DOCSLIB.ORG

A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Masa Ishido

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Masa Ishido SPORT CULTURE IN JAPAN AND THE CHALLENGE OF GLOBAL PROCESSES: THE SPECIFIC CASE OF JAPANESE BASEBALL AND LABOUR MIGRATION A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Masa Ishido School of Sport and Education Brunel University 2006 Table of Contents Acknowledgements iv ...................................................................................... Abstract ........................................................................................................ v List Tables vi of ............................................................................................... List Figure of ................. ............................................................................. vii List Abbreviations of ................................................................................. viii Glossary Abbreviations Baseball Terms ix and of ......................................... Chapter One: Introduction: How This Research was Launched..... 1 1.1 Introduction l .......................................................................................... 1.2 The Role the Researcher 7 of ................................................................... 1.3 Methodology 10 ........................................................................................ 1.3.1 Philosophical View Social Research 10 about .................................. 1.3.2 Research Methods (1) Documentary Search 15 ............................... 1.3.3 Research Methods (2) Interview 21 .................................................. 1.3.4 Research Methods (3) Email and Conventional Correspondence 22 ................. 1.4 The Structure this Thesis 27 of ............................................................... 1.5 Terminology 33 ........................................................................................ Chapter Two: The Theory of Globalisation: How Globalisation is Studied in Context Sport 34 the of ............................. 2.1 Introduction 34 ........................................................................................ 2.2 Globalisation Homogenisation 38 as ...................................................... 2.3 Globalisation Heterogenisation 47 as ..................................................... 2.3.1 Hegemony Sport Globalisation 49 and ............................................. 2.3.2 Figurational Approach to Sport Globalisation 51 ............................ Chapter Three: Sport Culture in Japan: A Non-Western Point of View 56 .................................................................... 3.1 The Pre-Modern Era (Before 1868) 57 .................................................... 3.2 Sport Culture in the Pre-Modern Era (Before 1868) 61 ........................ 3.3 The Modern Era (1868-1945) 63 ............................................................. 3.4 Sport Culture in the Modern Era (1868-1945) 66 .................................. 3.5 The Modern Era (1945-1990) 75 ............................................................. 3.6 Sport Culture in the Modern Era (1945-1990) 77 ................................. 3.7 The Post-Modern Era (1990-) 82 ............................................................ 3.8 Sport Culture in the Post-Modern Era (1990-) 83 ................................. 3.9 The Concluding Remarks Relating to Chapter Two and Three........ 89 Chapter Four: Japanese Baseball in the Global Processes: The History and Growth of Japanese Baseball (up to 1950) 93 ................................................................... 4.1 Some Basic Information Japanese Baseball 93 about ........................... 4.2 Introduction 96 ........................................................................................ 4.3 The History Growth Japanese Baseball 105 and of ............................... 4.3.1 The Era Ichiko Baseball 105 of ......................................................... 4.3.2 The Era College Baseball 111 of ....................................................... 4.3.3 The Birth Professional Baseball 115 of ............................................ Chapter Five: The History and Growth of Japanese Baseball (after 1950): Labour Migration in Japanese Baseball.... 122 5.1 Overview 123 ........................................................................................... 5.2 Baseball Migration in the 1950s 136 ...................................................... 5.3 Japanese Baseball in the 1950s 139 ....................................................... 5.4 Baseball Migration in the 1960s 142 ...................................................... 5.5 Japanese Baseball in the 1960s 145 ....................................................... 5.6 Baseball Migration in the 1970s 150 ...................................................... 5.7 Japanese Baseball in the 1970s 152 ....................................................... 5.8 Baseball Migration in the 1980s 155 ...................................................... 5.9 Japanese Baseball in the 1980s 158 ....................................................... 5.10 Baseball Migration from the 1990s 160 on ........................................... 5.11 Japanese Baseball from the 1990s 167 on ............................................ Chapter Six: What Characterises Japanese Baseball: the Japanese Treasures 175 ............................................................. 6.1 A Good Player is Made 175 .................................................................... 6.2 Group Harmony (Wa) 189 ...................................................................... 6.3 Overcoaching Culture 199 ...................................................................... 11 6.4 The Concluding Remarks Relating to Chapter Four, Five and Six 203 ..................... Chapter Seven: The Debate between Whiting and Kelly about Japanese Baseball (or Baseball in Japan)...... 205 7.1 High School/Amateur Baseball 207 ........................................................ 7.2 The Varieties Baseball Club Culture 214 of ........................................... 7.2.1 The Tokyo (the Yomiuri) Giants 215 ............................................... 7.2.2 The Hanshin Tigers 218 ................................................................... 7.2.3 One Incident in the 1985 Season 220 .............................................. 7.2.4 The Sequel 222 ................................................................................. 7.3 Supporter Formation 224 ....................................................................... 7.4 The Response/Adaptation of Japanese Baseball to Sport Science 232 ............. 7.5 The Concluding Remarks Relating to Chapter Seven 242 .................... Chapter Eight: Conclusion: How to Respond to Globalisation... 245 Bibliography 254 ................................................................................. Appendix 1 277 ................................................................................... Appendix 2 280 ................................................................................... 111 Acknowledgements As our social life consists of interdependences, this thesis could not be complete without the co-operation of many people. I express my indebtedness to Professor Jennifer Hargreaves for guiding me to the `finale' of my project. I wish to add my thanks to dozens of former baseball players who helped me with this thesis as participants (Listed in Appendix 1). Also, I thank Robert Whiting, Marty Keuhnert, Jim Allen, Jack Smalling, Ikei Masaru and Hamada Shohachi for giving me helpful suggestions. Niinuma Yüji and Maruyama Takao, both of whom I knew in Britain, and my British friends made my life in Britain fruitful. Finally, my gratitude is due my family and relatives for understanding my academic adventure. Masa Ishido London, UK iv Abstract This how thesis concerns itself with sport culture in Japan - especially, baseball - has been transformed under the influence of globalisation. Globalisation, defined as the `borderless' world, is a key term in describing the state of affairs in the contemporary world. In sporting world, globalisation embodied itself in the forms of international (or transcontinental) labour migration, international sporting contests. Globalisation has tended to be analysed from a Western point of view because of Western domination in political and economic affairs as well as cultural ones for the past few centuries. This thesis tries to undertake the research of globalisation also from a non-Western point of view. There are many forms of global processes at work and globalisation has been conceptualised from various angles. After reviewing different approaches to the concept of globalisation, attention is shifted to the formation and the growth of sport culture in Japan in connection with globalisation. Modern sport culture was quite foreign in Japan before 1868, but with the Western influences dominant after 1868, Japan grew to be one of today's sporting powers. The growth of sport culture in Japan had marked characteristics according to social changes, which was reflected mainly in the form of Japaneseness and Westerness. This thesis classifies these social changes into four historical periods - the pre-modern (before 1868), the modern (1868-1945), the modern (1945-1990), and the post-modern (after 1990) - and explores sport culture in Japan in this historical framework. Subsequently, this thesis directs its attention specifically to Japanese baseball and traces the way in which the Japanese game grew
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Download Preview
    DETROIT TIGERS’ 4 GREATEST HITTERS Table of CONTENTS Contents Warm-Up, with a Side of Dedications ....................................................... 1 The Ty Cobb Birthplace Pilgrimage ......................................................... 9 1 Out of the Blocks—Into the Bleachers .............................................. 19 2 Quadruple Crown—Four’s Company, Five’s a Multitude ..................... 29 [Gates] Brown vs. Hot Dog .......................................................................................... 30 Prince Fielder Fields Macho Nacho ............................................................................. 30 Dangerfield Dangers .................................................................................................... 31 #1 Latino Hitters, Bar None ........................................................................................ 32 3 Hitting Prof Ted Williams, and the MACHO-METER ......................... 39 The MACHO-METER ..................................................................... 40 4 Miguel Cabrera, Knothole Kids, and the World’s Prettiest Girls ........... 47 Ty Cobb and the Presidential Passing Lane ................................................................. 49 The First Hammerin’ Hank—The Bronx’s Hank Greenberg ..................................... 50 Baseball and Heightism ............................................................................................... 53 One Amazing Baseball Record That Will Never Be Broken ......................................
    [Show full text]
  • Pro Yakyu Gameday Packet
    Pacific League Playoffs Second Stage – Game 4 October 16, 2005 6:00 PM JST Fukuoka Yahoo! Japan Dome Fukuoka, Fukuoka CHIBA LOTTE MARINES AT FUKUOKA SOFTBANK HAWKS CHIBA LOTTE MARINES – SCORECARD # Player P 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 AB R H RBI BB SO + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Runs Hits Errors TEAM TOTALS Left on Base Opposing BK # T IP H R ER BB SO HB HR BF PIT Pitcher WP PB E DP W L SV SB HBP DB CS IBB TP SH GDP HR SF Scorer: _____________ Umpires: ____________________________________________Game Time: _____________ Attendance:_____________ Pacific League Playoffs Second Stage – Game 4 October 16, 2005 6:00 PM JST Fukuoka Yahoo! Japan Dome Fukuoka, Fukuoka CHIBA LOTTE MARINES AT FUKUOKA SOFTBANK HAWKS FUKUOKA SOFTBANK HAWKS – SCORECARD # Player P 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 AB R H RBI BB SO + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Runs Hits Errors TEAM TOTALS Left on Base Opposing BK # T IP H R ER BB SO HB HR BF PIT Pitcher WP PB E DP W L SV
    [Show full text]
  • Kattobase: the Linguistic Structure of Japanese Baseball Chants Junko Ito
    Junko Ito & Armin Mester UC Santa Cruz Kattobase: The linguistic structure of Japanese baseball chants Acknowledgements The research reported on here was done in collaboration with • Haruo Kubozono (NINJAL, Tokyo, Japan) • Shinʼichi Tanaka (Kobe University, Japan) Data and basic generalizations are due to Tanaka (2008). 10/07/2018 2of 57 Background: the English vocative chant (Liberman 1975) 10/07/2018 3of 57 Call (unstylized) vs. Chant (stylized) John! Jo – ohn! Ladd 1978, Hirst 1998 10/07/2018 4of 57 The vocative chant A ˈlon ˌzo ˌAloˈysius ˈE ric ˈMarc |||| | | | | | L(ow) H(igh) M(id) L H M H M H M ˈAngeˌlo ˌTippecaˈnoe ˌGabriˈela ˈAberˌnathy | | ||| | | | | H M L HM LHMH M 10/07/2018 5of 57 The vocative chant The tune: (L) H M • H is associated with the main stress of the text, • and with any syllables which intervene between the main stress and the point at which M is associated. 10/07/2018 6of 57 The vocative chant The tune: (L) H M • If there are any syllables preceding the main stress H, L is associated with them; • if no such syllables exist, L does not occur. 10/07/2018 7of 57 The vocative chant The tune: (L) H M • If there is a secondary stress in the portion of the text following the main stress, M is associated with it, as well as with any following syllables. • If the syllables following the main stress are all unstressed, M is associated with the last of them. 10/07/2018 8of 57 The vocative chant The tune: (L) H M • If nothing follows the main stress, then that syllable is "broken" into two distinct parts, the second of which receives the M.
    [Show full text]
  • News Pdf 311.Pdf
    2013 World Baseball Classic- The Nominated Players of Team Japan(Dec.3,2012) *ICC-Intercontinental Cup,BWC-World Cup,BAC-Asian Championship Year&Status( A-Amateur,P-Professional) *CL-NPB Central League,PL-NPB Pacific League World(IBAF,Olympic,WBC) Asia(BFA,Asian Games) Other(FISU.Haarlem) 12 Pos. Name Team Alma mater in Amateur Baseball TB D.O.B Asian Note Haarlem 18U ICC BWC Olympic WBC 18U BAC Games FISU CUB- JPN P 杉内 俊哉 Toshiya Sugiuchi Yomiuri Giants JABA Mitsubishi H.I. Nagasaki LL 1980.10.30 00A,08P 06P,09P 98A 01A 12 Most SO in CL P 内海 哲也 Tetsuya Utsumi Yomiuri Giants JABA Tokyo Gas LL 1982.4.29 02A 09P 12 Most Win in CL P 山口 鉄也 Tetsuya Yamaguchi Yomiuri Giants JHBF Yokohama Commercial H.S LL 1983.11.11 09P ○ 12 Best Holder in CL P 澤村 拓一 Takuichi Sawamura Yomiuri Giants JUBF Chuo University RR 1988.4.3 10A ○ P 山井 大介 Daisuke Yamai Chunichi Dragons JABA Kawai Musical Instruments RR 1978.5.10 P 吉見 一起 Kazuki Yoshimi Chunichi Dragons JABA TOYOTA RR 1984.9.19 P 浅尾 拓也 Takuya Asao Chunichi Dragons JUBF Nihon Fukushi Univ. RR 1984.10.22 P 前田 健太 Kenta Maeda Hiroshima Toyo Carp JHBF PL Gakuen High School RR 1988.4.11 12 Best ERA in CL P 今村 猛 Takeshi Imamura Hiroshima Toyo Carp JHBF Seihou High School RR 1991.4.17 ○ P 能見 篤史 Atsushi Nomi Hanshin Tigers JABA Osaka Gas LL 1979.5.28 04A 12 Most SO in CL P 牧田 和久 Kazuhisa Makita Seibu Lions JABA Nippon Express RR 1984.11.10 P 涌井 秀章 Hideaki Wakui Seibu Lions JHBF Yokohama High School RR 1986.6.21 04A 08P 09P 07P ○ P 攝津 正 Tadashi Settu Fukuoka Softbank Hawks JABA Japan Railway East-Sendai RR 1982.6.1 07A 07BWC Best RHP,12 NPB Pitcher of the Year,Most Win in PL P 大隣 憲司 Kenji Otonari Fukuoka Softbank Hawks JUBF Kinki University LL 1984.11.19 06A ○ P 森福 允彦 Mitsuhiko Morifuku Fukuoka Softbank Hawks JABA Shidax LL 1986.7.29 06A 06A ○ P 田中 将大 Masahiro Tanaka Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles JHBF Tomakomai H.S.of Komazawa Univ.
    [Show full text]
  • Sports Quiz When Were the First Tokyo Olympic Games Held?
    Sports Quiz When were the first Tokyo Olympic Games held? ① 1956 ② 1964 ③ 1972 ④ 1988 When were the first Tokyo Olympic Games held? ① 1956 ② 1964 ③ 1972 ④ 1988 What is the city in which the Winter Olympic Games were held in 1998? ① Nagano ② Sapporo ③ Iwate ④ Niigata What is the city in which the Winter Olympic Games were held in 1998? ① Nagano ② Sapporo ③ Iwate ④ Niigata Where do sumo wrestlers have their matches? ① sunaba ② dodai ③ doma ④ dohyō Where do sumo wrestlers have their matches? ① sunaba ② dodai ③ doma ④ dohyō What do sumo wrestlers sprinkle before a match? ① salt ② soil ③ sand ④ sugar What do sumo wrestlers sprinkle before a match? ① salt ② soil ③ sand ④ sugar What is the action wrestlers take before a match? ① shiko ② ashiage ③ kusshin ④ tsuppari What is the action wrestlers take before a match? ① shiko ② ashiage ③ kusshin ④ tsuppari What do wrestlers wear for a match? ① dōgi ② obi ③ mawashi ④ hakama What do wrestlers wear for a match? ① dōgi ② obi ③ mawashi ④ hakama What is the second highest ranking in sumo following yokozuna? ① sekiwake ② ōzeki ③ komusubi ④ jonidan What is the second highest ranking in sumo following yokozuna? ① sekiwake ② ōzeki ③ komusubi ④ jonidan On what do judo wrestlers have matches? ① sand ② board ③ tatami ④ mat On what do judo wrestlers have matches? ① sand ② board ③ tatami ④ mat What is the decision of the match in judo called? ① ippon ② koka ③ yuko ④ waza-ari What is the decision of the match in judo called? ① ippon ② koka ③ yuko ④ waza-ari Which of these is not included in the waza techniques of
    [Show full text]
  • Baseball in Japan and the US History, Culture, and Future Prospects by Daniel A
    Sports, Culture, and Asia Baseball in Japan and the US History, Culture, and Future Prospects By Daniel A. Métraux A 1927 photo of Kenichi Zenimura, the father of Japanese-American baseball, standing between Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth. Source: Japanese BallPlayers.com at http://tinyurl.com/zzydv3v. he essay that follows, with a primary focus on professional baseball, is intended as an in- troductory comparative overview of a game long played in the US and Japan. I hope it will provide readers with some context to learn more about a complex, evolving, and, most of all, Tfascinating topic, especially for lovers of baseball on both sides of the Pacific. Baseball, although seriously challenged by the popularity of other sports, has traditionally been considered America’s pastime and was for a long time the nation’s most popular sport. The game is an original American sport, but has sunk deep roots into other regions, including Latin America and East Asia. Baseball was introduced to Japan in the late nineteenth century and became the national sport there during the early post-World War II period. The game as it is played and organized in both countries, however, is considerably different. The basic rules are mostly the same, but cultural differences between Americans and Japanese are clearly reflected in how both nations approach their versions of baseball. Although players from both countries have flourished in both American and Japanese leagues, at times the cultural differences are substantial, and some attempts to bridge the gaps have ended in failure. Still, while doubtful the Japanese version has changed the American game, there is some evidence that the American version has exerted some changes in the Japanese game.
    [Show full text]
  • MEDIA GUIDE 2019 Triple-A Affiliate of the Seattle Mariners
    MEDIA GUIDE 2019 Triple-A Affiliate of the Seattle Mariners TACOMA RAINIERS BASEBALL tacomarainiers.com CHENEY STADIUM /TacomaRainiers 2502 S. Tyler Street Tacoma, WA 98405 @RainiersLand Phone: 253.752.7707 tacomarainiers Fax: 253.752.7135 2019 TACOMA RAINIERS MEDIA GUIDE TABLE OF CONTENTS Front Office/Contact Info .......................................................................................................................................... 5 Cheney Stadium .....................................................................................................................................................6-9 Coaching Staff ....................................................................................................................................................10-14 2019 Tacoma Rainiers Players ...........................................................................................................................15-76 2018 Season Review ........................................................................................................................................77-106 League Leaders and Final Standings .........................................................................................................78-79 Team Batting/Pitching/Fielding Summary ..................................................................................................80-81 Monthly Batting/Pitching Totals ..................................................................................................................82-85 Situational
    [Show full text]
  • This Sporting Life: Sports and Body Culture in Modern Japan William W
    Yale University EliScholar – A Digital Platform for Scholarly Publishing at Yale CEAS Occasional Publication Series Council on East Asian Studies 2007 This Sporting Life: Sports and Body Culture in Modern Japan William W. Kelly Yale University Atsuo Sugimoto Kyoto University Follow this and additional works at: http://elischolar.library.yale.edu/ceas_publication_series Part of the Asian History Commons, Asian Studies Commons, Cultural History Commons, Japanese Studies Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons, and the Sports Studies Commons Recommended Citation Kelly, William W. and Sugimoto, Atsuo, "This Sporting Life: Sports and Body Culture in Modern Japan" (2007). CEAS Occasional Publication Series. Book 1. http://elischolar.library.yale.edu/ceas_publication_series/1 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Council on East Asian Studies at EliScholar – A Digital Platform for Scholarly Publishing at Yale. It has been accepted for inclusion in CEAS Occasional Publication Series by an authorized administrator of EliScholar – A Digital Platform for Scholarly Publishing at Yale. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This Sporting Life Sports and Body Culture in Modern Japan j u % g b Edited by William W. KELLY With SUGIMOTO Atsuo YALE CEAS OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS VOLUME 1 This Sporting Life Sports and Body Culture in Modern Japan yale ceas occasional publications volume 1 © 2007 Council on East Asian Studies, Yale University All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permis- sion. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.
    [Show full text]
  • 2014 Seminars Register Today At
    2014 SEMINARS REGISTER TODAY AT WWW.CCR-SUMMIT.COM FEBRUARY 18TH, 2014 Seminars 9:00 AM - 10:15 AM Seminars 10:45 AM - Noon Brian Hutchins Jack Grothe Steve Jones Sean McGuinness President, Destiny Consulting ICSC Certified Development, Managing Director, CDP, Director of Business “How to address the economic Design and Construction Jones Lang LaSalle Development, Fitch professional CDP, Retail Contractors impact of inflation on your Association/J.G. Construction Open Store Remodels. In the Anti-Prototype: How are construction budget”. Also, I How do you avoid disaster when session, we will have several Retailers Creating Unique would focus one the importance rolling out projects? Many factors retailers discuss how they Experiences While Maintaining of consistent maintenance are dealt with on multiple projects overcame the challenges of Building Efficiencies? of your bidding GC’S and or concepts. Coordination, open store remodels. correlating specifications. planning and communication become key ingredients. Our panel of experts will guide us thru their recipe for success. Please select one in each time slot: Seminar 1 Seminar 2 Seminar 3 Seminar 4 Breakfast Speaker: Eric Corey Freed 8:00 - 8:45 AM In this talk we will explore how the lessons learned from history, biomimicry, crowdfunding, and collaborative consumption can provide new insight into ways to design living, regenerative buildings for everyone in a matter of decades. By examining the emotional, psychological and financial reasons why we build, you’ll learn new and better arguments for greening your buildings. We’ll uncover specific, bold ideas for how to retrofit our existing cities and suburbs. Through case studies, we will discover new tools to design and fund a new wave of innovative buildings.
    [Show full text]
  • Power Everywhere in 2017 Baseball
    http://www.strat-o-matic.com © 2018 Strat-O-Matic Media, LLC Winter 2018 Pre-orders begin: Jan. 24 Diamonds Are Opening Day at SOM: Feb. 16 Pre-orders for Opening Day pickup will begin the Forever: Power same day as all other pre-orders. However, those coming for Opening Day pickup don’t have to rush Everywhere in to be among the first to call. Miller 71 (all vs. righties) and the Yankee’s Chad Green has 76 This is the 2017 Baseball Set vs. lefties. Wow. But then, 242 Major Golden Age of After a star-studded Major HR and led the Majors with .690 League pitchers averaged at League Baseball season, some of slugging, is second against right- least 9 strikeouts per 9 innings Strat-O-Matic the glitziest cards ever will soon ies with 11.5 chances and first pitched. be on tabletops across the Strat- against lefties with an obscene Seven years ago, when Strat- O-Matic galaxy. 17.4 chances. O-Matic celebrated its 50th an- 2017 was a Big Bang season, Home-run king Giancarlo Powerful First niversary, the word “golden” with teams blasting a strato- Stanton has 15.3 chances vs. Impressions was used a lot. But so much has spheric 6,105 home runs, shat- lefties and 11.4 vs. righties after happened since then. tering the all-time record. Pitch- his MLB-best 59-homer cam- The record-setting feats of Today, there are more ways ers countered with their own paign that shattered the Miami hitting and pitching that most to enjoy Strat-O-Matic than ever.
    [Show full text]
  • Samurai Baseball Vs. Baseball in Japan
    Volume 5 | Issue 4 | Article ID 2398 | Apr 02, 2007 The Asia-Pacific Journal | Japan Focus Samurai Baseball vs. Baseball in Japan Charles W. Hayford Samurai Baseball vs. Baseball in Japan Charles W. Hayford Baseball fans, lovers of a good fight, and those who are curious about how we go about understanding Japan, will all welcome “Baseball andBesuboru In Japan and The U.S.” Studies( in Asia online), a group of essays growing out of a conference atMichigan State Pretty heavy stuff – as the cliché has it, University last year. Michael Lewis in his “life is a metaphor for baseball.” Peter C. Introduction does concede that baseball Bjarkman’s essay “American Baseball is a game but is “also a powerful Imperialism, Clashing National Cultures, economic force, a ladder for social and the Future of SamuraiBesuboru ” mobility, a vessel freighted with national quickly makes the case for larger symbols, and for many something of a significance. [2] Looking at baseball in sacred cultural preserve with practices Cuba, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan he (or is it rituals?) that delineate them from argues that American Major League us.” Lewis reports that there was great Baseball is trying to control and debate at the conference over “nature Americanize a lovely, global game and versus nurture, or cultural essentialism turn it into a cash cow. He quotes a Latin versus shared solutions to shared American charge that “El béisbol is the problems.” [1] Monroe Doctrine turned into a lineup card, a remembrance of past invasions.” Bjarkman concludes that the American game has been assimilated; besuboru and béisbol are different from “baseball.” Is the difference between the original Yankee baseball and the game in other counties the difference between the real thing and a knock off or between the 1 5 | 4 | 0 APJ | JF narrowly conceived original and new character differs from American.
    [Show full text]
  • Baseball and Beesuboru
    AMERICAN BASEBALL IMPERIALISM, CLASHING NATIONAL CULTURES, AND THE FUTURE OF SAMURAI BESUBORU PETER C. BJARKMAN El béisbol is the Monroe Doctrine turned into a lineup card, a remembrance of past invasions. – John Krich from El Béisbol: Travels Through the Pan-American Pastime (1989) When baseball (the spectacle) is seen restrictively as American baseball, and then when American baseball is seen narrowly as Major League Baseball (MLB), two disparate views will tend to appear. In one case, fans happily accept league expansion, soaring attendance figures, even exciting home run races as evidence that all is well in this best of all possible baseball worlds. In the other case, the same evidence can be seen as mirroring the desperate last flailing of a dying institution – or at least one on the edge of losing any recognizable character as the great American national pastime. Big league baseball’s modern-era television spectacle – featuring overpaid celebrity athletes, rock-concert stadium atmosphere, and the recent plague of steroid abuse – has labored at attracting a new free-spending generation of fans enticed more by notoriety than aesthetics, and consequently it has also succeeded in driving out older generations of devotees once attracted by the sport’s unique pastoral simplicities. Anyone assessing the business health and pop-culture status of the North American version of professional baseball must pay careful attention to the fact that better than forty percent of today’s big league rosters are now filled with athletes who claim their birthright as well as their baseball training or heritage outside of the United States.
    [Show full text]