Contribution of Japanese & Japanese Americans to Baseball History
Baseball is a male dominant sport that is played on a sandlot. The American baseball origin story is debated today whether it was invented by American Civil War hero Abner Doubleday or if baseball was inspired by cricket in England during the 1700s.
Nonetheless, Baseball has grown exponentially by living through historical time periods. Beyond the sport, baseball’s growth shows a representation of American life with the advancements in culture, economics, and technology. Baseball is often referred to as America’s National Pastime, but in general, baseball is a worldwide pastime. Baseball was introduced and played in different countries around the world but one in particular, Japan, idolized and learned to love baseball. Japanese involvement in American baseball contributed to American history with the Japanese social development through war, civil right movements, and with the participation of Japanese-born players in Major League Baseball.
Baseball was introduced in Japan in 1872 by Horace Wilson, an American educator who taught at Kaisei Academy in Tokyo. According to Asian Studies, other American teachers and missionaries helped make baseball popular throughout the 70’s and 80’s. Baseball spread in Japan at school levels in high school and universities.
In 1905, Waseda University became the first Japanese team to travel to the United States to learn how Americans played baseball and get tips for improvement on their craft. The next Japanese school to travel to America would be Keio University in 1911 who became the biggest rival to Waseda University. In August 1914, Japan entered World War I with the Allied Powers. Japan was obligated to declare war against Germany because of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance where they signed an alliance from 1902 with Britain. Japan’s involvement in WWI ended in 1915 and it boosted their economy because of foreign demand at the time. In addition in 1918, the Spanish Flu epidemic spread throughout Japan. According to the peer-reviewed article, “Deaths Associated with Influenza Pandemic of 1918–19, Japan,” published by the National Institutes of Health, the death toll for Japan was approximately somewhere around 388,000 deaths. Post-WWI, Japan’s economy went through a series of recession and bank crises in the following 1920’s. Anyway, baseball wasn’t as prevalent during World War I and the pandemic compared to World War II, where baseball was played. Baseball was just pioneering in Japan; back to more baseball history in Japan.
The first professional team called The Great Japan Tokyo Baseball Club formed in 1934. According to the peer-reviewed article, “A Short History of Japanese Baseball ‘’,by the Asian Baseball Committee, wrote that Major League baseball teams wanted to promote professional baseball, so teams toured Japan. Some notable American teams were the New York Giants and Chicago White Sox in 1913, the Philadelphia royal Giants of the Negro Leagues in 1927, and Major Laeague All-Stars in 1931 and 1934. Some American baseball legends that visited Japan during the 1930 visits were Babe Ruth, Jimmie Fox, Lou Gehrig, Charlie Gehringer, Lefty Grove, and Al Simmons. With many iconic baseball superstars visiting Japan, it gave the country enthusiasm for baseball to advance Japan. In 1935, a group of Japanese all-star teams known as the Dai Nippon Tokyo Yakyu Club traveled across Canada and the United States to play against amaetuer, college, and minor league baseball teams. Now, how about the history of Japanese Americans in America playing baseball during all of this.
Japanese Americans playing baseball in America began in Hawaii. The first baseball team formed in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1899 called the Excelsiors and baseball popularity grew among the population. Hawaiian society at the time had much cultural diversity and so Japanese teams would compete against Chinese Americans, Hawaiians, and Portuguese Americans. In 1905, Japanese Americans had organized baseball teams in California, Hawaii, and Washington. In 1907, Shunzo Takaki was the first person of Japanese ancestry to play baseball for a U.S. college; he attended the University of Pennsylvania. By 1917, baseball was very popular in America; Fenway Park and Wrigley Stadium were built by then so baseball had many fans.
Baseball was thriving among Japanese American communities; some cities include Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, and Salt Lake City. Baseball and society were racially segregated and racist tensions grew among ethnic groups.
Fast forward to when the United States entered World War 2 in 1941, this was a bad time period for Japanese Americans. Prior to WWII, the U.S. already had prior suspicions about Japan and their interest in expanding in China after seeking raw materials from Manchuria in 1931. According to the peer-reviewed article “Invasion of Manchuria,” by the Harry S. Truman Library, the United States criticized Japan’s military actions when Japan wanted to capture oil from the East Indies which would eventually lead to Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941. The U.S. declared war against Japan after the attack on Pearl Harbor. This was terrible for Japanese Americans living in America because by February 1942, the United States was fearful about national security and President Roosevelt issued the Executive Order 9066 which forced Japanese Americans into internment camps. According to the peer-reviewed article, “Japanese-America’s Pastime: Baseball,” published by the Library of Congress, more than 120,000 Japanese U.S. citizens and residents of different generations were sent. Camps existed in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington. These camps were not meant for human habitation and with there being lots of people at different locations, there were often food shortages and poor sanitation at facilities with less utilities. People were allowed to take some of their belongings and in some higher-up locations, they had schools and a more somewhat sustainable life. Japanese Americans stayed in internment camps for three years to the length of the entire war. According to, “A Century of Japanese American Baseball,” the publication by the National Japanese American Historical Society, wrote, internees at Gila River in Arizona developed a year round baseball league with 32 teams and they described the feeling of being incarcerated in your own country as “demeaning and humiliating”. In December 1944, Japanese-American Mitsuye Endo challenged the United States for the mass detention of Japanese Americans based solely on race. The case reached the U.S. Supreme Court and the ruling favored Endo, however SCOTUS did not address anything to constitutional rights. At the end of this case, on January 2, 1945, Japanese Americans would be permitted freedoms throughout the United States as other loyal citizens and law-abiding aliens. World War II would end later that year. Japanese Americans who were moved from their West Coast homes to internment camps in the East, settled there. According to the peer-reviewed article, “Japanese American Responses to Incarceration,” published by Denshō, says that after the internment camps many Japanese Americans in 1944 moved to Chicago and New York. Post-WWII, Japanese Americans dealt with hostility and violence. Japanese-Americans, alongside other ethnic groups, fought for their civil rights. The Japanese American Citizens League, established in 1929, helped campaign for civil right activism. The campaign joined the “March on Washington” with Martin Luther King Jr. in 1963 to show that they wanted full civil rights for all Americans. Later in history, U.S. President Gerald Ford repealed Executive Order 9066 in 1976 and in 1988, Congress passed the Civil Liberties Act which rewarded $20,000 each to over 80,000 Japanese Americans who were affected by the internment camps in WWII. Japan was greatly impacted after WWII. As the U.S. occupied Japan, the U.S. had goals to help Japan reform and set it up for future growth. Japan settled down learning business growth and political character from American culture.
During WWII, baseball did not stop and major league baseball continued to play throughout the war. According to the peer-reviewed article, “Should Sports be Stopped During the War?,” by The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was a huge fan of baseball and wrote what was known as the “Green Light Letter”; Roosevelt stated that baseball should continue during the war. According to this source, major league baseball supplied servicemen with bats and balls to play baseball wherever they served. Many leagues in Japan disbanded when World War II happened. In 1947, Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier, becoming the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball. He joined the Brooklyn Dodgers and ended a 60-year segregation of African Americans in the MLB. This was significant not only for African Americans, but for the general play of baseball for different Asian groups and Hispanics. After Jackie Robinson, came Hank Aaron and Willie Mays.
Post-WWII in the 1950’s, professional baseball in Japan as modern society knows now was established. Japanese Baseball team owners were interested in signing American talent in hopes of elevating their quality of play. The owner of the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants, Matsutaro Shoriki, signed Wally Yonamine, a Japanese American who spoke no Japanese, once the 1951 peace treaty was made that ended U.S. occupation in Japan. Yonamine was the first foreigner to play baseball in Japan. In 1954, Joe DiMaggio, American baseball player for the Yankees, arrived in Japan to give batting clinics to Hiroshima Toyo Carp, a highly-regarded professional Japanese baseball team that still plays today. Baseball became the national sport in Japan after WWII. American baseball and American players had so much influence on how Japan plays baseball now. On March 16, 1988, the Tokyo Dome was built in Tokyo, Japan. The stadium became home to the Yomiuri Giants baseball team. Many other American events would take place here like Bon Jovi, Britney Spears, Guns N’ Roses, Marriah Carey, Michel Jackson, Paul McCartney, and other American celebrities. The Tokyo Dome helped seat thousands of Japanese fans or people interested to see American culture.
The first native-born Japanese baseball player to play in Major League Baseball was Masanori Murakami in 1964. A short-played career, Murakami was a left-handed relief pitcher on the San Francisco Giants. In the two seasons he played, Murakami appeared in 54 game appearances and held a 3.43 earned run average (ERA).
The impact Masanori had on baseball was being the first Japanese player to debut in the MLB. Masanori inspired young people and Japanese baseball players to pursue their baseball dreams.
The goal for many Japanese baseball players was to be able to get a chance to play in the MLB. 30 years would pass where the MLB would not see another Japanese baseball player. In 1995, the Los Angeles Dodgers signed Hideo Nomo. Nomo was playing baseball in Japan prior to signing with the Dodgers; he had to retire from Japanese baseball in order to be eligible to play in the MLB and he did so. Nomo was a baseball sensation and Japanese baseball fans loved to attend and watch on television the games he started. Nomo’s debut in the majors was really good, he won 16 games, posted a 2.54 ERA, he started the MLB All-Star Game and pitched two scoreless innings, led the National League in strikeouts, and won the National League Rookie of the Year. Nomo stood out from other pitchers because of his pitching delivery that was nicknamed “tornado”. Around the United States and Japan, Nomo was widely known. The following year in 1996, Nomo threw a no-hitter against the Colorado Rockies and became the first Asian MLB player to throw a no-hitter and to hit a homerun, which came later in his career. Due to recurring shoulder injuries he previously had in Japan, Nomo’s career was long-lasting but due to injury he didn’t quite have the results compared to when he debuted. Nomo’s career was great and made baseball even more popular among Japanese people. Nomo increased baseball viewership on broadcast television. According to the Los Angeles Business Journal in a publication from 1999, the Dodgers and KTLA had a three-year streak of declining viewership with ratings falling lower than the average. When Nomo debuted, there was no surprise his star-stunning talent would increase the Dodgers viewership with marketing on Fox and KTLA. The Dodgers weren’t good collectively but Nomo sure brought something for people to cheer for. If Japanese baseball viewers weren’t watching Nippon Baseball in the 1990’s, they were most likely keeping up with Nomo. Nomo baseball merchandise sold rapidly.
The rise of Japanese baseball player Ichiro Suzuki began in 1992 when he made his Japanese baseball debut with Nippon Baseball (NPB). In the NPB, Suzuki ended with 1,278 hits and a career batting average of .353. The name “Ichiro” became iconic in baseball and Japan. Soon, his name would make headlines in America. Suzuki would be the first non-pitcher to debut in the MLB from Japanese professional baseball. Suzuki made his MLB debut in 2001 with the Seattle Mariners.
Suzuki’s entire career in the MLB was magnificent because of his consistency with the bat and glove. Suzuki achieved Rookie of the Year, 10x MLB All-Star, 9x American League Most Valuable Player, 10x Gold Glove winner, 3x Silver Slugger, and ended his MLB career with a batting average of .311, 3,089 hits, and 509 stolen bases. Suzuki never won a championship ring in the NPB or MLB. Suzuki became the first person in baseball’s existence to rack up a total 4,367 hits in the NPB and MLB. Suzuki played with the Mariners, Marlins, and Yankees. Suzuki’s presence filled arenas full of Japanese baseball fans to see his athleticism and resistance. Suzuki’s impact in baseball is questioned by theorists like Bloomberg, in an article titled, “Economic Baseball Theory of the Day: Is the Ichiro Effect Real?,” it talks about Japanese-language advertisements on Safeco Field about Suzuki, and his arrival to the MLB attracted a lot more tourists than previous Japanese MLB players. His Mariners jersey was a top-seller in Japan and U.S. Suzuki is very beloved in Japan as in the United States by baseball fans. Suzuki was a humble player, and even though he was a small guy, he was no scrub. Ichiro Suzuki is still a role model for young athletes who wish to accomplish some achievements that Suzuki was able to earn. No one could’ve predicted that Ichiro Suzuki would be a huge representation for Japan and Japanese baseball.
After Suzuki came, in 1994, Hideki Matsui, a Japanese home run hitter, played for the Yomiuri Giants in the Tokyo Dome. Japanese fans nicknamed Matsui “Godzilla”, in an interview with Sports Illustrated 2003, he said the nickname came from his scary appearance. Matsui was a phenom in Japan and he won his native-team win three Japanese Series. Matsui arrived in the MLB with the New York Yankees in 2003, three years after Suzuki made his MLB debut. Matsui was a power hitter and took advantage of the short porch at Yankee Stadium. The 2009 World Series, which included the Phillies and Yankees, was a really good back and forth competitive series. Matsui had six runs batted in and hit three home runs during the series.
Matsui was named the 2009 World Series MVP and became the first ever Asian player to be named World Series MVP in baseball. He came in clutch in Game 6 of the World Series for driving in most runs of the game to solidify the championship for the Yankees. This would be his only ring in the MLB and after the Yankees, he continued playing later for the Tampa Bay Rays and the Anaheim Angels. Matsui was a baseball hero in New York. Matsui gave his retirement speech in New York and thanked the Americans, Japanese and Japanese Americans who supported him. He embraced New York. Matsui, like all the other players, was an inspiration to those aspiring to the big leagues. Other Japanese baseball players following Matsui played during a time of a more normalized diversity in baseball. Baseball in the NPB is still thriving during all of this as well. The times are good for baseball.
American and Japanese baseball have developed so much since the beginning of the 1900s. In the 1996 Olympics, Japan played against Cuba in baseball for the gold medal but Cuba won. In 2006, the World Baseball Classic was initiated and it is an enormous international competitive tournament of baseball. MLB players are invited to join and other baseball players who would like to represent their country are welcomed to join. In 2006 and 2009, Japan won the first two World Baseball Classics. Japanese baseball fans developed their own celebrations and chants to support their guys. Japanese baseball fans like to bang drums and use noisemakers to intensify baseball situations.
Since the idea of baseball arrived in Japan, it drew so much interest. Japanese baseball history helped contribute to American baseball history. Japanese baseball helped Japanese people and Japanese Americans feel pride in their home country with Japanese player success in baseball. Great American baseball legends like Babe Ruth and Joe DiMaggio helped create the foundation of baseball in Japan. African American players like Jackie Robinson, inspired players not only of color but also other ethnicities to become a part of baseball. WWII, specifically, affected Japan’s country character and interpersonal relationships between Japanese Americans and other Americans.
Japanese people and Japanese Americans were misjudged with prejudice and with the help of the love of baseball, Japanese-descents found sanction. Baseball grew extensively in Japan and Japanese viewership increased in America with the addition of more Japanese natives into the MLB. Viewership and baseball competition increased worldwide with the Olympics and World Baseball Classic. The national pastime that is baseball will continue to live through history and modern life to share historical contributions in time.
