An , literally "cheering squad" or "cheering section", is a Japanese sports rallying team similar in purpose to a

cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...

squad in the United States, but relies more on making a lot of noise with

taiko are a broad range of Japanese percussion instruments. In Japanese, the term refers to any kind of drum, but outside Japan, it is used specifically to refer to any of the various Japanese drums called and to the form of ensemble drumming m ...

drums, blowing horns and other items, waving

flags A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic desi ...

and banners, and yelling through plastic

megaphone A megaphone, speaking-trumpet, bullhorn, blowhorn, or loudhailer is usually a portable or hand-held, cone-shaped acoustic horn used to amplify a person's voice or other sounds and direct it in a given direction. The sound is introduced into ...

s in support of their sports team than on

acrobat Acrobatics () is the performance of human feats of balance, agility, and motor coordination. Acrobatic skills are used in performing arts, sporting events, and martial arts. Extensive use of acrobatic skills are most often performed in acro ...

ic moves (though some ''ōendan'' incorporate pom-pom girls). In addition to cheering for their own teams, ''ōendan'' have been known to lead fans in cheers which tease and

taunt A taunt is a battle cry, sarcastic remark, gesture, or insult intended to demoralize the recipient, or to anger them and encourage reactionary behaviors without thinking. Taunting can exist as a form of social competition to gain control of the tar ...

the other team and its fans. This is usually done in the spirit of good competition, but occasional fights have broken out if the taunting gets too heated. Smaller ōendan are sometimes called .

Introduction

''Ōendan'' or ''ōenbu'' can be found in

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

s and

universities A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

, as well as in non-academic settings such as intercompany sports clubs, professional sports fan clubs, and so on. Many schools hold competitions during their

sports day Sports days (British English) or field days (American English) are events staged by many schools and offices in which people participate in competitive sporting activities, often with the aim of winning trophies or prizes. Though they are often h ...

events, and students often spend weeks perfecting their presentations after being divided up into teams. Many members of an ''ōendan'' will dress in long ''

happi A is a traditional tube-sleeved Japanese coat, usually worn only during festivals. typically feature symbols and/or text on the lapels, with a larger design on the back of the coat, typically the name or the festival or the participating ...

'' and wear ''

hachimaki A is a Japanese headband, usually made of red or white cloth, typically featuring a design of kanji at the front. It is worn as a symbol of effort or courage by the wearer, especially by those in the military, or to simply keep sweat off one' ...

'' emblazoned with team logos, inspirational sayings, or the names of their favorite players, something adopted by some fans of Japanese idol groups. Especially with professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

teams, the ''ōendan'' for each team will come up with unique cheers to help the fans become involved. These cheers will often change depending on who the opposing team is. On occasion, the fans themselves will come up with a new cheer that is then adopted by other fans and their team's ''ōendan''.

References

External links

Science of Baseball: Besuboru: page 3

Japanese Baseball
from ''The Japan Project'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Oendan Cheerleading High school sports in Japan Articles containing video clips

Introduction

See also

References

External links