Thespakusatsu Gunma, known since 2024 by the short name Thespa Gunma, is a Japanese football club based in Gunma Prefecture. The club’s visual identity underwent a major change ahead of the 2024 season, when it adopted a new emblem and logo alongside a change in how the team is referred to. The current mark replaces a long-standing crest inspired by a local lion dance.
Design and History
The club was founded in Kusatsu, a town famous for its hot springs, and its original name combined “The Spa” with “Kusatsu” to become “Thespa Kusatsu.” In 2013 the team name was changed to Thespakusatsu Gunma to make clear that the entire prefecture was its home territory. From 2024 the official name remained Thespakusatsu Gunma, but the club’s common name became Thespa Gunma.[1]
On 1 August 2023, the club announced the new emblem, logo and mascot designs that would be used from the 2024 season.[2] The club had presented draft proposals on 29 June and collected feedback from fans and supporters over a three-week period, receiving 445 comments.[2]
The previous emblem, used until 2023, was based on the “Maeguchi lion dance,” a local folk tradition of Kusatsu town. The archived official club history described the old crest as a lion opening its large mouth to challenge opponents, expressing a strong will to live together with Kusatsu Onsen.[3]
The 2024 redesign dropped the lion dance motif. The word “KUSATSU” on the crest was replaced with “GUNMA.” The upper edge of the emblem depicts the foothills of Mount Akagi, and a symbol mark in the center represents the peaks of the Jomo Sanzan (the three mountains of Gunma) along with wavy lines from the hot spring symbol.[4]
Meaning and Symbolism
According to the club’s official website, the emblem focuses on the hot spring symbol, which is the club’s identity, highlighting the three rising steam lines. These are combined with “thunder,” a famous feature of the Jōshū region (the old name for Gunma). The club describes the result as expressing “endlessly surging hot spring power” and the speed of a lightning attack that leaves no room for rivals to follow.[1]
The J.League’s official club profile gives a similar explanation: the emblem highlights the three steam lines of the hot spring symbol and combines them with thunder, a specialty of Jōshū.[5] The Gunma prefectural newspaper, Jomo Shimbun, reported that the emblem expresses “endlessly surging power” by combining the hot spring and thunder, and adds the ridge line of Mount Akagi as one of the motifs.[6]
Typography and Design
The 2024 redesign also introduced a new club logo and wordmark. The club’s official site presents the emblem and logo as separate properties, both renewed for the 2024 season.[1] The new symbol mark, combining the three steam lines and the lightning bolt, was also used as a repeating pattern on the 2024 home and away shirts to create a sense of unity with the new emblem.[7]
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