Creating a “Lifestyle of Well-being” through Ritsumeikan Sport Culture

The “culture” of sport has a mysterious appeal. This being that while in everyday life people usually dislike inconvenient and tedious things, for example, when it comes to the culture of soccer, this “inconvenient and tedious physical activity” in which all players except for the goalkeeper are not allowed to use their hands or arms (i.e. physical freedom is restricted by the rules), turns out to be something enjoyable that brings fun and delight to the players through immersing themselves in order to become better at this activity as part of “an affluent life.”

We are attracted to sport because this cultural device was originally invented through the ingenuity of creating “tedious activities” (rules and play) that intentionally restrict our physical freedom in order to help us escape from the boredom of “doing nothing,” which is actually the most distressing thing for human beings, as well as to enrich our daily lives. Sport has a “cultural value that can only be obtained by challenging oneself through inconvenient and tedious physical activities” (such as the enjoyment of competition, the pleasure of achieving advanced skills, and self-discipline), and shares similarity with academics and studies as well.

In light of the Ritsumeikan Charter and the Ritsumeikan Declaration on Sport, Ritsumeikan Sport aim to guarantee “human cultural activities” based on the enjoyment of voluntary exercise and to contribute to the creation of a fair and rich lifestyle with the spirit “to believe in the future, to live for the future” and an attitude of mutual respect.

I hope that you will enjoy the cultural value of Ritsumeikan Sport, create a lifestyle of well-being, and develop yourselves into strong individuals who will pioneer the future during your time here at Ritsumeikan University, which aims to become a leading-edge research university that creates new value under the R2030 Ritsumeikan Academy Vision “Challenge Your Mind, Change Our Future.”