“In the winter in 1921, Kazuo Noumi who was a preparatory course student (died in 1984) saw a rugby practice at the Mitatsuna Ground for the first time. He was attracted by this creative sport where Keio students kicked an oval rugby ball and ran around a large field in front of his eyes. He had been familiar with judo, sumo, equestrianism, and other similar sports. But this male sport called rugby played by teams under a blue sky totally allured him, moving him to go to Mita. This was the beginning of the birth of Meiji University Rugby Football Club. Although nobody particularly suggested rugby to him, he developed a longing for playing rugby. His longing then moved him to actually play rugby by himself; however, his university did not have any rugby team. Persuading his judo companions including Gunji Shimazaki, Sukejiro Osato, and Kumao Kamata, he decided to form a rugby team in the spring of 1922.
Noumi acted proactively not only by gathering supporters, but also by visiting Waseda University Rugby Football Club with Kamata to learn more about rugby. Waseda's captain, Kiyoshi Omachi, welcomed them and accepted their request while kindly providing the rugby guide book edited by the club, and Noumi and Kamata were able to receive excellent lectures about rugby. This Meiji's first contact with its rival, Waseda, which left glorious pages of their competitions in the later history of Japanese rugby, began their mysterious connection between these universities. At that time, Noumi kicked the rugby ball passed by Omachi with all his strength. This also kicked off the establishment of Meiji University Rugby Football Club.” (Source: “History of Rugby at Meiji University”)