Ryutsu Keizai University Kashiwa High School

Ryutsu Keizai University Kashiwa High School — RKU Kashiwa, 流通経済大学付属柏 in Japanese — is one of the strongest school football programmes in Japan and a regular in the U-18 Premier League EAST. The school opened in 1985 and the football club started with it; today it has around 131 players and has sent more than 110 players into professional football. It is best known abroad for what Japanese coaches call the "Ryukei model": a single pathway that runs from a junior club through the high school and on to Ryutsu Keizai University, all under the same organisation.

Chiba · founded 1985 · 131 players · head coach ENOMOTO Masahiro

2026 season

Currently 1st in the Premier League EAST with 31 points from 14 matches (10W 1D 3L, 32-14). Updated daily.

Playing style

The club's identity was built on hard work, ferocity in duels and an enormous volume of running. Under head coach ENOMOTO Masahiro the team has been adding a more measured build-up and more decision-making by the players themselves — what Japanese reporters call "the new Ryukei". The usual shape is 4-4-2, often with a diamond midfield.

Honours

Competition	Year	Notes
All Japan High School Soccer Tournament	2007	Beat Fujieda Higashi 4-0 in the final — the school's first national title
All Japan Youth (U-18) Championship	2007	Beat Sanfrecce Hiroshima Youth in the final, completing a double
Inter-High School Championships	2008	Final abandoned in a thunderstorm; title shared with Ichiritsu Funabashi
Prince Takamado Trophy U-18 Premier League EAST	2013	The first school team to win the division
U-18 Championship (Premier League Final)	2013	Beat Vissel Kobe U-18 on penalties to be national champions

The school also reached the final of the winter All Japan High School Soccer Tournament in 2017 and 2018.

History

1985 — The school opens; the football club is founded. For fifteen years it lives in the shadow of Ichiritsu Funabashi and Narashino, the two clubs that dominated Chiba.
2000 — HONDA Yuichiro, already a celebrated coach at Narashino, takes over. He spent his teacher's retirement money on an apartment next to the school and lived alongside his players. The hard-running, siege-mentality identity of the club dates from these years.
2001-2002 — The club dormitory opens and a second, dedicated pitch is built.
2005 — RKU Kashiwa beat Ichiritsu Funabashi in a competitive match for the first time, and reach the winter national tournament.
2007 — National champions in both the winter tournament and the All Japan Youth Championship.
2013 — Premier League EAST champions, then national champions in the final against Vissel Kobe U-18.
Now — ENOMOTO Masahiro describes his role as "a good guide" rather than a commander, and the club has moved from top-down instruction towards player-led decision making.

The Ryukei model

Three things make the pathway unusual by Japanese standards, and almost unique by European ones.

A junior club of its own. Club Dragons Kashiwa covers U-10 to U-15 and feeds the high school. It describes itself as offering "a value different from a J.League academy", and in practice it is a safety net for players not selected by professional academies, and for late developers.
A university at the other end. Ryutsu Keizai University plays in the top division of the Kanto university league and has won the national university competitions five times. A player who does not break through at 18 can spend four years there and still turn professional — a strong argument for families choosing a school at 15.
Professional-level facilities and standards. Main and second pitches, a clubhouse, meeting and shower rooms; junior players train where high-school and university players are working at full intensity. In 2026 four graduates joined J.League clubs directly, and two of the current third-years have already signed for Kataller Toyama.

Former players

More than 110 former players have turned professional. Among them:

HAYASHI Akihiro (goalkeeper, FC Tokyo and others)
OMAE Genki (forward, Shimizu S-Pulse and others) and NAKAZATO Takahiro — part of the 2007 title-winning year, which alone sent eight players into the J.League
TAGUCHI Taishi (midfielder), GOYA Hiroto (forward), YOSHIDA Makito (forward)
KOIZUMI Kei, AOKI Ryota, GERMAIN Ryo and AKIYAMA Yosuke — the 2013 Premier League-winning year
OGAWA Ryoya and SEKIGAWA Ikuma, both now at Kashima Antlers, are the most recent graduates to reach the top of the domestic game

Straight from school to professional clubs: KAMEDA Ayumu (Kataller Toyama, 2025); OFUJI Sota (Tokyo Verdy), SHIMATANI Kishin and ANDO Koki (both Mito HollyHock — Ando moved on to Royal Antwerp in Belgium in June 2026) and MASUDA Sora (Jubilo Iwata), all in 2026.

Players to watch in 2026

Players worth knowing in the 2026 season:

MENDY Simon Yu (defender, third year) — a U-18 Japan international, previously with Kawasaki Frontale's U-15 team.
DAITOKU Goshi (defender, third year) — from Kagoshima; played more minutes than any team-mate in the 2025 Premier League EAST season and has signed for Kataller Toyama.
UCHIDA Kosei (midfielder, third year) — a Club Dragons Kashiwa product who has come all the way through the pathway, also joining Kataller Toyama.
OIZUMI Mirai (goalkeeper, second year) — a U-16 Japan international, another Club Dragons Kashiwa graduate.

KASHIMA Hiroki (midfielder, third year) — from the Yokohama F. Marinos junior youth team, and the player scouts have watched most closely this season.
HIRANO Banri (midfielder, third year) — also from Yokohama F. Marinos, the side's playmaker.
WATANABE Toya (forward, third year) — a JFA Academy Fukushima graduate.
FURUKAWA Soma (midfielder, third year) — named in the best XI of the 2025-26 All Japan High School Soccer Tournament.

Notes

Full profile in Japanese, with the current squad list and every result: 流通経済大学付属柏高校.

Where a player has no official English spelling published by the JFA or the J.League, the name is shown in Japanese.