Nippon Budokan

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 This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia. (July 2011)
Nippon Budokan (日本武道館?)
Budokan
Nippon Budokan Hall Main entrance
Location 2-3 Kitanomarukōen, Chiyoda, Tokyo 102-8321, Japan
Coordinates 35°41′36″N 139°45′00″E / 35.69333°N 139.75000°E / 35.69333; 139.75000
Built 1964
Opened October 3, 1964
Owner The Nippon Budokan Foundation (財団法人 日本武道館 Zaidan Hōjin Nippon Budōkan?)
Construction cost 2 billion Japanese yen
(5.6 million USD in 1964)
Architect Mamoru Yamada
Main contractors Takenaka Corporation
Capacity 20,000
Field dimensions Height: 42 m (140 ft)

The Nippon Budokan (日本武道館 Nippon Budōkan?), often shortened to simply Budokan, is an indoor arena in central Tokyo, Japan.

This is the location where many "Live at the Budokan" albums were recorded, including those of Bob Dylan, Cheap Trick and Ozzy Osborne. The Nippon Budokan, however, was originally built for the judo competition in the 1964 Summer Olympics, hence its name, rendered in English as Martial Arts Hall.

Contents

Location [edit]

The Nippon Budokan is located in Kitanomaru Park in the center of Tokyo, two minutes' walking distance from Kudanshita Subway Station, and near Yasukuni Shrine. This 42 m (140 ft) high imposing octagonal structure holds 14,201 people (arena seats: 2,762, 1st floor seats: 3,199, 2nd floor seats: 7,760, standee: 480) and is modeled after Yumedono (Hall of Dreams) in Hōryū-ji in Nara.

Venue history [edit]

Martial arts [edit]

Though it still functions as a venue for big musical events, its primary purpose is for Japanese martial arts (indeed, the name literally means "Japan Martial Arts Hall"). The national championships of the different branches of the martial arts judo, kendo, karate, aikido, shorinji kempo, kyūdō, naginata, etc.) are held annually at the Budokan. For wrestling fans the Budokan means professional wrestling's big shows. Now, the Budokan is mostly used by Pro Wrestling Noah, who often hold major events there.

Kickboxing is also, in its heyday large events were held at the Nippon Budokan. On June 28, 1969 "Champion Carnival" Oriental, in the main event Tadashi Sawamura has his first successful defense of Oriental Light Welterweight title.

The Muhammad Ali vs. Antonio Inoki hybrid rules fight held at the Budokan in 1976 is seen as a forerunner to mixed martial arts.

K-1 also has been held events at the Nippon Budokan the box office in 1994 and raising an army second time, using K-1 WORLD GP in the opening round in 2004. In K-1 WORLD MAX, which held the tournament finals to determine the first champion in 2002, up from 2007 to 2009 has been used as the main venue. Budokan is one of the venue has been positioned in the K-1 is also important for this purpose.

In mixed martial arts VALE TUDO JAPAN '95 and PRIDE.3 became the venue of the other, Pancrase had been used in pace of nearly once a year from 1994 to 2000. On April 25, 2010, Hidehiko Yoshida "entertainer retirement ASTRA were held. " Incidentally, Yoshida Judo also the last official game was played, which is the All Japan Judo Championship was held at the Nippon Budokan in 2002.

Music [edit]

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A concert stage at Budokan

The Beatles were the first rock group to perform here, in a series of shows in June/July 1966; their appearances were met with opposition from those who felt the appearance of a western pop group would defile the martial arts arena.[1]

In July 1973 Japanese television recorded the Santana performance at Budokan.

However, the Budokan gained worldwide fame when American artists Santana, Cheap Trick and Bob Dylan used the arena to record their performances, Cheap Trick at Budokan (1978) and Bob Dylan at Budokan (1979), respectively. In explaining the popularity of the venue for live albums, Eric Clapton described the Tokyo audience as "almost overappreciative" in interviews promoting his own live Just One Night (1980), recorded at Budokan.

Artists to release live recordings from this venue include (NOTE: on 2013-05-12, it is not clear that ALL the following artists have released LIVE recordings from this venue; there appears to be considerable confusion as to the intention of the list; many of the following performers appear to have simply PLAYED at the Budokan):

(dated, in chronological order)

1970s:

1980s

1990s:

2000s:

2010s:

(undated, in alphabetical order)

  • Justin Bieber (NOTE: an internet search on 2013-05-11 failed to find any confirmation of the veracity of this entry).

American crossover thrash band Stormtroopers of Death released a live album titled Live at Budokan (1992), though the title was in jest and the album was recorded at famed New York City venue The Ritz.

The original Beatles concert is heavily bootlegged on audio and video;[2] the first night's concert video was officially released by Apple in Japan only as Beatles Concert at Budokan 1966, and excerpts are shown in The Beatles Anthology, while the second Anthology album included the first show's performances of "Rock and Roll Music" and "She's A Woman". The venue is one of the stages in The Beatles: Rock Band video game.[3] Chatmonchy currently holds the record for the largest crowd at Budokan.[citation needed]

Other events [edit]

A national ceremony to mourn the people who died during the Second World War is held with the attendance of the Prime Minister, the Emperor and the Empress annually in Budokan on August 15, the day of Japan's surrender.

As well as holding the Live Concert in appreciation of the Popular Anime series Lucky Star:Live in Budokan (Anata No Tame Dakara)

A concert was held in honor of Studio Ghibli's 25th anniversary at the Budokan, hosted by Joe Hisaishi. It included repertoire from most of the films Hisaishi composed for Hayao Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli filmography.

Diana Ross performed and taped her "Here and Now" television special in 1991 to a sold out audience.

The Japan Record Awards took place in the arena from 1985 to 1993 where all of the artists from around the country receive these awards.

Muhammad Ali won a unanimous decision over Mac Foster in their 1972 heavyweight boxing match.

Professional wrestler and legend in Japan Kenta Kobashi wrestled his final match in Budokan on May 11, 2013. Kobashi is synonymous with the arena along with fellow wrestlers Toshiaki Kawada and the late Mitsuharu Misawa.

References [edit]

  1. ^ "Japan keeps Lennon's memory alive". BBC News. December 8, 2008. Retrieved April 7, 2010. 
  2. ^ Unterberger, Richie (2006). The Unreleased Beatles: Music & Film. Hal Leonard Corporation. pp. 321–322. ISBN 978-0-87930-892-6. 
  3. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEhFeRguGCU

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nippon Budokan
Preceded by
Imperial Garden Theater		 Host of the
Japan Record Awards
1985-1993		 Succeeded by
TBS Broadcast Center
Judo pictogram.svg
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