is a famous sports
arena
An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectator ...
in
Bunkyo,
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...
,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
, which has hosted many notable
boxing
Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...
,
professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...
,
kickboxing
Kickboxing is a combat sport focused on kicking and punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, general ...
,
mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incor ...
and
Lethwei
Lethwei ( my, လက်ဝှေ့; IPA: ) or Burmese boxing, is a full contact combat sport from Myanmar that uses stand-up striking including headbutts. Lethwei is considered to be one of the most brutal martial arts in the world,
*
*
* a ...
matches.
History
On April 16, 1962, the Korakuen Hall was officially opened with a capacity of approximately 2,000 people. It is located inside the
Tokyo Dome City, one of Tokyo's biggest attractions.
The venue hosted the
boxing
Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...
events for the
1964 Summer Olympics
The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this h ...
. In the area of pro wrestling, it is considered the
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylv ...
of
puroresu, as all of Japan's largest promotions have run some of their larger shows inside the hall, much akin to the WWF/E's monthly show at MSG in the 1980s.
In March 2011, as the hall suffered structural damage under the influence of the
Tōhoku earthquake, the events scheduled for the time being, including
WBC triple female world title fight, were postponed or canceled. The repair work was completed on March 18. The Hall was closed until the next day, then gradually resumed a variety of events.
On October 27, 2016, the hall became the chosen venue for the
International Lethwei Federation Japan
International Lethwei Federation Japan, also known as ILFJ, is a Japanese Lethwei promotion company with headquarters in Tokyo.
History
In 2016, the ILFJ acquired a ‘’Grade-A’’ promoter licence from the Myanmar Traditional Lethwei Fed ...
.
The
Lethwei Grand Prix Japan 2016
Lethwei ( my, လက်ဝှေ့; IPA: ) or Burmese boxing, is a full contact combat sport from Myanmar that uses stand-up striking including headbutts. Lethwei is considered to be one of the most brutal martial arts in the world,
*
*
* a ...
was the first event of the promotion held at the venue.
Tokyo JCB Hall (''Korakuen Hall 2'')
The Tokyo JCB Hall also known ''Tokyo Dome City Hall'' is a facility for sports, fashion shows, and live concerts inside the
Tokyo Dome City complex, a few minutes walk from the Korakuen Hall. It was announced that a new version of Korakuen Hall would be built in Tokyo Dome City which would act as the Korakuen Hall 2 and it would hold 2,500–3,000 people. The naming rights of the hall were purchased by
Japan Credit Bureau (JCB) so it opened as JCB Hall. After the construction completed, the Tokyo Dome Corporation, which owns the original Korakuen Hall as well as the
Tokyo Dome, would continue to rent out the original Korakuen Hall, lowering rental prices (currently it costs 1,500,000 Yen to rent) to allowing smaller promotions to use the building on a regular basis.
Although most of the sporting events take place at the Tokyo Dome, the JCB Hall is considered one of the primary spots in Tokyo Dome City for smaller scale sporting events, like
boxing
Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...
,
pro-wrestling,
Lethwei
Lethwei ( my, လက်ဝှေ့; IPA: ) or Burmese boxing, is a full contact combat sport from Myanmar that uses stand-up striking including headbutts. Lethwei is considered to be one of the most brutal martial arts in the world,
*
*
* a ...
and
mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incor ...
.
The JCB Hall hosted
Miss International Japan.
Since its completion, JCB Hall has been host of
Lethwei in Japan 4, and has been rarely used for pro wrestling events after the
Pro Wrestling Zero1 show in early 2008.
During 2009, JCB Hall was used twice for pro wrestling, both times for a tour ending show by
Pro Wrestling Noah
(stylised as Pro Wrestling NOAH) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion, founded in 2000 by former All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) ace Mitsuharu Misawa after he had led a mass exodus in which 24 of AJPW's 26 contracted wrestlers left th ...
.
References
External links
*
1964 Summer Olympics official report.Volume 1. Part 1. pp. 128–9.
{{Authority control
Venues of the 1964 Summer Olympics
Indoor arenas in Japan
Sports venues in Tokyo
Boxing venues in Japan
Olympic boxing venues
Television studios
Buildings and structures in Bunkyō
Sports venues completed in 1962
1962 establishments in Japan