Shiggy Konno

Konno was educated in England at Rokeby Preparatory School, and was a fluent English speaker.^[1] He attended Doshisha University.^[2] At Doshisha, he played as a prop.^[3] Konno trained to be one of the last kamikaze pilots in World War II, but never flew a mission,^[4] because by his own admission he was not a good flyer:

The only reason I am still alive is that I wasn't a very good pilot. That's why my mission was to be the very last. Either that, or they didn't want to damage the plane. My time for take-off was in early September, 1945. Fortunately, the war ended in August. If I'd been a good pilot, I wouldn't have been around to talk about it.^[5]

In 1952, Konno took his first job in rugby administration, acting as liaison for a touring Oxford University side.^[2] In 1968, Konno helped set up the Asian Rugby Football Union, being at various times Secretary General, Director, and Honorary Chairman.^[2] In 1969, he became Director of the Japan Rugby Football Union, and in 1972 its chairman, a position he held until 1994.^[2] He held various other posts in the JRFU until 2007.^[2] Between 1991 and 2000, Konno was Japan's representative on the International Rugby Board, the world governing body of the sport.^[2]

Konno was also the manager of the Japan between 1960 and 1990, including at the 1987 and 1991 Rugby World Cups.^[6]

Konno-san was awarded an OBE in 1985 by Queen Elizabeth II, for his services to rugby, and also for helping improve Anglo-Japanese relations.^[2]

His funeral was held at Kōshōden in Zōjō-ji temple in Tokyo.

• In 2019, World Rugby inducted Konno to its Hall of Fame, alongside Richie McCaw, Os du Randt, Peter Fatialofa, Graham Henry, and Diego Ormaechea.^[7]