目的:本研究旨在探討日本小學校運動會的歷史淵源與起源期的特徵。由於臺灣學校運動會既是起源自日本內地，故在整體的發展上，自然就有可能會受到日本的影響。倘若能將日本運動會的起源與日本小學校運動會起源期的發展過程做一清楚的歷史考源，其結果將可供日後研究臺灣學校運動會起源之參考背景。方法:本研究以日本的相關文獻與原始史料為依據，針對其導入與普及的因素進一加以分析、考察。結論:一、1874(明治7)年3月21日，在東京築地由海軍兵學寮所舉辦的「競閩遊戲會J'是為日本運動會的噶矢;二、據《大日本教育會雜誌》所示，第一次以小學校為對象所舉辦的運動會是1885(明治18)年10月4日，在體操傳習所內舉辦的「東京府體育獎勵會J;三、日本小學校的運動會在透過森有禮對課外活動以及兵式體操的獎勵下，自1880年後半起，開始在日本各地流傳普及;四、日本小學校運動會融合了田徑性質與休閒遊戲性質的兩種類型運動會，且具有表演性、競爭性、休閒性等三個特徵。

Purpose: School sports tournament in Taiwan， which was originated from Japan， is likely to be influenced by Japan. Therefore， the study of the historical origins and the development of the elementary sports tournament in Japan are necessary and significant because they will provide us with the background information of that in Taiwan. Methods: Based on the relevant literature and historical documents， this research intends to analyze the reasons why school sport tournament got popular in the first beginning. Conclusion: First: The athletic sports which was held by Imperial Naval College in Tokyo Tsukiji in 1874， is the beginning of the sports tournament in Japan. Second: According to {JapanEducation Assembly Magnize)， the first sports tournament for elementary school named r Tokyo Physical Education Promotional GatheringJ was held by physical education instructive center on Ocotber， 4th， 1885. Third: Due to the promotion of the extracurricular activities and the military gymnastics by Mori Arinori，the elementary school sports tournament in Japan starts to prevail. Fourth: Being demonstrative， competitive， and recreational， the elementary school sports tournament in Japan is combined with two types of tournament: track & field type and recreation type.