was a Japanese

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player and manager. He played for Japan national team. He also managed Japan national team.

Club career

Kawamoto was born in Seto on January 17, 1914. He played for

Waseda WMW Waseda may refer to: * Waseda University * Waseda-SAT2 Waseda-SAT2 is a Japanese satellite which launched in May 2010. It is a student-built spacecraft, which will be operated by Waseda University, and is intended to be used for Earth observatio ...

, which consisted of players and graduates of his alma mater. The club won second place at the 1940 Emperor's Cup. In 1941, Kawamoto served in the military during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and was detained in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

following the war for four years (see Japanese prisoners of war in the Soviet Union). In December 1949, he returned to Japan when he was 35 years old, and became a player at

Osaka SC 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 2.7 ...

. Osaka SC won second place at the

Emperor's Cup , commonly known as or also Japan FA Cup is a Japanese football competition. It has the longest tradition of any football match in Japan, dating back to 1921, before the formation of the J.League, Japan Football League and their predecessor, J ...

three times, in

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

, and

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...

National team career

In May 1934, when Kawamoto was a Waseda University student, he was selected Japan national team for

1934 Far Eastern Championship Games The 1934 Far Eastern Championship Games was the tenth edition of the regional multi-sport event, contested between China, Japan and the Philippines, and was held from 16 to 20 May in Manila, the Philippines. A total of eight sports were contested d ...

in Manila. At this competition, on May 13, he debuted and scored a goal against

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

. In 1936, he was selected Japan for

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...

in Berlin and scored a goal against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. Japan completed a come-from-behind victory against Sweden. The first victory in Olympics for the Japan and the historic victory over one of the powerhouses became later known as "Miracle of Berlin" ( ベルリンの奇跡) in Japan. In 2016, this team was selected Japan Football Hall of Fame. After

, Kawamoto played at

1954 FIFA World Cup qualification A total of 37 teams entered the 1954 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, competing for a total of 16 spots in the final tournament. Switzerland, as the hosts, and Uruguay, as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 14 spots open ...

and

1954 Asian Games The 1954 Asian Games ( fil, Palarong Asyano 1954), officially known as the Second Asian Games – Manila 1954 was a multi-sport event held in Manila, Philippines, from May 1 to 9, 1954. A total of 970 athletes from 19 Asian National Olympic Commi ...

. He was also a member of Japan as player and assistant coach for

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...

, but he did not compete. He played 9 games and scored 4 goals for Japan until 1954.Japan National Football Team Database
/ref> On May 3, 1954, he made history by becoming the oldest player to play for Japan national team at the age of 40 years and 106 days.

Coaching career

In 1956, Kawamoto served as assistant coach under manager

Shigemaru Takenokoshi was a Japanese football player, manager, and referee. He played for Japan national team. He also managed Japan national team. Club career Takenokoshi was born in Usuki on February 15, 1906. He played for Tokyo Imperial University LB was consis ...

for

. In 1958, Kawamoto named a manager for Japan national team as

Hidetoki Takahashi was a Japanese Association football, football player and manager. He managed Japan national football team, Japan national team. Playing career Takahashi was born in Fukushima (city), Fukushima on April 11, 1916. He played for Waseda University. ...

successor for

1958 Asian Games The 1958 Asian Games, officially the Third Asian Games ( ja, 第3回アジア競技大会) and commonly known as Tokyo 1958, was a multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan, from 24 May to 1 June 1958. It was governed by the Asian Games Federation. A ...

in Tokyo. At the 1958 Asian Games, Japan competed against the Philippines and Hong Kong. However, Japan lost both games and he resigned after the competition. On September 20, 1985, Kawamoto died of

stomach cancer Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a cancer that develops from the lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a number of subtypes, including gastric adenocarcinomas. Lymph ...

in Osaka at the age of 71. In 2005, he was posthumously selected for the Japan Football Hall of Fame.

National team statistics

National team goals

References

External links

* *
Japan National Football Team Database
at

Japan Football Association The Japan Football Association (JFA, ) is the governing body responsible for the administration of football, futsal, beach soccer and efootball in Japan. It is responsible for the national team, as well as club competitions. History The organisat ...

Japan Football Hall of Fame
(Japan team at 1936 Olympics) at

Profile at Archive.footballjapan.jp
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kawamoto, Taizo 1914 births 1985 deaths Waseda University alumni People from Seto, Aichi Association football people from Aichi Prefecture Japanese footballers Japan international footballers Japanese football managers Japan national football team managers Olympic footballers of Japan Footballers at the 1936 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 1956 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 1954 Asian Games Association football forwards Asian Games competitors for Japan Deaths from stomach cancer Deaths from cancer in Japan Japanese military personnel of World War II Siberian internees