親里競技場, Rugby stadium in Tenri, Japan
Oyasato Stadium, also written as 親里競技場, is a rugby ground in Tenri, in Nara Prefecture, with a natural grass pitch and several seating sections around the field. It sits within a larger sports complex that also includes baseball diamonds and field hockey pitches.
The stadium opened in July 1984 as part of a series of projects marking the centennial of the Tenrikyo community in the area. It was built during a period when sports facilities were being developed across Japan ahead of future international competitions.
Tenri is widely known in Japan as the home of the Tenrikyo religious movement, and the stadium is part of the broader sports complex that this community built and maintains. On match days, the crowd is often made up of school teams and local club players rather than professional supporters.
The stadium is about a 25-minute walk from Tenri Station, and shuttle buses run during events. It is best to plan a visit around a scheduled match, as the grounds may not be open to the public outside of event days.
The name Oyasato roughly translates to "home village" in Japanese, referring to Tenri as the sacred home of the Tenrikyo faith. It is unusual for a sports venue to carry a name with such a religious meaning, which reflects how closely sport and community life are connected in this city.
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