Abstract
The goal of the Olympic Movement was not simply to host the Olympic Games. It was fundamentally a cultural movement aiming to promote a ʻyouth development programʼ that held a ʻphilosophy of peaceʼ in high regard. For Japan, the Olympic Movement was an aspect of foreign culture that arrived in the early 20th century from Europe. Perhaps for that reason, it is hard to say that the essence of the Olympic Movement has been adequately understood in Japan. However, there is one exception: the Olympic Movement of Kenkichi Oshima. This paper seeks to examine the sequence of events leading up to the bidding to host the 18th Olympic Games in Tokyo in 1964, with a focus on the Olympic Movement in Japan as promoted by Kenkichi Oshima.
