From the youthful sports of skateboarding and breaking to the more traditional Olympic pursuits of wrestling and fencing, Japan achieved virtually unprecedented success at the Paris Games.
While it did not match its record number of gold and total medals set at the Tokyo Games three years ago, its haul was bigger in both categories than at any previous Olympics on foreign soil.
With 20 gold, 12 silver and 13 bronze, Japan finished behind only the United States and China on the medal table. The two Olympic powerhouses tied with 40 gold, but the Stars and Stripes ended up on top thanks to having more silver.
Reflecting on Japan's performance, Japan's Chef de Mission Mitsugi Ogata said Sunday, "It proves our athletes are performing to their abilities in battles that are fought among the best of the best."
The biggest medal contributor for Japan was wrestling with a total of eight gold -- four won in the men's, including two from Kenichiro Fumita and Nao Kusaka earning the nation's first Greco-Roman titles in 40 years. Including the women's four, Paris saw a big improvement on the five wrestling gold won in 2021.
Shinnosuke Oka emerged as the heir to Japan's men's artistic gymnastics throne, becoming the fourth straight all-around winner from the country after Kohei Uchimura and Daiki Hashimoto. Oka also won the horizontal bar and team event, giving Japan's gymnasts one more gold than Tokyo.
"I had this very same dream ever since I was 10 years old, and I always worked very hard and fought, because I wanted to excel and reach my dream," Oka said.
Japan's fencers continued their rise in the ranks as Koki Kano won the men's individual epee before the men's foil team joined the fun, building on Japan's first gold in the sport won in the men's team epee in Tokyo. With the gold medals, plus a silver and two bronze, Japan was more successful than any other nation at the stunning Grand Palais fencing venue.
"This is the first step toward fencing becoming a forte for Japan," Japan team captain Kyosuke Matsuyama said. "The important thing is to keep winning."
After sweeping the Tokyo Games street skateboarding competitions, Japan continued to roll with Yuto Horigome defending his men's title and new winner Coco Yoshizawa keeping the women's in Japanese hands.
"I don't want to think about the Los Angeles Olympics in four years yet. The young Japanese boarders are too amazing and I'm not sure if my body and mind can keep up with them till then," the 25-year-old Horigome said.
In Tokyo, Japan won three gold in baseball/softball and karate, all of which were removed for Paris, but in France gained one in the new sport of breaking when Ami Yuasa spun and shuffled her way to the first women's title.
"Breaking is everything," Yuasa said. "Breaking is art, (it can) also be sports, breaking is expression. It's taught me many things. If it wasn't for breaking I wouldn't have traveled here or met my friends."
In addition to breaking, Japan had a number of other firsts.
Haruka Kitaguchi's javelin win was Japan's first gold in a women's athletics field event, while silver medals for Taishu Sato in modern pentathlon and Rikuto Tamai in diving were both the nation's first-ever at the Olympics.
It was not all positive, though, with Japan's strong suit of judo not delivering as many gold as usual.
Uta Abe was the most visible and heartbreaking failure, as the 24-year-old missed the chance to defend her title on the same day as her brother Hifumi managed the feat.
The scene of an inconsolable Abe after her defeat in the women's 52-kilogram second round foreshadowed Japan's judo performance to come, with it winning just three gold compared to nine in Tokyo.
In some other high-profile sports, Japan also struck out, with the men's and women's volleyball teams failing to meet expectations, as did the defending silver medalist women's basketball team that lost all of its games.
Both football teams went out in the last eight to eventual winners, Spain in the men's and the United States in the women's, while there was no swimming gold for the first time since the 2012 London Games.
Weighing the triumphs against the disappointments, Japanese sporting authorities seem more than happy with the direction the nation appears to be taking.
"Having so many events with first-time medals is a huge result for us," Vice Chef de Mission Kosei Inoue said Sunday.
"We'll look to start our preparations early for the Los Angeles Games in four years."
Related coverage:
Paris Olympics draw to close as torch passed to Los Angeles
IN PHOTOS: Candid moments at 2024 Paris Olympics
