Journals

Modern sports were introduced to Asia in the late nineteenth century as an innovation from the West, and the diffusion and rise of modern sports in Asia overlapped with the development of modern society in Asia. I In the process of introduction and diffusion,sports are inextricably intertwined with Asian experiences of colonial occupation andsubsequent post-colonial nation building following Second World War. Modern sports were crucial in installing modern institutions (e.g. missionary and educational institutions), and physical education programmes were developed for engineering modern subjects. In addition, modern sports inform body culture and changing norms of gender in Asia. The development of sports culture in Asia is closely tied both to the emergence of consumer society and to the development of modern technologies of mass media, broadcasting and telecommunications. Concurrent with globalizing flows, the latter particularly is crucial in providing for Asian spectatorship of foreign professional sports and mega-sporting events, as sports fandom in Asia constitutes a major driving force in consumer culture in Asia. In total, modern sports in Asia are not simply leisure activities or entertainment, but represent modern invention from the West and the modern innovation of Asian society. This special issue approaches modern sports in Asia by considering a variety of topics pursuant to the connection of sports with Asian society and Asian modernity, and thus, it attempts to understand the impact of modern sports on everyday life in Asia.

From ARI organised international workshop “Modern Sports in Asia: Cultural Perspectives”, 29-30 April 2010.