Let’s begin with a question that is incredibly vast and abstract:
What is Sport?
I raise this question because I believe answering it is essential to understanding the essence of my favorite sport, volleyball.
We use the word “sport” naturally every day. If asked to list ten examples, anyone could easily do so—volleyball is a sport, but so are judo and marathon running.
By listing various sports, we can find some common threads. However, these examples alone are insufficient to confidently answer the question, “What is sport?”
Defining Sport
To begin, let’s look at a few existing definitions of sport.
The Japanese Sports Agency Definition
The Japan Sports Agency (JSA) defines sport as:
Sport is something that responds to the innate human desire to move the body and brings spiritual fulfillment.
Source(Japanese): What does the Japan Sports Agency consider “Sport”? The meaning of Deportare
To be honest, this definition feels rather abstract and leaves the meaning open to various individual interpretations. While this abstractness might be intended to encourage reflection, it feels insufficient to fully answer the question of what sport is.
However, the phrase “responds to the innate human desire” is personally compelling. It suggests that sport is not merely a leisure activity but is connected to an essential human nature.
The Britannica International Encyclopedia Definition
Next, let’s consider the definition provided by the Britannica International Encyclopedia:
Sport is… a general term for a wide range of athletic activities characterized by competition and playfulness. It includes elements of intense physical activity and practice. The etymology traces back from the Latin deportare to the French desporter, and then to the English sport. Fundamentally, it is a physical activity that people seek out and perform voluntarily for enjoyment and a better life, establishing rules within which they attempt to freely demonstrate their abilities, embrace challenges, and aim for fair play throughout. Most modern competitive sports originate from the ancient Greek festival games, but the word “sport” itself was coined in early 15th-century England, initially meaning “pastime” for the nobility. The establishment of the modern Olympics (late 19th century) led to the current form of competitive sports. Types are categorized into ball games, combat sports, gymnastics, track and field, individual sports, interpersonal sports, team sports, indoor sports, and outdoor sports, etc.
Source(Japanese): Britannica International Encyclopedia, Small Item Dictionary
This definition is rather long, but I appreciate its strong intent to objectively, philosophically, and historically articulate sport as concisely as possible. It touches upon the etymology and shows respect for the long history sport has traversed, using more concrete language. I personally find this definition compelling.
While we could delve into more definitions, let’s pause here. If you haven’t found a definition that resonates with you, I encourage you to research others or even attempt to define it yourself. By knowing multiple definitions and thinking critically, you begin to understand what approach is needed to answer the question, “What is sport?”
The Etymology of Sport
The second definition we explored mentioned the etymology of the word Sport. Unraveling a word’s origin is crucial for grasping the essence of what it signifies.
The word “sport” originates from the Latin “de-portare.” This word can be broken down into two parts: “de” and “portare.” Translating these back into English gives us:
- de = away
- portare = carry (or move)
Thus, “deportare” means to “carry away” or “move away”. This refers to temporarily moving away from the essentials of human life (daily routines, like food, clothing, and shelter), signifying “diversion,” “recreation,” “enjoyment,” or “play.”
Understanding and internalizing this etymology is extremely important for comprehending the concept of sport. Without exaggeration, knowing this word origin covers about half of the essence of sport.
Moving away from the daily routine to find diversion and enjoyment—that is sport.
Academic Approaches to Understanding Sport
To understand the historical context behind the word’s etymology, studying the history of sport is essential. Here, we will take two academic approaches: Sports History and Sports Anthropology.
Sports History
Sports History is the study of the history of sport and everything related to it from a historical perspective. By learning about its historical transitions, the current state of sport becomes clearer. This process gives rise to opportunities to answer the fundamental question of “What role does sport play for humans?”
Furthermore, by unraveling the relationship between sport and humanity, one starts to address the philosophical question of “What is a human being?” (or so I believe).
Sports Anthropology
Sports Anthropology is a specialized field within sports science that views sport as culture. While the interpretation of “culture” varies widely, in sports anthropology, culture is interpreted as “the entire lifestyle of a specific human group.” In this context, culture is not a value judgment but a concrete reality based on human life, completely divorced from any attitude that seeks to compare and rank different ways of life.
The common thread in both Sports History and Sports Anthropology is a grand endeavor to focus on the relationship between sport and human beings and understand the nature of our existence. In modern society, public interest in sport is growing from health and educational perspectives.
Especially in Japan, as issues in the sports world are exposed, the value and definition of sport itself are being questioned. Taking these academic approaches is highly effective for addressing such fundamental questions.
Learning the origins and transitions of sport leads to understanding its present state, and ultimately, to defining its existence on your own terms. This seemingly inefficient process, in the long run, helps increase the value of sport and ensures the magnificent culture is passed on to future generations.
The Origin of Sport
Let’s now explore the origins of sport from the perspectives of Sports History and Sports Anthropology. I must preface this by saying I am not a scholar or a researcher, just a middle-aged man who loves volleyball. I hope you keep this in mind as you read my analysis.
Researching the origins of sport reveals several theories, with the oldest recorded evidence dating back to the Prehistoric Era!
It is astonishing that sport existed before recorded history. Humans spent ages developing civilization and culture, creating things that are now arguably unnecessary or burdensome (technology, social structures, etc.). Yet, sport was already created in the prehistoric era. This undeniable fact suggests how essential sport was to early humankind.
The earliest documented sport widely known is Wrestling. Some sources indicate it was a popular event in ancient Greece, practiced on the island of Crete between 1700 BCE and 1400 BCE. Even older evidence was found in ancient Egypt (Egyptian Civilization), where a wall painting depicting wrestling was discovered in a cave in Beni Hassan village on the eastern bank of the Nile River. This mural is estimated to date back to around 2100 BCE, predating the Greek records.
Reflecting on the history of sport, which has been continuous since the earliest prehistoric times, a sense of awe arises. One cannot help but feel there is an unbreakable “something” linking sport and humanity.
The Genesis of Sport: Moving Away from the Routine of Hunting
This historical knowledge immediately raises a new question: Why did prehistoric humans start playing sports? The clues lie in the characteristics of the sports practiced and the lifestyle of the people during that era.
Sports practiced in the prehistoric era included combat sports like wrestling (to show strength), weightlifting, and activities necessary for hunting, such as archery and javelin throwing. The lifestyle was fundamentally different from today: “eating was living.” Without farming technology, daily life consisted of day-to-day hunting to obtain sustenance, tracking and taking down animals larger or faster than oneself.
The realization should now be clear:
The genesis of sport lies in hunting activities.
For prehistoric people, hunting was the daily routine, and sport emerged spontaneously as a means to temporarily move away from it. While one might imagine the purpose included displaying fitness and reproductive capability, the undeniable goal was also diversion and enjoyment—a break from the labor of survival (hunting). Even for prehistoric humans, sport was non-routine, recreational, and fun.
The Birth of Competitive Sport
We’ve established that sport originated from the desire to move away from the routine of hunting. Now, let’s look at the historical transition from these primitive sports to modern competitive sports.
The major catalyst for the shift from primitive sport to formalized competitive sport was the Ancient Olympic Games. The Ancient Olympics, a festival of competitive sports preserved in records, can be considered the oldest.
The Ancient Olympics were the athletic competitions held at the Olympia festival in ancient Greece. They served as the foundation for the Modern Olympics (the games we know today). Archaeological studies suggest they began around the 9th century BCE. Ancient Greece was a highly mature civilization, said to have laid the foundation for modern European culture—an interesting root for the Olympics to emerge from.
Why did the Ancient Olympics begin?
Although there are various theories, the most prominent one suggests they started as a religious ritual. Ancient Greek religion was polytheistic, with Zeus as the chief god. Unlike monotheistic religions, there were no prophets, scriptures, or churches. To confirm the existence of the gods, the Greeks needed continuous ceremonies to seek oracles (messages from the gods). The Ancient Olympics were thus a continuous act of seeking an oracle—a ritual to connect with the gods.
The purpose of the sports held during the Ancient Olympics clearly contained elements different from primitive sports. As a ritual, rules and definitions of victory and defeat became more strictly defined than in earlier primitive sports.
It is surprising to compare this to the Modern Olympics, which were founded with the goal of world peace, highlighting the vast difference in original intent.
The Evolution from Ancient to Modern Olympics
Understanding how the Ancient Olympics, a religious ritual, evolved into the Modern Olympics, dedicated to world peace, significantly deepens our comprehension of the essence of sport. I intentionally use the word “Evolution” here. Terms like “change” or “transition” suggest a gradual shift. However, there was a historical gap of about 1,500 years between the end of the Ancient Olympics (393 CE) and the birth of the Modern Olympics (1896 CE). It took the burning passion and overwhelming action of one individual to bring about the Modern Olympics with astounding speed.
That individual was Pierre de Coubertin, a French nobleman who advocated for the revival of the Olympic Games. Born into a privileged aristocratic family in Paris, he keenly felt the national stagnation that followed France’s defeat in the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71). He became convinced that educational reform was necessary to overcome this stagnation.
During a visit to England to inspect foreign education systems, he was shocked by what he saw: British students actively and gentlemanly engaging in sport. He became certain that France’s current emphasis on rote learning would not produce such youth, and that educational reform incorporating sport was essential.
He continued his travels, visiting the United States, where he was inspired by the American society’s freedom from the classism and traditions of Europe. He began to draw parallels between this new society and the ancient Greek society where the Olympics had once flourished.
Coubertin’s strong patriotism, coupled with his overwhelming drive and the real-world experiences gained through his actions, led to the miracle of the Modern Olympics—the effective revival of the ancient games after 1,500 years.
One crucial point to note here is Coubertin’s perspective: he viewed sport as a means of education. While sports education is a common term today, it is awe-inspiring that over a century ago, he conceived of sport as a tool to improve the nation and, by extension, achieve world peace.
Knowing the history of the Olympics is vital for grasping the essence of sport. However, I want to add one clarification: even during the 1,500-year gap between the Ancient and Modern Olympics, sport continued to exist as an indispensable “neighbor” to humanity.
Wherein Lies the Essence of Sport?
We have traveled through various perspectives—the etymology, origin, genesis, and evolution of the Olympics—to explore the essence of sport.
This journey is merely an “excursion” in relation to the vast history of sport. I hope you don’t feel you’ve fully mastered the subject (I myself feel an even greater desire to know and think about sport now).
Through this multi-faceted examination, it becomes clear that while some aspects of sport have remained “universal” since prehistoric times, others have “transformed” dramatically over the ages.
From the “universal” perspective, the idea that sport is an activity to move away from the daily routine and enjoy has remained constant throughout all eras.
As for what has “transformed,” the primary purpose of sport has changed: from demonstrating strength, to serving as a religious ritual, to being a means of education, to promoting world peace, and maintaining health. The purpose of sport is thus “impermanent.”
This ability to encompass such diverse and even contradictory goals simultaneously is, I believe, the charm of sport and the major factor in its unbreakable bond with humanity.
While I won’t offer a final, definitive conclusion, I will offer a provisional one: The essence of sport lies in two universal principles:
1) the universality of being a diversion from the daily routine to find enjoyment, and
2) the universality of possessing a transformative capacity to hold multiple, diverse purposes simultaneously, dependent on the time and context.
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