Sports

The prisoners built a tennis court and a bowling alley in the camp and there remain photos showing the prisoners enjoying sports. In addition, a gymnastics club was established and competitions were held regularly in the camp. Winners in each event were awarded certificates of merit and trophies.

Photo: A prisoner playing tennis (courtesy of Mr. Dieter Linke)

Photo: A tennis court (courtesy of Mr. Dieter Linke)

Photo: A bowling alley (courtesy of Mr. Dieter Linke)

Photo: The pole vault (courtesy of Mr. Dieter Linke)

Photo: Coordinated group gymnastics (courtesy of Mr. Dieter Linke)

Soccer

Among outdoor sports, the prisoners enjoyed playing soccer outside the board fence on the southern side of the camp. Kersten’s Diary describes three games where Kersten himself played with the team from the Himeji Teachers College (predecessor of the present Kobe University).

“We played soccer with the team from a teachers college in Himeji three times. After we won by 6 to 0, they tried to overcome the disgrace of the defeat. Before the opportunity came, a clash of a bad nature occurred within our team. The forward and the goalkeeper could no longer play together and the next game ended in a 2-2 draw. The Japanese were so triumphant that they challenged us to a third game believing that they would surely win, not knowing that our team quarrel had been solved. The poor Japanese team! I will never forget the look of disappointment on their faces. We scored a crushing victory of 8 to 0. My position was the center half.”
(From Kersten’s Diary)

Photo: A commemorative photo taken with students of the Himeji Teachers College (courtesy of an unnamed individual)

The father of the person who provided the photograph shown above actually played in this game. Written at the bottom of the photo is the score of 8-0 and the year and month (May 1919) when the game took place. The score accords with Kersten’s Diary’s descriptions about the third game. This photograph revealed when the game took place.

Photographs taken at that time show not only the prisoners playing soccer but also the women and children watching the game. In addition, prisoners also played soccer with the team of what used to be Ono Junior High School (predecessor of the present Hyogo Prefectural Ono Senior High School) on July 13, 1919. Prisoners connected with the local community through these activities carried out outside the board fence.

Photo: Prisoners playing soccer (courtesy of Mr. Dieter Linke)

Photo: People watching soccer (courtesy of Mr. Dieter Linke)