The 2023 Japan Curling Championships (branded as the 40th Zen-Noh Japan Curling Championships) were held from January 29 to February 5 at the Tokoro Curling Club in Tokoro, Kitami, Hokkaido, Japan.[1] Both the men's and women's events were played in a round robin format which qualified four teams for a page playoff.
After being pushed to May in 2022 due to the 2022 Winter Olympics, the championship returned to its normal dates from the end of January to the start of February. The winning teams earned the right to represent Japan at the 2023 World Men's Curling Championship and the 2023 World Women's Curling Championship respectively.[2]
Summary
Both the men's and women's champions from 2022 were able to defend their titles in this year's championship.[3]
On the men's side, SC Karuizawa Club, represented by Riku Yanagisawa, Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi, Takeru Yamamoto and Satoshi Koizumi, won their second consecutive and tenth overall national championship. The team finished 7–1 through the round robin portion of the event, losing their last round robin game to Kitami Association (Kosuka Hirata) who finished first overall at 7–1. In the 1 vs. 2 page playoff, trailing 9–6 after eight ends, SC Karuizawa Club scored two in the ninth end, stole a single in the tenth end, and stole two more in the extra end for an 11–9 victory. Kitami Association went on to defeat Consadole (Shinya Abe) 7–1 in the semifinal to set up a rematch in the gold medal game. SC Karuizawa Club took two in the fourth end to open up a 3–1 lead, and later led 4–2 after eight ends. In the ninth, the defending champions stole two points en route to claiming the national title once again. SC Karuizawa Club qualified Japan for the 2023 World Men's Curling Championship by finishing fourth at the 2022 Pan Continental Curling Championships.
In the women's event, Team Loco Solare, with Satsuki Fujisawa, Chinami Yoshida, Yumi Suzuki, Yurika Yoshida and Kotomi Ishizaki won their second consecutive and fourth national championship since joining for the 2015–16 season. After the round robin, Team Fujisawa finished tied for first with Chubu Electric Power (Ikue Kitazawa) and Philoseek Aomori (Miori Nakamura). Since they had all gone 1–1 against each other, positions for the playoffs were determined through draw to the button totals, which Loco Solare had the best of, followed by Chubu Electric in second and Aomori in third. The playoff picture was complete by SC Karuizawa Club (Asuka Kanai). In the 1 vs. 2 game, Loco Solare came back from a 4–2 deficit, stealing four consecutive ends to defeat Chubu Electric 7–4. SC Karuizawa Club also came from behind in the 3 vs. 4 game, coming back from an 8–1 deficit to win 11–9 thanks to a steal of five in the eighth end. SC Karuizawa Club then beat Chubu Electric 7–6 in the semifinal to eliminate Japan's representative at the previous World Women's Curling Championship. In the final, the Fujisawa rink got out to a 4–0 lead after three ends, eventually taking the championship 7–5 over SC Karuizawa Club. Loco Solare qualified Japan for the 2023 World Women's Curling Championship by winning gold at the 2022 Pan Continental Curling Championships.
Medalists
Men
Qualification
The following teams qualified to participate in the 2023 Japan Curling Championship:[4]
| Qualification method
|
Berths
|
Qualifying team(s)
|
| 2022 Champion |
1 |
 SC Karuizawa Club
|
| 2022 Runner-Up |
1 |
 Sapporo International University
|
| Hokkaido Region |
1 |
Kitami Association
|
| Tōhoku Region |
1 |
 Miyagi CA
|
| Kanto Region |
1 |
 Team Ogiwara
|
| Central Region |
1 |
TM Karuizawa
|
| West Japan Region |
1 |
 Okayama CA
|
| Wild Card 1 |
1 |
Team Ichimura
|
| Wild Card 2 |
1 |
Consadole
|
Teams
The teams are listed as follows:[4]
Round robin standings
Final Round Robin Standings
Round robin results
All draws are listed in Japan Standard Time (UTC+09:00).[5][6]
Draw 1
Sunday, January 29, 9:00
Draw 3
Sunday, January 29, 18:00
Draw 5
Monday, January 30, 13:30
Draw 7
Tuesday, January 31, 9:00
Draw 9
Tuesday, January 31, 18:00
Draw 11
Wednesday, February 1, 13:30
Draw 13
Thursday, February 2, 9:00
Draw 15
Thursday, February 2, 18:00
Draw 17
Friday, February 3, 13:30
Playoffs
1 vs. 2
Saturday, February 4, 9:00
3 vs. 4
Saturday, February 4, 9:00
Semifinal
Saturday, February 4, 15:00
Final
Sunday, February 5, 9:00
| 2023 Japan Curling Championships
|
Riku Yanagisawa
2nd Japanese Championship title
|
Final standings
Women
Qualification
The following teams qualified to participate in the 2023 Japan Curling Championship:[4]
| Qualification method
|
Berths
|
Qualifying team(s)
|
| 2022 Champion |
1 |
Loco Solare
|
| 2022 Runner-Up |
1 |
Chubu Electric Power
|
| Hokkaido Region |
1 |
Hokkaido Bank
|
| Tōhoku Region |
1 |
 Philoseek Aomori
|
| Kanto Region |
1 |
Tokyo Metropolitan Institute
|
| Central Region |
1 |
SC Karuizawa Club
|
| West Japan Region |
1 |
 Team Hiroshima
|
| Wild Card 1 |
1 |
LS Kitami
|
| Wild Card 2 |
1 |
Aomori CA
|
Teams
The teams are listed as follows:[4]
Round robin standings
Final Round Robin Standings
Round robin results
All draws are listed in Japan Standard Time (UTC+09:00).[5][6]
Draw 2
Sunday, January 29, 13:30
Draw 4
Monday, January 30, 9:00
Draw 6
Monday, January 30, 18:00
Draw 8
Tuesday, January 31, 13:30
Draw 10
Wednesday, February 1, 9:00
Draw 12
Wednesday, February 1, 18:00
Draw 14
Thursday, February 2, 13:30
Draw 16
Friday, February 3, 9:00
Draw 18
Friday, February 3, 18:00
Playoffs
1 vs. 2
Saturday, February 4, 9:00
3 vs. 4
Saturday, February 4, 9:00
Semifinal
Saturday, February 4, 15:00
Final
Sunday, February 5, 15:00
| 2023 Japan Curling Championships
|
Satsuki Fujisawa
8th Japanese Championship title
|
Final standings
References
External links
