School spirit and sports club activity : "Generalization movement" in Suwa old-system junior high school in Nagano Prefecture

The purpose of this study is to clarify the impact that the practice of sport in an old-system junior high school had on both students and the school through an analysis of the school\u27s alumni association magazines published from the 1900s to the 1930s, a period in which the alumni association went through major reform. The paper clarifies the relationship between sports and spirituality within the school and the way in which this relationship was formed. It shows that the way in which spiritual issues were discussed in the magazine differed according to whether they related to matters solely internal or also external to the school. It also shows that reform resulted in all students being forced to take part in sports. Spirituality relating to sport was supported by different logic depending on whether the subject was solely internal or also external to the school, but was linked together as a result of reform, and students\u27spirituality began to be measured by the marks they achieved in sport