The National High School Rugby Tournament is held annually since 1917 at

Higashi Osaka Hanazono Rugby Stadium The in Higashiosaka is the oldest rugby union stadium in Japan specifically dedicated to rugby. Its location is next to Hanazono Central Park (花園中央公園, hanazono chūō kōen). Owned by the City of Higashiosaka, it opened in 1929 with ...

in Higashi Osaka,

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 north ...

, from the end of December to early January. All 47

Prefectures of Japan Japan is divided into 47 prefectures (, ''todōfuken'', ), which rank immediately below the national government and form the country's first level of jurisdiction and administrative division. They include 43 prefectures proper (, ''ken''), two ...

are represented, with four extra teams (one from

Hokkaidō is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

, one from

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 37.468 ...

, and two from

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

prefecture) to make up the numbers.

Strongest Teams

Some of the strongest teams, with their prefectures in brackets, are as follows: * Keiko Gakuen (

) - four times champion in succession, 2001-4 * Higashi Fukuoka (

Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancie ...

) * Sendai Ikuei (

Sendai is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Miyagi Prefecture, the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,091,407 in 525,828 households, and is one of Japan's 20 Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, desig ...

) * Tenri (

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It i ...

) * Saga Kogyo (

Saga is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu at Square (video game company), Square. It has since continued across multiple platforms, ...

) * Ōita Maizuru ( Ōita) * Tokai Dai Gyosei (Osaka)

External links

Mainichi Broadcasting System
page about the tournament (Japanese) Rugby in Kansai Rugby union competitions in Japan High school rugby union High school sports in Japan Recurring sporting events established in 1917 1917 establishments in Japan {{Rugbyunion-competition-stub

Strongest Teams

See also

External links