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JA From tradition to the dictionary. Ekiden has been officially recognised by the Oxford English Dictionary, appearing in the December 2025 ‘New Words from Around the World’ update.
We have said from day one that we would love for this to happen, just like Anna said last summer, “The UK Ekiden is like a message expressing my love for Japan. I believe it must become an event that lasts for 100 years. I hope that one day the word ekiden will appear in the Oxford English Dictionary, alongside words like tonkatsu, sushi, and karate.”
Dating back to 1857, the Oxford English Dictionary is the dictionary of the English language. A stated in the 1933 edition, the aim of the dictionary was “to present in alphabetical series the words that have formed the English vocabulary from the time of the earliest records down to the present day, with all the relevant facts concerning their form, sense-history, and etymology.”
The inclusion of the word “ekiden” highlights its growing importance in the country and the public’s increasing interest in learning more about it. A landmark moment for the sport, its history and the growing UK Ekiden movement here in the UK.
Here’s the announcement on the front page of the NIKKEI newspaper in Japan. Read more here.
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