Shigeru Kasamatsu

Shigeru Kasamatsu is one of those athletes who makes you reconsider what the human body is actually capable of. Born in 1947 in Kumano, Mie — a rugged coastal town hemmed in by mountains — he came up in postwar Japan when resources were scarce and everything had to be earned through sheer discipline. He built his craft at Chukyo University, which has long been a powerhouse for gymnastics in Japan, and whatever he was doing on the apparatus, the world took notice. The International Gymnastics Hall of Fame induction in 2007 is not a participation trophy — it puts him in genuinely rare company globally. The Purple Ribbon Medal he received from the Japanese government in 2005 adds to that picture: this is a man the establishment recognizes as a cultural asset, not just a competitor. There is something fitting about a guy from wild, untamed Kumano having that kind of elemental strength in his bones.

Shigeru Kasamatsu is a Japanese artistic gymnast born on July 16, 1947, in Kumano, Mie Prefecture. He honed his skills at Chukyo University and went on to become one of Japan's most celebrated gymnasts. In 2005 he was awarded the Medal with Purple Ribbon by the Japanese government, and in 2007 he was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.

Name (English)

Shigeru Kasamatsu

Name (Japanese)

笠松茂

Reading

かさまつ しげる

Born

July 16, 1947 (age 79)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Cancer / Boar (亥)

Origin

Kumano, Mie Prefecture, Japan

Height

173 cm

Occupation

Artistic Gymnast

University

Chukyo University

Awards & achievements

• 2005 — Medal with Purple Ribbon (紫綬褒章)
• 2007 — International Gymnastics Hall of Fame

Motto

Private

• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%AC%A0%E6%9D%BE%E8%8C%82

Tags

• From Mie Prefecture
• Artistic Gymnast

Last updated

2026-06-02

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.