My local lover...Kyoto SANGA F.C.

This blog tells the story of Kyoto Sanga FC, I, a fan since last season (2011/12).

Once known as ‘Kyoto Purple Sanga’, ‘purple’ was removed from the team name yet remains ever present in the kit and anything related to the team.

The essence of the team comes from the meaning of purple- the colour of royalty and Kyoto City’s colour, plus there is the influence of all the temples in Kyoto –the word ‘sanga’ carries the Sanskrit meaning of ‘nakama’ or ‘friend’, all in all, a true summary of all that it is to be ‘Kyoto’.

Currently riding high in J2 (Japanese equivalent of English Championship), they have been in and out (4 times) of J1 (Premier League) since joining from an amateur league in 1996. Having dropped back into J2 again in 2011, the end of last season saw them lose a gallant fight, just missing promotion back up to J1.

I became a fan due to my craving for a local team to support since moving to Kyoto in 2011. I switched to the dark side of baseball in the absence of Championship viewing, but discovered my local team Sanga, which drew me back to the light side of footy once more. Intrigued by the local passion and the drama of constantly moving up and down the ranks of J League football.

I decided to start this blog initially to satisfy my fascination with Japanese football. Whilst professional footy has a long history here, the league history is very short, only since 1993, competing for attention with the far more dominant baseball culture.  The surrounding ‘atmosphere’ being quite different to that of the English Premier League…………i.e. less louts and foul-language, more families and stadiums with running tracks and full of organised chanting. As a foreigner living here, I also wanted to show how being a local team supporter opens up a side of Japanese living perhaps not seen usually; the people you meet, places you travel to and experiences you run into once you’ve committed yourself to trailing around the country following your new love.