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Tokyo - It is a rare day when rugby is splashed over the front pages of Japanese newspapers but the media went to town after the Brave Blossoms' "historic" win over Ireland.
Even the normally staid Yomiuri Shimbun daily was giddy with excitement, telling its nearly nine million readers on Sunday that the Japanese team had "jumped like children" and "wiped their tears."
"The fifteen players were beaming in front of the crowd who stood and applauded them," it said.
Sports daily Sponichi splashed a gold headline of "Nippon Banzai" ("Hurray for Japan") on its front page while Nikkan Sports said the win "sent a shockwave to the world".
"This is Japan. This is Japan's rugby. Cherry blossoms bloomed in the autumn night sky," gushed the paper, with a photo of the players with their fists raised in the air.
Both the Yomiuri and the Sponichi pictured Kenki Fukuoka on the front page, whose try stunned Ireland and sent the country into raptures.
For once, rugby relegated baseball to the inside pages as the seismic shock of the 19-12 defeat of Ireland in Shizuoka caught the attention of Japan's sporting public.
To everyone, there were echoes of the "Miracle of Brighton", the epic 34-32 defeat of South Africa on England's South Coast that has even inspired a film.
For the Asahi Shimbun daily, Japan has "again proved they can win against a strong opponent by uniting their team" and "climbed another step on the world stage".
The conservative Sankei Shimbun also reported that the Japan team added a new page in the country's rugby history "with diversity".
"Foreign players and Japanese players were united as one team and they made history," it said.
World Rugby said that "all signs indicate a largest-ever domestic audience for a rugby match and the largest live audience of the year in Japan".
Organisers estimated an audience share of 22.4 percent on public broadcaster NHK at prime time.
The match dominated Twitter in Japan and in Ireland and some 120 000 fans came out to the fanzones to watch the game, with scenes of jubilation all around the country.
World Rugby chief Bill Beaumont said: "This tournament is shaping up to be something very special on and off the field."
The win has "excited a nation and captured the imagination of the world... This tournament is big in Japan."
