The first modern Olympics was held in 1896 in Athens, and the games have certainly changed much since then—a fact that will be obvious to anyone who tunes in the 2024 edition from Paris and sees competitve breakdancing, the latest addition to the Games’ cavalcade of sport.
The Olympics are continually evolving, but all throughout the years the Games have a simple appeal: The best athletes in the world gather and compete to see who is the fastest, the strongest, and the most acrobatic. On top of it you have pageantry: the opening and closing ceremonies can be as compelling as the games themselves.
In 1964 LIFE staff photographer Art Rickerby went to Tokyo to capture the 1964 Summer games in all their glory.
The Tokyo Olympics made history because it was the first the time the event was staged in Asia. That was also the first time the Olympics were broadcast via satellite—before that, improbable as it sounds, video tapes had to be flown across oceans before the competition could be seen by overseas viewers.
From the perspective of LIFE managing editor George P. Hunt, who covered many Olympics, the Tokyo event also stood out for the control exerted by Japanese officials. “The Games were precise, stiff and formal,” Hunter wrote, looking back in 1968. “The Japanese have a penchant for over-organization. The government even put a lid on the hot spots in Ginza.”
That management style which seemed novel to Hunter has become the standard, no matter where the Olympics are held. Host cities spend many billions to stage the games, and media companies invest heavily to broadcast them. They prepare with the same intensity as the athletes, and they do what they can to make sure all goes as hoped.
And the 1964 event, as always, made for not just plenty of athletic drama but some pretty pictures as well.
Opening ceremony at the track and field stadium of the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics.
Art Rickerby/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
The Summer Olympics in Tokyo, 1964.
Art Rickerby/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
West and East Germans march together at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, 1964.
Arthur Rickerby/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Japanese athletes marched in at the opening ceremonies of the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Arthur Rickerby/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
The Summer Olympics in Tokyo, 1964.
Art Rickerby/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
The Summer Olympics in Tokyo, 1964.
(Art Rickerby/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock)
Japanese trumpeters at the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics.
Art Rickerby/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock)
The Summer Olympics in Tokyo, 1964.
Art Rickerby/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Japanese track athlete Yoshinori Sakai lit the torch at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, 1964.
Art Rickerby/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
The Olympic torch at the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics.
Art Rickerby/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
The opening ceremonies of the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympic Games, Japan.
Art Rickerby/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Sunrise at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium, home of the swimming and diving events of the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics.
Art Rickerby/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
1964 Summer Olympic flags, Tokyo, Japan.
Art Rickerby/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Opening ceremony at the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics, Japan.
Art Rickerby/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
A snack vendor at the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics.
Art Rickerby/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
1964 Summer Olympics, Tokyo, Japan.
Art Rickerby/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Al Oerter of the U.S. team won a gold medal in discus at the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics.
Art Rickerby/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
The Summer Olympics in Tokyo, 1964.
Art Rickerby/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
The Summer Olympics in Tokyo, 1964.
Art Rickerby/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
US swimmer Don Schollander (second from left) competed at the 1964 Summer Olympics, Tokyo.
Art Rickerby/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
US gold medal winner swimmer Don Schollander celebrated at the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics, Japan.
Art Rickerby/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
US gold medal winner swimmer Don Schollander at 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics, Japan.
Art Rickerby/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
The Summer Olympics in Tokyo, 1964.
Art Rickerby/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
USA swimmer Cathy Ferguson cried after winning gold in the 100-meter backstroke at the 1964 Summer Olympics. (L) Christine Caron of France won silver, (R) American Ginny Duenkel won bronze.
Art Rickerby/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
The Summer Olympics in Tokyo, 1964.
Art Rickerby/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
The USA women’s swim team signed a kick board after winning gold in the 4×100-meter medley relay, 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics. L-R: Cynthia Goyette, Kathy Ellis ,Cathy Ferguson, Sharon Stouder.
Art Rickerby/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
The Summer Olympics in Tokyo, 1964.
(Art Rickerby/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock)
The Summer Olympics in Tokyo, 1964.
Art Rickerby/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
US sprinter Edith McGuire at 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics, Japan.
Art Rickerby/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
USA diver Larry Andreasen at the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics, Japan.
Art Rickerby/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
US athlete Hayes Jones in Tokyo 1964 Summer Olympics, Japan
Art Rickerby/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
The Summer Olympics in Tokyo, 1964.
Art Rickerby/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
The Summer Olympics in Tokyo, 1964.
Art Rickerby/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
The Summer Olympics in Tokyo, 1964.
Art Rickerby/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
The Summer Olympics in Tokyo, 1964.
Art Rickerby/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Soviet heavy-weightlifter Yuri Vlasov at 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics, Japan.
Art Rickerby/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
The Summer Olympics in Tokyo, 1964.
Art Rickerby/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Medal ceremony at Lake Sagami for the Women’s 550-meter kayak pairs event. West Germans Roswitha Esser and Annemarie Zimmermann won gold. Second place went to 15-year-old Francine Fox and 35-year-old Gloriane Perrier of the US. In third place were Hilde Lauer and Cornelia Sideri of Romania.
Art Rickerby/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Ginny Duenkel (C), Marilyn Ramenofsky (R), and Terri Stickles (L) on the victory stand following the 400 meter race at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, 1964.
Arthur Rickerby/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
