Abstract: Based on the principle of cultural taxonomy, and the theory on the “intrinsic and extrinsic value” of cultural district, this paper studied the modern transformation of the national traditional sports in China and Japan from the cultural comparative perspective. It is concluded that both Chinese and Japanese national traditional sports startedtheir modern transformation when the western influences were spread to the east and Chinese and Japanese cultural types, features and their inner regulatory mechanisms are the factors that lead to the difference in the two countries, and the “time difference” can be found in three dimensions: time, space and main feature. The findings are enlightening for us to find the path and strategiesfor the modernization of Chinese national traditional sports.

Key words: national traditional sports, martial art , Budo, modern transformation, cultural development