Teiji Honma

Teiji Honma was born in the Yamagata Prefecture but was a medical student at the Manchuria Medical University in Mukden (now Shenyang) at the time of the Olympics. He represented Japan as the goalie at the 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Although Japan lost both games they only received a total of five goals against Sweden and eventual winner Great Britain. The Swedish game was frequently interrupted by a snowstorm. Honma played an additional 10 friendlies for Japan.

Honma is reputed to be one of the first goaltenders to wear a face mask. Pictures of him wearing the mask are still iconic for pre-war ice hockey. His mask was those worn by baseball catchers. It was made of leather and had a wire cage to protect the face. Because Honma had to wear glasses during matches, the wire cage had two circular eyeholes narrower than the puck designed to fit over the glasses.