This study examines the Japanese athletic team’s 1933 tour of South America, which was part of the pre-war Japan-Brazil sport exchange history, despite being seldom reported in Japan. This paper examines the activities that occurred during this six-month tour, in order to historically assess its outcomes.
The tour was the first official visit of a Japanese sport team to South America. However, details about the athletes' performances during the tour cannot be obtained from foreign ministry records. Likewise, there are very few historical assessments of the outcomes of the tour.
In particular, the tour became a catalyst for Japan-Brazil exchanges via athletic competitions, which are considered to have had a significant impact on sport in both countries, even to this day. Nonetheless, the tour remains a relatively ignored subject in sport history.
This study is significant in that it illuminates a new phase of Japan-Brazil sport exchange history.

本研究は、平成26年度科学研究費補助金（挑戦的萌芽研究 課題名「戦前の日伯スポーツ交流が1964年東京五輪の招致決定に与えた影響」課題番号：26560355）の研究成果の一部である。