Sociology
Mr. McCreary
Chapter 3
Cultural Diffusion: Baseball in Japan
Baseball began in Japan in 1867 when a visiting professor from the United States, Horace
Wilson, taught his students at Kaisei School (now the University of Tokyo) how to play the game.
The first formal game was put on in 1873 by another teacher from the United States. The popularity
of the sport skyrocketed in 1896 after newspapers reported an unprecedented event: the First Higher
School in Tokyo defeated a team of Americans living in Yokohama by a score of 29 to 4. In two
subsequent rematches, the Japanese again beat the representatives from the United States at their
own game. In the view of one Japanese historian, “Foreigners could not hope to understand the
emotional aspect of this victory, but it helped Japan, struggling toward modernization after centuries
of isolation, overcome a tremendous inferiority complex it felt toward the West” (Whiting
1993:109–110).
Japanese culture was receptive to baseball. The Japanese found the one-on-one battle
between pitcher and batter psychologically similar to sumo and martial arts. Another visit by
Americans—a 1934 tour by Babe Ruth and other baseball stars—led to the formation of
professional baseball leagues in Japan. Today, baseball (or, as the Japanese call it, besuboru) is the
country’s dominant spectator sport. Surveys indicate that one out of every two Japanese is a
baseball fan, including the emperor. Each year, professional baseball attracts 12 million spectators
and huge television audiences. Japan’s oldest and most successful team, the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants,
draws standing-room-only crowds throughout its 130-game season.
Japanese baseball is an excellent example of cultural diffusion. While the structure of the
game is similar to that of American baseball, the climate and texture of Japanese baseball have been
deeply influenced by Japanese cultural values, such as self-discipline, self-sacrifice, politeness, and
respect for authority. After a solid defensive effort, such as a double play, a pitcher will turn and
bow respectfully to his infielders. A pitcher who hits a batter accidentally will tip his cap.
Great emphasis is placed on wa (“unity” or “team harmony”). The Japanese are fond of the
saying, “The nail that sticks up will be hammered down.” Consequently, any behavior viewed as
overly individualistic or egotistical—violations of training rules, temper tantrums, moodiness,
complaints to the media, attacks on umpires, salary disputes—is strongly discouraged. Team aspects
of the game are valued highly: the home-run hitter is expected to make sacrifice bunts, the star
pitcher to work as both a starter and a reliever.
The argot of baseball changes a bit when it crosses the Pacific Ocean. “Hit by pitch”
becomes “dead ball”; the “game-winning home run” is a “sayonara home run.” Also, since umpires
reverse the call of balls and strikes, a full count is “2–3” (two strikes, three balls) in Japan, not 3–2
as in the United States.
One of Japan’s most famous baseball players, Hiromitsu Ochiai, stands out as an exception
to the collective orientation of Japanese baseball. Ochiai—who led his leagues in home runs, runs
batted in, and batting average in both 1985 and 1986—is the highest-paid player in the history of
Japanese baseball. Yet many Japanese refer to him scornfully as a goketsu, or “individual hero,” and
dislike him. Ochiai has skipped practices, has held-out for what is seen as an outrageously high
salary, and has brashly predicted that he will lead the league in home runs and batting average.
Unlike previous stars such as Sadaharu Oh (who hit 868 home runs in his career), Ochiai does not
fit the expected Japanese mold of the polite, deferential “team man.”
Baseball followers may be interested in some of the following aspects of baseball in Japan,
some of which reflect the collective orientation of that culture: Players are not introduced before
games individually but as a team, players often make less than their managers, and foul balls hit into
the stands are quietly returned to the ushers by the fans.
Japan’s emphasis on team harmony, however, has not led to full acceptance of foreign
players. Two foreign athletes (known as gaijin) are allowed on each professional team. Some,
notably Oklahoman Randy Bass, former American major leaguer Leron Lee, and home-run-hitting
Cecil Fielder, have had highly successful careers in Japan. Yet almost all gaijin complain that they
are treated as being nothing more than outsiders. “You’re an outcast, period,” noted Warren
Cromartie. “You go 0–5 and it’s Yankee go home. You go 5–5 and nobody pays attention to you”
(Whiting 1993:118).
Similarly, Cecil Fielder recalls that if a gaijin pitched and the team lost, “it was our fault.
We didn’t do anything. But if they won, it was that they (Japanese) did it. No, no, no—we (gaijin)
didn’t do it. The Japanese did it” (Muskat 1986:22).
In 1986, the executive committee of Japanese baseball voted unanimously to phase out all
gaijin eventually, arguing that they are overpaid and unproductive—and that Japanese baseball
should be played only by Japanese. However, in 1987, former Atlanta Braves star Bob Horner
signed with a Japanese team and enjoyed spectacular success and great popularity. Nevertheless, the
future of gaijin in Japanese baseball remains uncertain.
Sources used for this essay include: Carrie Muskat, “Fielder’s Fire Stoked by a Japanese
Season,” USA Today Baseball Weekly 2 (February 9, 1986): 25; Michael Shapiro, “A Place in the
Sun, on Japanese Terms,” New York Times (June 18): D27–D28; Michael Shapiro, “A Japanese
Hero Doing Things His Way,” New York Times (February 11): D27–D29; Eldon E. Snyder and
Elmer A. Spreitzer. Social Aspects of Sport (3rd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1989;
Tom Verducci, “Away Games,” Sports Illustrated 81 (October 31, 1994): 30–31, 36–37; Robert
Whiting, “East Meets West in the Japanese Game of Besuboru,” Smithsonian 17 (September 1986):
108–109; Robert Whiting. You Gotta Have Wa. New York: Macmillan, 1993, USA Today Baseball
Weekly “Cover Report on Baseball in Japan,” 2 (February 9, 1991): 6, 18–24. (59)