Introduction by Dr. Ian Brittain: Tokyo Paralympics – Festival of Love and Glory

Tokyo 1964 marked the first time the term ‘Paralympic’ was used for the Games that had been known until then as the Stoke Mandeville Games (although it was the second time such Games had been held in the same city as the Olympic Games).

As part of the film programme in conjunction with the exhibition Tokyo 1964: Designing Tomorrow, Japan House London presented a public screening of the long-forgotten documentary Tokyo Paralympics – Ai to Eiko no Saiten (Tokyo Paralympics – Festival of Love and Glory, released in 1965) directed by cinematographer Watanabe Kimio.

In this introduction to the screening, Dr Ian Brittain, Associate Professor at Coventry University, offered an historical overview of the Tokyo 1964 Games and their impact on society.