A ball was hit
High into the clouds;
And it fell down into a fielder’s hand.
(Shiki Masaoka, translated by Royichi Suzuki).
When American teacher Horace Wilson introduced baseball to his students in Tokyo a century and a half ago, no one imagined how quickly the game would become popular in Japan. The year 2022 marks the 150th anniversary of the U.S.-Japan Baseball Diplomacy. Baseball has built strong connections between Japan and the US, uniting professional players, students, and Little League players and, of course, the fans from both sides of the Pacific.
The Japanese have always been passionate about baseball. They played baseball in Yokohama with American sailors in the 1890s and then in Hawaii where the first Issei moved. They created teams in California, Oregon, and Washington. These teams traveled to Japan and invited Japanese teams to the US for games. Since 1905 when the Waseda University baseball team toured to America, both countries have regularly extended and accepted invitations from each other.
The San Jose Asahi baseball team was the first team in SJ Japantown. The team’s success was possible because of the community’s warm support. In 1925 the San Jose Asahi team traveled to Japan where they played against Meiji University, Waseda University, Keio University, and Todai University. After that the team joined the Northern California Japanese Baseball League. (It's really interesting that Asahi was one of the most popular names for Japanese American teams at that time. What was that, if not the “dawn” of Japanese American baseball?) If you would like to learn more about baseball in San Jose Japantown, I recommend you read the book “From Asahi to Zebras” by Ralph M. Pearce. It is a great book with rare photos and interviews with team members.
During World War II baseball became a real salvation for those in the internment camps; in difficult times it gave hope to everyone, young and old and was something to look forward to in the bleak camp life. After the war, as the Japanese Americans rebuilt their lives from scratch, they did not lose their passion and enthusiasm for their favorite game.
Today baseball has become a symbol of the history of Japanese-American relations. Sport unites people, helps to build community and preserve the memory of ancestors.
Baseball was not so popular in the country where I was born, so I did not watch baseball games growing up, but I read lots of manga! I was really surprised when I found a baseball manga “Sportsman Kintarou” in an old issue of “Shuukan Shounen Sunday”(1959). The history of baseball in Japan was longer than I thought. What was the role of manga in baseball’s popularity?
“Supokon” or sports manga, is one of the most well-liked genre of manga. Stories about sumo, rugby, swimming, martial arts, boxing, figure skating and, of course, baseball attract many readers of all ages. The plot of sports manga is not so complicated. It’s usually about hard work, perseverance, team spirit, friendship, and competition. The main character (a very talented player or a total loser) challenges himself, joins the team or creates his own team, and finally wins a big game. The romantic part can also be added.
With the growing popularity of sports manga in the 60s-70s, many baseball manga became huge hits in Japan and motivated young boys to play baseball. Manga artists Ikki Kajiwara and Noboru Kawasaki breathed life into baseball manga “Kyojin no Hoshi” (Star of the Giants). They created a captivating story with a detailed description of the strategy of the game and the appearance of the mystical "makyu:" (magic pitch), a special technique, a skill bordering on magic. The rivals of the main character try to logically explain that "magic" for several pages.
Manga Ace of the Diamond - Kodansha is definitely one of the most popular supokon with a typical plot and a “makyu:”. Young player Eijun Sawamura has an ability to change his pitch and force the ball to move unpredictably. Prestigious Seido School offers him a scholarship and a chance to make it to the nationals. His dream is to see his team bring home the championship title.
In the manga “Rookies” (Masanori Morita) Koichi, an amateur teacher, starts working at a high school with a not so good reputation. He tells his students about the annual baseball tournament Koshien and inspires them to achieve their dream of going there.
Many manga stories show us a one-on-one confrontation between the main character and his rival. But baseball is a team game. Even a superplayer can not win without his team. In the retro manga “Dokaben”, Shinji Mizushima depicted in detail the nine-on-nine game on the pages to bring team spirit to life.
Teamwork became an important part of sports manga. For example, in the manga “Asaoka High School Baseball Club Diary: Over Fence” (Mitsuru Adachi), Minori, the manager of the school's baseball club, is trying to get the club back on track. She has to solve difficult tasks, and her friends motivate her. Readers can also learn interesting information about the history of baseball.
Over the years through the game and through many baseball manga, baseball has demonstrated to us that if we really want to change our lives, we need to move out of our comfort zone and take action. When we work hard to make our dreams true, the world will definitely give it to us. Let’s play ball!
By Elena Usanova