Abstract
The purpose of this study is to explore athletic sports clubs within academe from a sociohistorical perspective. In the middle of the Meiji Era, students of upper-class schools who were expected to become the elite played sports originally. Rowing in particular was the most popular sport. The Imperial University was the center of rowing. Therefore, uncovering the significance of rowing is very important to understand the entire sports culture in Japan.
Viewed from the cultural reproduction theory, this study shows the rowing practices of the students in Imperial University as follows.
First, rowing activity was interpreted as a symbolical conflict concerning “cultural legitimacy” to acquire distinctive cultural capital and physical capital. As a result, it acted on the new class reproduction.
Second, as a result of enthusiasm for sports or barbarism, the losing process of symbolic power in athletic sports clubs was shown.
As mentioned above, this study finally aims to create a joint theory of “sports cultures” from the fields of sport sociology and history.
