SHUKYU #4: Youth issue

From the publisher:

There is a famous saying by Dettmar Cramer who is recognized as the ‘father of Japanese football.’ He stated, “Football makes the boy an adult, and makes the adult a gentleman.” I myself started playing football when I was nine years old, and through it had learned many things as I grew up. It is no exaggeration to say that what I had learned has built the person I am today.

The theme of this issue is “youth.” From the “relaxed generation” to “millennials,” there have always been discussions regarding theories on generation. Likewise in the world of football, specific generational terms are established on the occasion of each Olympic Games and recently in particular with the 2020 Tokyo Olympics approaching in three years time, the youth generations of players are gaining more attention ever than before.

In this issue we focus on Japan’s unique youth culture of Bukatsu (school club activities). Many people have experienced Bukatsu, however its meaning of existence is gradually beginning to change along with the changes in our times. In the world of football there are now more players who have had no experience of Bukatsu due to the increasing number of youth teams affiliated with J-League clubs. How will the circumstances surrounding Bukatsu change as repeated problems and the declining birthrate continue to progress?

In any era, it has always been the youths who have developed the culture of the times. This is something that will remain unchanged. This feature issue has been created for both those people who will bear the future era, as well as adults who had once been young people themselves. Although seemingly taking a different approach to “youth features” as seen in fashion or culture magazines, SHUKYU serves to explore this subject through is own distinct perspective. One can all but imagine the narratives that will be born from here.

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