Land Of The Rising Son
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Japanese Radio Calisthenics

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Japanese Radio Calisthenics Every Day

My wife (also known as The Big Girl), and I normally started our day with the Japanese radio calisthenics program: Known in Japanese as rajio taisō.

The rajio taisō was introduced to Japan in 1928 as a commemoration of the coronation of Emperor Hirohito, now posthumously know as Showa.

A wooden radio rests on a bare table beside a frosted window, its woven grille catching a warm patch of morning light.

The rajio taisō is used at schools as a warm up for physical education classes, during sports day activities, and by many companies, as a way of building morale and a sense of group unity, as well as to raise energy levels and encourage good health and longevity.

The first time I witnessed this was at a major chemical factory, with all of the workers outside exercising in unison.

How strange is this, I thought to myself!

Workers in pale blue uniforms raise their arms together outside a chemical factory while a visitor watches from the foreground.

After memorizing rajio taisō dai ichi, I found doing this as a daily routine has really made me much more supple in many ways, including mentally.

An indigo figure bends into a stretching arc as its head opens into a flowing jade and coral spiral surrounded by curved brushstrokes.

The rajio taisō we use every day includes rajio taisō dai ichi, then a great neck stretch in the middle (The Big Girl and I face each other and hold hands which makes it a good bonding session as well), and finally rajio taisō dai ni, to cap the session off, coming in at manageable 7 minutes and 46 seconds.

If you really apply yourself, this is truly an awesome stretch, try it.

Two adults in coral and indigo sleeves face each other and gently hold both hands in a softly sunlit Japanese room.

Japanese women have the longest life expectancy in the world at 86.8 years, and then the smoking and drinking (salary) men coming in at a respectable 6th place at 80.5 years of age.

I can't help but to think the wonderful traditional Japanese diet of seafood, vegetables, and rice has something to do with this.

I also understand doing rajio taisō daily leads to the long, happy, and healthy life.

Rice, cooked fish and green vegetables sit in jade ceramic dishes on a wooden tray beside a neatly resting pair of chopsticks.

Here is the radio exercise we use (Best Radio Taiso Here).

I suggest one works this into ones schedule every day.

As one does so, one can also be thankful to one's own-self for caring about oneself and one's loved ones, as one and one's loved ones do the Japanese Radio calisthenics each and every day for health and longevity.

The cover of an NHK exercise DVD showing three people demonstrating a side stretch, one of them seated on a chairTwo stretching shadows fall across a honey-lit wooden floor beside a small radio, with pale bands of morning light crossing the room.
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