The Most Famous

GYMNASTS from Japan

This page contains a list of the greatest Japanese Gymnasts. The pantheon dataset contains 370 Gymnasts, 19 of which were born in Japan. This makes Japan the birth place of the 6th most number of Gymnasts behind United States, and China.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Japanese Gymnasts of all time. This list of famous Japanese Gymnasts is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Japanese Gymnasts.

1. Sawao Kato (b. 1946)

With an HPI of 56.35, Sawao Kato is the most famous Japanese Gymnast. His biography has been translated into 37 different languages on wikipedia.

Sawao Katō (加藤澤男, Katō Sawao, born October 11, 1946) is a Japanese former gymnast and one of the most successful Olympic athletes of all time. Between 1968 and 1976 he won twelve Olympic medals, including eight gold medals, making him the most successful Japanese Olympian by number of gold medals won.

2. Takashi Ono (b. 1931)

With an HPI of 53.51, Takashi Ono is the 2nd most famous Japanese Gymnast. His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Takashi Ono (小野喬, Ono Takashi, born July 26, 1931) is a retired Japanese gymnast. He competed at the 1952, 1956, 1960 and 1964 Olympics and won five gold, four silver and four bronze medals, making him the most decorated Japanese athlete and fourth-most decorated gymnast in Olympic history by number of total medals won. Ono was the flag bearer for Japan at the 1960 Olympics, and took the Olympic Oath at the 1964 Games. In 1998, he was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.

3. Mitsuo Tsukahara (b. 1947)

With an HPI of 53.36, Mitsuo Tsukahara is the 3rd most famous Japanese Gymnast. His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Mitsuo Tsukahara (塚原光男 Tsukahara Mitsuo, born December 22, 1947) is a Japanese artistic gymnast. He was five times an Olympic Gold Medalist. He remained active in the sport after his retirement from competition. He served as vice president of the Japan Gymnastic Association. Tsukahara competed throughout the late 1960s and 1970s, retiring from gymnastics competition in 1978 after the World Championships. Winning five gold, one silver and three bronze medals, Tsukahara was an important contributor in Japan's win at the team competition in three consecutive Olympic Games: in 1968, 1972 and 1976. He married fellow gymnast Chieko Oda. He has remained connected to the gymnastics world, partly through his son Naoya Tsukahara, who was also a multi-medalist at the World Championships and Olympic Games throughout the late 1990s and who still competed as of 2014.

4. Akinori Nakayama (b. 1943)

With an HPI of 52.34, Akinori Nakayama is the 4th most famous Japanese Gymnast. His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Akinori Nakayama (中山彰規, Nakayama Akinori, born March 1, 1943) is a Japanese gymnast and Olympic gold medalist. Nakayama was born in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, and is a graduate of Chukyo University in Nagoya. Nakayama is one of only two gymnasts to become an Olympic Champion in rings twice, the first to do so being Albert Azaryan.

5. Yukio Endo (1937 - 2009)

With an HPI of 51.79, Yukio Endo is the 5th most famous Japanese Gymnast. His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Yukio Endō (遠藤幸雄, Endō Yukio, January 18, 1937 – March 25, 2009) was a Japanese artistic gymnast, Olympic champion and world champion. He was part of the first Japanese team that succeeded to win gold medals in the team event at the Summer Olympics (1960) and World Championships (1962). In 1964 he won the first individual all-around Olympic gold medal for Japan. He was the flag bearer at the 1968 Summer Olympics.

6. Shuji Tsurumi (b. 1938)

With an HPI of 51.33, Shuji Tsurumi is the 6th most famous Japanese Gymnast. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Shuji Tsurumi (鶴見修治, Tsurumi Shūji, born January 29, 1938) is a Japanese gymnast and Olympic champion. He was part of the first Japanese team that succeeded to win gold medals in the team event at the Summer Olympics (1960) and World Championships (1962). In 2008 he was inducted to the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.

7. Haruhiro Yamashita (b. 1938)

With an HPI of 47.17, Haruhiro Yamashita is the 7th most famous Japanese Gymnast. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Haruhiro Yamashita (山下治広, Yamashita Haruhiro, born November 11, 1938) is a Japanese gymnast, who competed in the 1964 Summer Olympics. He won two gold medals, in the vault and team combined exercises. After marriage he changed his last name from Yamashita to Matsuda (松田), adopting his aunt's surname, who took care of him as a child. In 1961, he graduated from Nippon Sport Science University, where in 1983 he became professor and later professor emeritus. In the early 1970s he was an assistant gymnastics coach under Roger Council at the Indiana State University. There he began his research on biorhythms. Yamashita also trained the national gymnastics team, at the 1976 Summer Olympics and at the Asian Games in 1990, and held senior positions with the Japan Gymnastics Association. In 2000 Yamashita was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame. He is an honorary citizen of his native town of Uwajima.

8. Masao Takemoto (1919 - 2007)

With an HPI of 46.65, Masao Takemoto is the 8th most famous Japanese Gymnast. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Masao Takemoto (竹本正男, Takemoto Masao, September 29, 1919 – February 2, 2007) was a Japanese artistic gymnast who won two world titles and seven Olympic medals. At the 1952 Summer Olympics he won the silver medal in the vault with a score of 19.150, which was 0.050 short of the gold medal. Two years later he became world champion in the floor exercise, sharing the first placed with Valentin Muratov; he also won a silver medal with the Japanese team and a bronze at the parallel bars. At the 1956 Summer Olympics Takemoto won three bronze medals: in the horizontal bar, parallel bars and rings; he also received a silver medal as part of the Japanese team. His main skills were on the floor exercise and he proved it once again at the 1958 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, where he successfully defended his title; he also won silver medals in the vault and team event, as well as a bronze medal in the horizontal bar. At the 1960 Summer Olympics Takemoto won a team gold medal and placed second in the horizontal bar. Takemoto had a degree in physical education from Nippon Sport Science University and later coached the national gymnastics team. In 1997 he was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame. He died from cholangiocarcinoma on 2 February 2007 at the age of 87 in Kanagawa.

9. Nobuyuki Aihara (1934 - 2013)

With an HPI of 46.06, Nobuyuki Aihara is the 9th most famous Japanese Gymnast. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Nobuyuki Aihara (相原信行, Aihara Nobuyuki, December 16, 1934 – July 16, 2013) was a Japanese gymnast. He was the father of Yutaka Aihara, also a gymnast. Nobuyuki competed at the 1956 Olympics and won a silver medal in floor exercise and a silver medal in the team competition. Four years later he won gold medals in these events. Aihara took up gymnastic at the age of 15 while studying at the Nippon Sport Science University. He was coached by his future teammate Masao Takemoto. In 1964 he married Toshiko Shirasu-Aihara, a fellow gymnast. Because of an injury he missed the Tokyo Olympics that year, and soon retired to become a gymnastics coach. In 1979 he founded the Aihara Gymnastics Club. Aihara died of pneumonia on July 16, 2013, at the age of 78.

10. Shigeru Kasamatsu (b. 1947)

With an HPI of 44.38, Shigeru Kasamatsu is the 10th most famous Japanese Gymnast. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Shigeru Kasamatsu (笠松茂, Kasamatsu Shigeru, born July 16, 1947) is a retired Japanese artistic gymnast. He competed at the 1972 Olympics and won a gold medal with the Japanese team. Individually he won a silver on parallel bars and bronze medals on the floor and horizontal bar. Kasamatsu won six world titles in 1974 and 1978. The Kasamatsu vault is named after him. In 2006, he was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame. His wife Kazue Hanyu and son Akihiro Kasamatsu are also retired Olympic gymnasts. Kasamatsu took up gymnastics in 1957, but had his first major achievement only in 1970, when he finished second all-around in the Chunichi Cup. He had to withdraw from the 1976 Olympics due to an emergency appendectomy.

People

Pantheon has 29 people classified as Japanese gymnasts born between 1919 and 2004. Of these 29, 26 (89.66%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Japanese gymnasts include Sawao Kato, Takashi Ono, and Mitsuo Tsukahara. The most famous deceased Japanese gymnasts include Yukio Endo, Masao Takemoto, and Nobuyuki Aihara. As of April 2024, 10 new Japanese gymnasts have been added to Pantheon including Kazuma Kaya, Kazuhito Tanaka, and Megu Uyama.