I Think I'm Turning Japanese

In light of the recent Tsunami, I realized just how much influence America has had on the baseball culture of Japan, and the plethora of players that come from that island and turn out to be stars in the major leagues including: Hideki Matsui, Daisuke Matsuzaka, and Ichiro Suzuki. In fact, the all-time home run leader in the entire world was a Japanese player named Sadaharu Oh.

                                       Image: www.truestar.com

Baseball was introduced onto the Japanese islands in 1872 by Horace Wilson, and the establishment of a formal team came six years later. Because the game was considered a pastime in Japan, it was  shameful for the players to take money for something they enjoyed doing, and the games were all free until 1906 (when I guess they decided it was no longer shameful). 

In 1908, professional teams from the United States began touring through Japan,  playing against several university teams that were made up of amateur players. It wasn’t until 1920 that Japan founded the first two professional teams in an attempt to help spread knowledge and wide-spread acceptance of baseball as a sport in Asia. However, due to financial strains, the professional league disintegrated only three years later, and all attempts at reviving its standing were formally dropped when the league disbanded. 

However, this termination did not last long because in 1934, the Greater Japan Tokyo Baseball Club was founded, followed by Osaka Baseball Club  in 1935. In later years these teams would go on to become the Yomiuri Giants and the Hanshin Tigers. The success of the professional baseball revival was legitimized in 1936 when five more teams began and the Japanese Baseball League was official. 

In 1986, a group of American Major League All-Stars began making a tour through Japan at the end of their normal season. During this time they played exhibition games against those players and teams who were involved in Japan’s professional league. They continue to do this tour today and play in what is now known as the Major League Baseball Japan All-Star Series.

Although the Japanese greatly admire American teams like the Cubs, Red Sox, Mariners, Yankees, and Twins, their style of baseball has sometimes been classified as a different than what most people see in the United States. It is often referred to as Samurai baseball, some say that it is different because the Japanese way of life and cultural identity is different. There is a stress on not just the sport or the superstar individuals that may play within the game, but also on the group identity as a whole, and a sense respect for those who are older and have come before them.

                                       Image: www.axisblog.com

Whatever differences may have arisen between the way that the Japanese and the Americans see the sport, baseball is still a game that binds the two cultures. It is a game of skill and determination, and sometimes watching a game is the perfect way to kick back and relax no matter which continent you are on.