Fresno Shows the Japanese How To Do it: Baseball in The Making

One may wonder how baseball became so firmly entrenched in Japan. Part of the answer is based on Japan’s historic interest to westernize. More importantly, the Japanese people passionately absorbed this game into their culture as an educational, social, and spiritual activity.

My interest in the entrenchment question was sparked by my father’s baseball experience in Japan. In 1927, he barnstormed Japan as a member of the Fresno Japanese American Baseball Team. I recognized a connection between his trip and the rationale for the Japanese international baseball exchange program instituted and promoted by Dr. Isoo Abe in 1905

Several questions came to my mind regarding this connection. I needed to know what my father contributed to his team. Given the Fresno team was unique, it raised a question about distinctive characteristics. What was the core of this team? Given my father and his teammates contributed to baseball science in Japan, what did they accomplish? Finally, there was the existence of an international baseball exchange in Japan. How did Fresno compare to other participating amateur teams?

These concerns impelled my search for information about baseball making through international exchanges in Japan. Baseball making is defined in the inductive sense that you build an improved game based upon direct experience.

As raw material for research, I was fortunate to rely on two scrapbooks filled with baseball memories from Japan. One was compiled by my father and the other by teammate Harvey Iwata. Both corroborated similar context and details, as well as revealing some interesting differences.

A Historic Perspective

The entrenchment process was rooted in a 30-year evolution in Japan’s baseball culture. By 1900, a competitive gap occurred between university baseball teams. Particularly, Waseda and Keio Universities were unbeatable. They needed competition. Looking to the United States and the Hawaiian Islands, baseball teams were found to challenge the mettle of these leading Japanese teams. An amalgam of baseball interests was created by Professor Isoo Abe from Waseda University in 1905. He encouraged the Meji government to subsidize a baseball trip for Waseda University to the United States, including Fresno on the itinerary.

His experiment worked out beneficially for the Japanese government, although it was a financial disaster for Abe. Coincidentally, at the time of the Waseda baseball tour, the Japanese achieved a huge international surprise, defeating the Russian army and navy in the the Russo-Japanese War in 1905. Americans seeing the polite and courteous behavior of the baseball team identified strongly with Japan, while fearing the rise of widespread anarchy in Russia. The government received an unintended benefit from the baseball team as goodwill ambassadors. In a complementary way Abe promoted the improvement of Japanese baseball through exchanges with the U.S., as well as international good will. The first U.S. visitor to Japan was the University of Washington in 1908.

With a history of baseball development in Japan as early as 1873, the culture thrived in its new relationship with the U.S. Each year international exchanges brought new input for the Japanese. National tournaments were organized for university and high school level play after 1914, intensifying a competitive spirit. By 1927, baseball exchanges were regularly scheduled with amateur and professional teams from the U.S, and Japan’s performance on the baseball diamond improved measurably.

The Immediate Challenge

Suppose you were a Japanese agent charged with the task of scheduling an international baseball exchange during the year-long celebration of a new Emperor. Recent experience ruled out American major league teams, because they tended to win all their games, no contest. The most recent competition with a university team was an embarrassment for the U.S., and a loss of reputation for the university. Japanese baseball managers were pressuring to win, but against reputable opponents. So! What to do?

There was an American Japanese baseball team from Fresno, Ca. This team was particularly suited to offer Japanese baseball clinicians an object lesson. In 1926, the Fresno Athletic Club was State Champion of the Japanese League. Previously, they had toured Japan in 1924, compiling a record of 21 and 7. They fit a profile of modeling the best of amateur baseball in California, and matched Japanese against Japanese Americans, a crowd pleasing attraction.

Unbeknownst to the Japanese agents, the 1927 Fresno team was loaded with greater talent than the 1924 team, a combination of Japanese and non-Japanese players, giving baseball observers a richer baseball experience.

Personal Profiles

The original touring team from Fresno included 17 players: 14 Nisei and 3 non-Japanese. Personal profiles represent players playing 40 games or more in Japan, and one non-Japanese who played substantially fewer games.

Harvey Iwata: Harvey Iwata, 27, was the left fielder for the Fresno Athletic Club. He was a former Captain of the Fresno High School baseball team, a high school league champion, and a member of Fresno Athletic Club Japanese League Champions in 1926. He was an excellent fielder, third-best hitter on the Japanese Tour, and speedy on the base paths. Overall, he played better as the tour progressed. In Japan his batting average was .333 and in Hawaii .346

Ty Miyahara: A 27-year-old third baseman, he was a former member of the Hawaiian Asahi Club. He was a strong hitter, and a capable infielder. His Japan batting average was .323, and in Hawaii .263

Ken Zenimura: Shortstop Ken Zenimura was a 27-year-old player and the manager of the Fresno Athletic Club. A graduate from Mills High School in Honolulu, Hawaii, and a team captain for the Honolulu Asahis, he was a superb infielder and base stealer. His Japan batting average was .295 and in Hawaii, .222.

Mike Nakano: Mike Nakano, 21, was the first baseman. He was voted the best first baseman of the 1926 California Japanese League. A consistent hitter, his Japan batting average was .385 and his Hawaiian average .250.

John Nakagawa: John Nakagawa, 20, was the center fielder. He pitched and played outfield for the 1926 Fresno High School Championship team. He was regarded as a Japanese Babe Ruth for the number of home runs hit. He earned honors as best hitter in Japan, and was an extraordinary fielder. His Japan batting average was .388 and in Hawaii .289.

Ken Furabayashi: A graduate of Orosi High School, a farming town near Fresno, 20-year-old Ken Furabayashi was a member of the F.A.C. 1926 California Japanese League Champions. He was a excellent outfielder. His Japan batting average was .269 and in Hawaii .074.

Charlie Hendsch: Charlie Hendsch, 24, was a reserve left-handed pitcher. A student at Fresno State College, he was captain of both his high school and college teams. He played semipro ball in the Taft Oil Field League. He was known for his ability to hit, both right- and left-handed, and hit .400 in Japan. He played in six games, winning at least five. He did not participate in the Korean, Manchurian or Hawaiian parts of the tour.

Although these selected players were the most talented among the Japanese American Team, the remaining members of the team were endowed with comparable skills, ensuring a uniformly high level of play. Additionally, to play a schedule of 51 games in three months time, about three games a week, each player needed physical strength, stamina and general good health. Board and lodging were hotels, dormitories, and in some cases host families. Physical and social adaptation became a continuous source of stress and exhaustion for these ball players.

The Fresno team lost 8 games. One was against the Royal Giants, a team from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, touring Japan concurrently. A member of the Negro Baseball League, the team had a reputation for playing at a professional level. They beat Fresno, 9-l.

This game demonstrated a complete game of American standards and umpiring. Performances by both teams revealed strength of individuals, team strategy and organization. A performance of a strong amateur team against a professional team was a powerful contrasting lesson to Japanese observers, no doubt tempting Japanese promoters of professional baseball to reorganize their efforts.

Significant for Japanese clinicians was Fresno’s 2-1 loss to Wakayama Chugaku, which in June 1927 won a high school baseball competition to tour California during the summer. (They were in Fresno during August.) In this game, Wakayama was able to subdue the Fresnans with superior pitching and hitting strategy.

To a lesser extent, a game with the Waseda Reserves displayed strong pitching and hitting. The Waseda varsity had won the 1926 National University Baseball Tournament, and watched their younger team members play Fresno from the bleachers. The efforts of Wakayama and Waseda gave Japanese observers a chance to envision Japan’s promising baseball future.

In researching other teams that beat Fresno, two wins by Tararazuka stand out. This team was made up of older baseball players, Kiyoshi Oshikawa and Yasushi Kono for example, formerly the pride of Waseda University. Originally the team was named the Shibaura Kyokai. They were regarded as being the first professional baseball team in Japan in 1921. In game two, Tararazuka decidedly defeated Fresno 12-5; games one and three resulted in a toss-up between the two opponents.

Outcomes

The general effort by Fresno was triumphal; everywhere they traveled a baseball trial awaited Japanese opponents. The Royal Giants (23- 1) and Fresno (11-8-2) provided an immediate snapshot of American competency, one shared by Nisei, black and white players. In the U.S. racial divisions created separate but equal leagues, and little chance for similar interracial play.

What practical value did this baseball experience have for the Japanese?

A baseball editorial from the Asahi Shinbun, in late April, said that Japanese university nines were discredited in every phase of the game, a scathing rebuke of their present level of play. Public pressure was focused on initiating greater improvement, and professional level play. Fresno was criticized too. Pitchers lacked control; their form was imperfect; too many batters were hit. Catchers received a mixed review. But compliments went to Fresno’s hitting ability, fielding excellence, and speed on the base paths. Fresno gave these writers something to think about — a paradigm for winning.

Fresno served to boost Japanese competency in baseball, a primary purpose of summer barnstorming. Connection with individual major leaguers and Herb Hunter’s All-American Major League teams contributed particularly to the dominance of Waseda and Keio Universities during the 1920s. Fresno added a twist by bringing three outstanding white players — two pitchers and a catcher — to offer a contrast in styles and teamwork. Lessons from observing pitching-catching batteries provided essential tools in Japan’s improvement program.

As showmen, Fresno gave their audiences something to “ooh and aah” over. They were continually bashing the ball and scampering on the bases, while stifling opposition. They demonstrated classy baseball, as well as character. In visiting Korea or Manchuria, they shared their baseball savvy over a wider spread of the Empire than any other touring baseball teams to date. Japanese players were wringing their hands to get a piece of Fresno — they had real stuff.

Unlike most other baseball visitors, Fresno did not expect a financial guarantee or a percentage of profits from their hosts, and paid their own way. For a baseball exchange, the Japanese baseball establishment was exposed to a superior amateur baseball team model.

Fresno played a longer schedule, winning 80 percent of the contests, a feat no other amateur team achieved in the 32-year history of international baseball exchanges. Ironically, it was Fresno’s behavior on Japan’s baseball diamonds that demonstrated the essence of Showa, the current political ideal in Japan, a practicing expression of civilized peace and harmony.

The Japanese baseball establishment was serious about improving their baseball competency. A strong pressure was growing for professional baseball in Japan. Slowly, changes occurred in the teaching and in the practice of baseball. In particular, the pitching-catching problem was addressed. By 1935, the antecedents to the Tokyo Giants were organized and traveling to the U.S., signaling the beginning of professional baseball.

Another excursion from California, including Fresno players and following the 1927 schedule, occurred in 1937. This last baseball exchange before World War II, involved the Kono Alameda All-Stars. They achieved a record of 41 wins, 20 losses and 1 tie. The Japanese amateur game had improved greatly in 10 years. It heralded an evolution that undergirded the 1990s Japanese reputation as a world class baseball power.

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Bibliography of Related Literature

Books

Kawahara, Toshiaki, Hirohito and His Times. N.Y.: Kodana International, 1990.

Leonard, Mosley, Hirohito: Emperor of Japan. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.

Link, Arthur S. and Catton, William B. America Epoch: A History of the United States since the 1890s. N.Y.: Alfred A. Knof, 1967.

Shibazaki, Ryoichi, Seattle and The Japanese-United States Baseball Connection, 1905-1926. Unpublished Masters Theses, University of Washington, 1981.

Thorn, John and Pete Palmer, Total Baseball. N.Y.: Warner Books, 1989.

Whiting, Robert, You Gotta Have Wa: When Two Cultures Collide on the Baseball Diamond. N.Y: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1989.

Zoss, Joel and John Bowman, Diamonds in the Rough: The Untold History of Baseball. N.Y: Macmillan Pub. Co., 1989.

Newspapers

Fresno Bee, “Japanese Nine Visits Fresno,” Aug. 10, 1927.

The Japan Times, “Fresno Nine Gains Great Reputation,” April 6, 1927.

The Osaka Mainichi & The Tokyo Nichi Nichi, “Fresno Japanese-American Team Arrives In Japan.” Photo, April 6, 1927.

Tokyo Asahi Shinbun, “The Competency of Fresno Baseball Team Which Defeated the Japanese College Teams.” Translated by Ikuko Thomas, Albany, CA, Dec. 3, 1996

Periodicals

“Americanization of Japan.” H.J. Reilly. Worlds Work. Oct. 1926. 303-4.

“Baseball Frenzy Sweeping Japan.” Literary Digest. July 9, 1927. 53-5.

“Baseball with the Trimmings, Japan.” Playground. Oct. 1928. 401.

“Japan on the Diamond.” H. Kingman. Literary Digest. March 17, 1928. 34-44.

Other Resources

Schedule of Games and Scores for Fresno Japanese American Tour, 1927, articles extracted from issues of Tokyo Asahi Shinbun and The Osaka Mainichi and The Tokyo Nichi Nichi, kept in Harvey Iwata’s baseball tour scrapbooks, translated by Ikuko Thomas, Albany, CA, Dec. 3, 1996.

Baseball Exchanges Between Japan & U.S., 1905-1940, extractions from Ryoichi Shibazaki, Seattle and the Japanese-United States Baseball Connection, 1905-1926, unpublished Masters Theses, University of Washington, 1981, and from Robert Whiting’s You Gotta Have Wa, pgs. 331-332.