Nippon Budokan

• 1. Introduction

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  The Nippon Budokan sits in Kitanomaru Park at the center of Tokyo, two minutes on foot from Kudanshita Subway Station, and within sight of the Imperial Palace and Yasukuni Shrine. Its octagonal roof rises 42 meters into the sky, and the building was deliberately shaped after Yumedono, the Hall of Dreams, at the ancient temple complex of Horyuji in Nara. It holds 14,471 people. It was built for a single purpose: to host judo at the 1964 Summer Olympics, the first time judo had ever been included in the Games. What no one predicted was that the Budokan would become one of the most sought-after concert stages on earth. Why would a martial arts hall become a pilgrimage site for rock musicians? And why would an audience's quietness make an arena world-famous? The answers run from a Beatles controversy in 1966 to a record that one Japanese performer has now broken 142 times.

• 2. A Hall Built for Judo

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  In June 1961, judo was selected as an official sport for the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics, and a group of judo-loving members of Japan's national legislature moved quickly. They formed the Diet Members Judo Association, and at the launch celebration held at Nippon Television's outdoor studio, House of Representatives member Matsutaro Shoriki announced his ambition plainly: he wanted to build a world-class martial arts hall in the center of Tokyo. The political momentum behind the idea was broad. Signatures supporting the project came from 525 cross-party lawmakers. The list included the Speaker of the House of Representatives Ichiro Kiyose, the Speaker of the House of Councillors Matsuno Kakuhei, Prime Minister Hayato Ikeda, and the chairmen of the Japan Socialist Party, the Democratic Socialist Party, and the Japanese Communist Party. On the 31st of January 1962, the Nippon Budokan Foundation was formally established with the approval of the Minister of Education. After deliberation over a site, construction went ahead in Kitanomaru. The Budokan was completed on the 15th of September 1964. Emperor Showa and Empress Kojun attended the opening ceremony on the 3rd of October. On the 15th of October, the arena hosted Olympic exhibition competitions in kendo, kyudo, and sumo. The Olympic judo competitions followed from the 20th to the 23rd of October. The land beneath the arena had a longer history still. When Ota Dokan built Edo Castle, Tsuchi-do Shrine was relocated to that area as the guardian deity of the Kanto region. Under Tokugawa rule the site became residential, eventually the home of the Tayasu Tokugawa family, one of the three branches of the Tokugawa clan. After the Meiji Restoration, those residences were demolished and the land became barracks for the Imperial Guard Division.

• 3. The Beatles Controversy

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  On the 30th of June 1966, The Beatles took the stage at the Nippon Budokan, becoming the first rock group to perform there. They played five shows across three days, from June 30 to July 2, with each concert lasting 30 minutes. The appearances were not universally welcomed. Many people felt that a Western pop group performing in a space dedicated to martial arts was a desecration. The controversy did not stop the concerts from happening, and it did not prevent the Budokan from becoming one of the most bootlegged concert sites in rock history. The audio and video from that original engagement circulated widely. Apple Records eventually issued the first night's concert video in Japan only, under the title Beatles Concert at Budokan 1966. Excerpts appeared in The Beatles Anthology documentary, and the second Anthology album included two songs from that first show: Rock and Roll Music and She's A Woman. The venue's connection to the band extended beyond those archival releases. The Budokan is one of the stages in The Beatles: Rock Band video game, released in 2009.

• 4. Why Musicians Choose This Stage

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  Cheap Trick recorded their breakthrough live album at the Budokan in 1978, and Bob Dylan followed with his own live recording there in 1979. Those two albums brought the arena to the attention of a global rock audience. The reason so many artists sought the venue out is specific: the acoustics are good, the hall is relatively large, and Japanese audiences developed a reputation for behaving in a way that suited live recordings. Eric Clapton described the Tokyo audience as almost overappreciative in interviews he gave while promoting Just One Night, his own live album recorded at the Budokan, released in 1980. Japanese television had already captured a Santana performance at the venue in July 1973. ABBA ended their last ever tour at the Budokan in March 1980, making their final live performance there. The record for the most concerts performed at the Budokan belongs to Japanese rock musician Eikichi Yazawa, who had played there 142 times as of the 19th of December 2017. One album used the venue's name without actually recording there: the American band Stormtroopers of Death titled their 1992 live release Live at Budokan as a joke. It was recorded at The Ritz in New York City.

• 5. Combat Sports and Professional Wrestling

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  Muhammad Ali fought Antonio Inoki at the Budokan in 1976 under hybrid rules, and that contest is now regarded as a forerunner to mixed martial arts. Ali had also fought at the arena earlier, winning a unanimous decision over Mac Foster in a heavyweight boxing match in 1972. Organizations including K-1, Shooto, Vale Tudo Japan, and Pride Fighting Championships have all staged events there. Professional wrestling held a prominent place at the Budokan for years, with major promotions All Japan Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Noah regularly running big shows there. The deaths and retirements of key figures changed that. The decline in audiences following the death of Mitsuharu Misawa and the retirement of Kenta Kobashi led professional wrestling to stop running regular events at the venue. Kobashi wrestled his final match at the Budokan on the 11th of May 2013, at an event called Final Burning in Budokan. New Japan Pro-Wrestling returned to the arena on the 27th of August 2011 for a charity event called All Together, produced jointly with All Japan Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Noah. New Japan held the final three days of the G1 Climax at the Budokan in August 2018, the first time the promotion had run an event there in 15 years. World Wonder Ring Stardom held their All Star Dream Cinderella event on the 3rd of March 2021, the first time a joshi promotion had appeared at the venue in 24 years.

• 6. National Ceremonies and Public Events

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  Every year on the 15th of August, the National Memorial Service for War Dead is held at the Budokan. The Prime Minister, the Emperor, and the Empress attend. The date marks Japan's surrender in World War Two. The Japan Self-Defense Forces Marching Festival has taken place at the Budokan each November since its first edition in the fall of 1963, and foreign military bands are invited alongside Japanese ones. The Japan Record Awards were presented at the arena from 1985 to 1993. Diana Ross performed and taped her Here and Now television special at the Budokan in 1991 to a sold-out audience. Joe Hisaishi hosted a concert at the Budokan to mark Studio Ghibli's 25th anniversary, drawing on repertoire from his collaborations with Hayao Miyazaki. On the 13th of February 1975, a religious gathering was held at the arena to hear Sun Myung Moon speak. The state funeral of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was held at the Budokan on the 27th of September 2022. Most recently in sport, the arena hosted judo and karate at the 2020 Summer Olympics and judo at the 2020 Summer Paralympics, returning the building to the purpose for which it was first constructed.