Japanese bowling pioneer Ritsuko Nakayama, first woman to bowl professional perfect game, dies at 84

Ritsuko Nakayama, a Japanese bowling standout who helped spark the sport’s boom in the 1970s, died Saturday. She was 84.

Nakayama’s death was announced by the Japan Professional Bowling Association, which said she had been receiving medical treatment for an unspecified health condition. Her passing marks the loss of one of the most influential figures in Japanese bowling history.

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Professional bowler Ritsuko Nakayama smiles after a throw during a women’s professional tournament match against Kayoko Suda at Totsuka Bowl on Sept. 15, 1971, in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. (Sankei Archive/Getty Images)

Before taking up bowling, Nakayama played volleyball for a corporate team and switched sports after the team folded.

In 1969, she passed the first professional qualification test for women bowlers, finishing second to the late Kayoko Suda. She was one of 13 women in the first generation of pro bowlers that year.

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Professional bowler Ritsuko Nakayama plays in Japan on Sept. 15, 1971. (Sankei Archive/Getty Images)

A year later, Nakayama made history by rolling the first perfect game in women’s professional bowling. Her popularity, however, extended beyond the lanes.

A view of bowling balls arranged at a bowling alley inside a Round One Corp. entertainment complex in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, Japan on March 14, 2024. (Fred Mery/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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By 1971, she had appeared in a television commercial for a shampoo product, and the ad’s catchphrase inspired the nickname “Sawayaka Ritsuko-san,” by which she became widely known.