
| Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo | Consado (reverse of Donsako (道産子), meaning people from Hokkaido) | Olé (exclamation) | Spanish | City+Prefecture | Toshiba SC | Usually just called Consadole Sapporo |
| RB Omiya Ardija | Transcription of Ardilla (Squirrel), the city animal | Red Bull | Spanish | City | NTT Kanto | Bought by Red Bull in 2024 |
| Júbilo Iwata | Júbilo (Joy) | Spanish/Portuguese | City | Yamaha Motors | Unclear which language they pulled the name from | |
| COME TO BRAZIL PLEASE | ||||||
| Machida Zelvia | Zelkova (the city’s official tree) | Salvia (the city’s flower) | Portuguese | City | FC Machida (amateurs) | Machida is known as the Brazil of Tokyo because of the popularity of football |
| Tokyo Verdy | Verde (Green) | Portuguese | City/Prefecture | Yomiuri FC | Green club colours based on Palmeiras from Brazil | |
| MAXIM’S NIGHTMARE | ||||||
| Kataller Toyama | Katare ( 勝たれ ) meaning to be good at, or to win in the local dialect | Aller (to go) | French | City | YKK / Hokuriku Electric Power | Also meant to be a pun on cantare (to sing in italian) |
| Ventforet Kofu | Vent (Wind) | Forêt (Forest) | French | City | Kofu Club (amateurs) | Name alludes to a local daimyo |
| THESE LANGUAGES ARE ALSO STILL SPOKEN | ||||||
| V-Varen Nagasaki | V for Vitoría (Victory in Portuguese) and Vrede (Peace in Dutch) | Varen (to travel by boat) | Dutch | City/Prefecture | Ariake SC / Kunimi FC | Portuguese and Dutch traders were based in Dejima, Nagasaki |
| Blaublitz Akita | Blau (Blue) | Blitz (Lightning) | German | Prefecture | TDK SC | TDK SC also used blue |
| THESE LANGUAGES ARE DEAD | ||||||
| Albirex Niigata | Albireo (name of a star in the constellation Cygnus (swan) | Rex (King) | Latin | City/Prefecture | Niigata 11 (amateurs) | The swan is the city’s official bird |
| Kyoto Sanga | Sangha (Group/Club) | Sanskrit | City/Prefecture | Kyoto Shiko (amateurs) | oldest club in the J.League, founded 1922 | |
| WE ARE INCREDIBLY BORING | ||||||
| FC Tokyo | City/Prefecture | Tokyo Gas FC | The single most boring name in all of Japan | |||
| Yokohama FC | City | Yokohama Fulie | Phoenix club of Yokohama Flügels founded by fans | |||
| Ehime FC | Prefecture | Matsuyama SC (amateurs) | Teijin SC was the company team from Matsuyama | |||
| FC Imabari | City | Ehime FC Shimanami | Former reserves team of Ehime FC | |||
| Iwaki FC | City | Founded in 2012 | ||||
The notable exception to all of this is Honda FC. The famous motor company did not feel like turning professional and kept their company team in the Japan Football League, the national 4th tier and highest non-professional league. To promote to the Professional J.League 3, you have to finish in the top 2. Because Honda FC are not eligible for promotion due to being a company team, they can just keep winning the league as many times as they want. This has led to them being called the gatekeepers of the J.League. Since they were banned from getting promoted in 1992, Honda FC have won the league in 12 out of 33 seasons, and finished runners up five times. This means they’ve kept a team from promoting in just over half of seasons, so the title of gatekeeper is well deserved.
This has not taught you any useful Japanese skills but I hope it was interesting regardless.