Let your individuality shine! Recommended back-name ideas for class T-shirts at the sports festival

10 years as a kindergarten teacher / elementary school teacher / junior and senior high school teacher / childminderkepiko
Graduated from Kunitachi College of Music, Faculty of Music (now: Department of Music Culture and Education, Early Childhood Music Education major). In elementary school, my homeroom teacher was Jun Kusaba, a game researcher. After graduating from university, I worked as a kindergarten teacher for 10 years and as an after-school childcare instructor for 7 years, then took a position as a music teacher at an international school in Singapore. In addition to music education, I engaged in activities that introduced Japanese culture, traditional games, and recreational activities, working with many children. Later, through freelance writing, planning, and editing at Shogakukan, I met many delightful adults and experienced the joy of communicating and sharing. Drawing on the perspective cultivated in the field of education and my experience as an editor, I provide practical information with an emphasis on both input and output, mainly in areas related to music and children. My hobbies include instruments, singing, handicrafts, toys, drawing, traditional games, the outdoors, and books. My special skill is spinning-top tricks.
Deputy Editor of RAG MUSICsasashina
Deputy Editor of RAG MUSIC. JFC-certified fact-checker. I’m Sasashina, a mom currently raising an elementary schooler and a preschooler. During my student years at Kyoto College of Science and Technology, I studied a wide range of fields including sound, lighting, and video technology, building a foundation in comprehensive stage production and creative expression. After graduation, I joined a music production company, where I still work, consistently building experience in production and engaging in a variety of music-centered tasks. Currently, I mainly handle articles for children, drawing on what I’ve learned about parenting and what I feel and discover through daily interactions with my kids. I hope my work can be of help to you, even in a small way!

In the lead-up to sports day, it’s common for classes and friends to get matching T-shirts, right?

What kind of words do you put on the back of those T-shirts?

In this article, we’ve gathered recommended phrases for the back of sports day T-shirts—what we call “back names.”

We’ll introduce them in four categories: nicknames/titles, self-deprecating jokes, phrases that form a single saying when two or more people stand together, names of your faves, and famous quotes.

Find your favorite back-name phrase and make it a sports day to remember!

Epithets and self-deprecating jokes (1–10)

___ people

“XX-min” is slang referring to people who belong to a specific online community, with many variants like “net-min” (internet folks) or “Yahoo Comments-min.” Bringing this culture into your class T-shirts for the sports festival instantly boosts both individuality and team spirit.

For example, using labels like “All-out-min,” “Latecomer-min,” or your homeroom teacher’s surname can humorously express your class’s character and cheerfulness, giving everyone something to rally around.

Try these net-culture-inspired nameplates on the back to make your sports festival even more fun.

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The nail that sticks out gets hammered down.

If you put “We’ll hammer down the nail that sticks out” as the name on the back of your class T-shirt for the sports festival, it becomes a provocative message that wordlessly pressures the other team and makes a bold impact.

It humorously shows an aggressive stance that won’t hesitate to take on anyone trying to stand out.

With this one line—mixing a confident, competitive spirit and a touch of irony—you’ll have an undeniable presence both in events and in cheering.

“If you’re going to do it, come at us for real!” Let this fiery feeling speak from your back with an assertive name that will instantly draw everyone’s attention at the venue!

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the ◯◯ community

How about using the term “kaiwai” in nicknames or on class T-shirts to clearly show others that you’re one group? The key is what you put in the “XX” part—think carefully about what your pair or class has in common and create the wording accordingly.

You can choose any kind of word, but since it’s followed by “kaiwai,” using a kanji word gives it a cohesive look, so that’s recommended.

The process of working together to decide on the word that represents you might also be a chance to strengthen your group’s bond.

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Nicknames and self-deprecating jokes (11–20)

Eternal ___

Words that carry a strong wish that things could stay like this forever.

They’re often used as a self-deprecating joke—think “eternally 17,” for example.

At the same time, they can express a reluctance to accept the passage of time or one’s own changes, even a kind of attachment, while also conveying the idea of treasuring the present.

Your choice of words is crucial: weave in a bit of self-deprecation while clearly showcasing who you are.

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self-proclaimed ___

In the lively setting of a school sports festival, it’s important to showcase your appeal, isn’t it? If you’re not comfortable promoting yourself directly, adding a touch of light self-deprecation can lower the bar.

By putting the word “self-proclaimed” before your selling points, you also convey the nuance of “this is how the person themselves sees it.” While the phrasing can sound a bit reserved, sharing it with friends makes it a great communication tool—letting them, for instance, check whether your “self-proclaimed” traits are actually true.

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Past life: ◯◯

Back name prints not only express the bond of a group, but also serve as a chance to showcase your individuality, right? To convey both, the idea is to create a sense of unity with the shared phrase “In my past life,” while freely filling in the “___” to boldly express your desires and personality.

Although it sounds like a serious statement about what you were reborn from, let’s deliberately make it comical by depicting desires like being a part of someone, and so on.

The key is to think from various angles about asserting who you are—what you like, what you think, and more.

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#◯◯ addiction

This phrase uses the concept of an addiction—something you can’t live without—to showcase what’s important to you.

By combining a friend’s or partner’s name with “addiction,” you can strongly convey deep trust and affection for that person.

It’s also a great idea to use it as a pair of phrases you say to each other, evoking an image of mutual support.

Notice the hashtag format as well: it seems easy to use not only as the main phrase but also as an accent.

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