An ekiden is a Japanese relay run. Eki means “location” and Den means “deliver”. In early days in Japan important documents were moved very fast by several runners from one location to another. The sporting event of ekiden is based on this classic courier service. A sling or sash (tasuki) symbolizes the package of documents. Four runners form a team, passing the sash (which is worn over the shoulder) between each runner at an exchange point. The team with the fastest total finish time wins the ekiden.
The first ekiden race was sponsored by the Yomiuri Shimbun in 1917 and was run over three days between the old Japanese capital of Kyoto and the modern capital of Tokyo, a distance of 508 kilometres, to celebrate the anniversary of the moving of the capital to Tokyo. The term ekiden was coined by the poet Toki Zemmaro (1885-1980) who was the head of the Yomiuri Shimbun’s Social Affairs Department at that time.
The popularity of ekiden in Japan is unsurpassed in any other country; however it is spreading throughout the world with races in New Zealand, Canada, Spain, the Netherlands, China, Germany, France, the United States, Korea and now Guam.
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An ekiden is a Japanese relay run. Eki means “location” and Den means “deliver”. In early days in Japan important documents were moved very fast by several runners from one location to another. The sporting event of ekiden is based on this classic courier service. A sling or sash (tasuki) symbolizes the package of documents. Four runners form a team, passing the sash (which is worn over the shoulder) between each runner at an exchange point. The team with the fastest total finish time wins the ekiden. 
