‘Sports Lounge: Tokyo 2020’

Japan House São Paulo presents, from July 20th to September 12th, 2021, ‘Sports Lounge: Tokyo 2020,’ with several activities and content about the Olympic and Paralympic Games, which kick off on July 23, in Tokyo, Japan. The lounge features surprising elements, sports news, and information about the organization of the competitions, including the new Olympic sports.

Through this activation, JHSP intends to introduce sports fans to the strong Brazil-Japan connection and to be a meeting place, in Brazil, for everyone involved with the biggest sporting event in the world.

Olympic and Paralympic Game Mascots

Installed on the institution's ground floor, Lounge visitors are welcomed by the Olympic and Paralympic Game mascots. Miraitowa, the representative of Olympic athletes, brings in its name the combination of the Japanese words Mirai and Towa, which mean future and eternity. Someity, meanwhile, represents Paralympic athletes, and the name is the outcome of the abbreviated blend of the Japanese and English words “Someiyoshino,” an allusion to a popular Japanese cherry variety and to those who have incredible mental power and physical strength, and “so mighty,” to represent Paralympic athletes, who overcome obstacles and redefine the limits of possibilities.

Another highlight is the Japanese pioneering spirit in the 1964 Tokyo Games, in the development of symbols and the adoption of design as a communication tool. The Lounge will have a space dedicated to presenting this innovation, featuring a video about the more than 50 symbols that represent each sport that will be screened in a fun way so that the audience can interact and get to know each of them.

“We are very excited about the special program we have prepared to promote culture, architecture, and design from a sporting perspective, as well as other important issues in society, such as the appreciation of diversity, inclusion, and sustainability", said JHSP president Eric Klug, who also joined the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) and the Brazilian Paralympic Committee (CPB) to carry out activities that promote the Brazilian participation in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.

JHSP Warming Up

The collaboration includes an immersion in the Japanese culture for athletes and staff, through videos, lectures, and articles intended to provide them with a cultural acclimatization before the Games.

What is New in the Event

‘Sports Lounge: Tokyo 2020’ also highlights the main innovations of the event, such as the long-awaited debuts of surfing and skateboarding, as well as sports recommended by the host country, such as karate, a martial art that emerged in the 15th century in Okinawa and will be part of the Games exclusively in this edition, in addition to the return of baseball and softball because of the huge popularity of the sport in Japan. There will be a space dedicated to these sport modalities featuring mapped screenings and TV monitors showing their main movements, maneuvers and plays, as well as relevant content and information so that visitors can learn about the stories, rules, and curiosities behind them.

There is also an area dedicated to Paralympic sports, exhibiting some of the equipment athletes use to practice modalities such as goalball and bocce, exclusive to the Paralympic Games, in addition to rugby, basketball, and tennis played in wheelchairs.

In addition, the institution will promote the ‘Creators’ project, which explores a wealth of possibilities and features rich content on topics such as technology, creativity, architecture, science, and sports, among others, coming directly from Japan, with specialists in these areas, such as Kengo Kuma, the Japanese architect responsible for the architectural design of Japan House São Paulo and also for the Tokyo 2020 National Olympic Stadium; Kota Iguchi, a Japanese motion designer and one of those responsible for creating the animated movements of the pictograms; Naoki Sato, the Japanese composer who composed the music for the awarding ceremony especially for the event; in addition to professors, researchers, and athletes in the field of science, among others. The project can be visited in the Seminar Room, on the 2nd floor, and on the institution’s social networks.

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Service:

Sports Lounge: Tokyo 2020
When: July 20 to September 12, 2021*
Where: Japan House São Paulo, térreo
Fee: Free admission
Reservation: early booking(optional)
‘Sports Lounge: Tokyo 2020' has accessibility features.

Japan House São Paulo
Address: Avenida Paulista, 52 – Bela Vista, São Paulo
Opening hours:
Tuesday to Friday, from 10 am to 5 pm
Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, from 9 am to 6 pm*

*Dates and visiting hours may change pursuant to the determinations set forth by the São Paulo Plan.

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Information related to ‘Sports Lounge: Tokyo 2020’:

+ Japan House São Paulo’s headquarters were designed by the renowned Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, who also created the Tokyo 2020 National Olympic Stadium.

Women will participate in 33 sports in the Tokyo 2020 Games, and the female presence will set an unprecedented mark in the event’s history: 49% of the Olympic athletes are women, while 40.5% of Paralympic athletes are female. In terms of gender, this is the most balanced edition ever.
Read More!

JHSP served as the setting for the photo shoot of the CPB (Brazilian Paralympic Committee) uniforms and for the live broadcast held to unveil the outfits that were developed by the CPB design team itself, with accessibility as a principle and considering the disabilities of each athlete who will represent Brazil in the fight for medals in Japan.
Read More!

All game medals were made out of recyclable materials extracted from used electronic devices — such as notebooks, digital cameras, and videogames. The items were donated by the population and collected by regional organizations. The Japanese designer Junichi Kawanishi created them.
Read More!

Karate, which is among the new sports in the Tokyo Olympic Games, is a martial art that emerged in Japan in the early 20th century, more precisely on the island of Okinawa (Southern Japan). The Japanese word for “empty hands,” which, more than defeating the opponent, values the search for bodily and spiritual balance – hence the great importance of the kata, a routine of choreographed punches that takes place apart from the wrestling moves.
Read More!

Also check out:

+ Japan’s History in the Olympic and Paralympic Games

+ Technology and Sustainability of the Japanese Olympic Uniform

+ Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games: The Most Technological Competition in History

About the ‘JHSP Warming Up: 30 days to #Tokyo 2020’ series:

+ JHSP Warming Up | Japanese Greetings

+ JHSP Warming Up | Particularities About Japan

+ JHSP Warming Up | Mascots

+ JHSP Warming Up | Cleanliness

+ JHSP Warming Up | Punctuality

+ JHSP Warming Up | The Culture of Giving

About the Tokyo Special Series - 100 days to the 2020 Tokyo Games:

+ Episode 1: ‘The 1964 Legacy’

+ Episode 2: ‘Between the Old and the Modern’

+ Episode 3: ‘Metropolis in Expansion’