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The 2023 Emperor's Cup final was an association football match between Kawasaki Frontale and Kashiwa Reysol on 9 December 2023 at Japan National Stadium in Tokyo. It was the 103rd edition of the Emperor's Cup, organised by the Japan Football Association (JFA). Kawasaki Frontale were playing in their third Emperor's Cup final, following being champions in 2020 and runners-up in 2016. Kashiwa Reysol were also playing in their third Emperor's Cup final since they lifted the trophy in 2012 and were runners-up in in 2008.

Hiroyuki Kimura was the referee for the match, which was played in front of 62,637 spectators. In an evenly fought contest where resolute defending prevailed, the match ended 0–0 in normal time and the deadlock was still not broken in 30 minutes of extra time. Kawasaki Frontale ended-up winning the subsequent penalty shoot-out 8–7, with Kawasaki goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong scoring his teams final spot-kick and going on to save the penalty of Kashiwa goalkeeper Kenta Matsumoto.

As winners, Kawasaki Frontale automatically qualified for the group stage of the 2024–25 AFC Champions League.

Route to the final
The tournament consisted of 88 teams in a knockout format. The first round contained 48 teams made up of 47 prefectural cup winners and one amateur team (Honda FC). The second round then introduced the 18 J1 League clubs and the 22 J2 League clubs. At this round, both of the finalists entered the tournament.

Venue selection
The final was hosted in the newly rebuilt Japan National Stadium – the first time the final had been hosted in the national stadium since 2013. The game served as the inaugural sporting event at the venue.

Analysis
Vissel Kobe had never reached further than the semi-final stage of any knockout tournament in their history. Kashima Antlers had previously won the competition 5 times, the most recent coming in 2016. In their meetings in the 2019 J1 League, Kashima Antlers won their first meeting away at Vissel Kobe, with Vissel then later winning the reverse fixture. Vissel Kobe had a more convincing run to the final, defeating three J1 League teams en route. Kashima Antlers only met one J1 team but on their way unconvincingly beat JFL team Honda FC 1–0 in the quarter-finals.

First half
Vissel Kobe started the game brightly with Andrés Iniesta central to their good play. One of their early chances came down the right, with Kyogo Furuhashi breaking down the right-side and providing a pull-back cross for Noriaki Fujimoto who blazed his shot over the bar. Kobe kept the pressure on and following a surge into the box by Gotoku Sakai, Lukas Podolski managed to retain possession and fire a tightly angled attempt at goalkeeper Kwoun Sun-tae, who could only parry it into his teammate Tomoya Inukai with the ball rebounding into the net. Kashima were limited in their chances – coming closest with a volley from striker Serginho after Kobe failed to clear following a free kick. Kobe continued their strong play and after Podolski had a goal disallowed for an offside in the build-up, it wasn't long before Kobe's second goal was scored. Former Antlers player Daigo Nishi was offered too much space on the right-side and provided a cross which was bundled into the goal by Fujimoto, following a mistake from Kashima defender Inukai.

Second half
In response to the humbling first-half, Kashima manager Oiwa made a half-time substitution, bringing attacking midfielder Shoma Doi on in place of Ryohei Shirasaki. Kashima played more offensively and managed to create a number of half-chances, but a combination of poor finishing and strong defending from Reo Osaki kept Kashima out. Kashima then changed their formation to play three at the back and match Vissel Kobe's 3-4-3, which made the game a tighter contest and allowed them much more possession and wing-play. However Kashima struggled to break down Kobe and create any meaningful chances, with Kobe's pacey Furuhashi and Fujimoto threatening on the counter. Kobe had a chance to finish the game off late on, but striker Junya Tanaka was only able to strike a weak shot from 6 yards out at goalkeeper Kwoun, after a fine break down the left by Podolski. As the game drew to a close, it was a chance for the fans of Vissel Kobe to say goodbye to legendary player David Villa, who made a cameo appearance in added time – his last professional appearance before retirement.

Post-match
By winning the match, Vissel Kobe won the first trophy in their history, vindicating the large amount of investment put into the club by chairman Hiroshi Mikitoni. Thorsten Fink, the winning manager, said "I'm really proud to have won my first title. There are many supporters who support me as well as the club, and I think it's very good for the city of Kobe". His opposite number, Go Oiwa said "It's a very disappointing result, but I've told the players that I am very grateful to them for having fought to the end". This was to be Oiwa's last match in charge of Kashima before stepping down as manager.

The monetary reward to Vissel Kobe for winning the trophy was 150,000,000円, with runners-up Kashima Antlers awarded 50,000,000円.

Vissel Kobe also automatically qualified for the group stage of the 2020 AFC Champions League following their victory.