Robert Whiting - The Meaning of Ichiro: The New Wave from Japan and the Transformation of Our National Pastime

Acclaim for
ROBERT WHITINGS Books

THE SAMURAI WAY OF BASEBALL

Intriguing destined to become as indispensable as Whitings classic You Gotta Have Wa.

Seattle Times

Meticulous offers rounded, human portrayals of players long made invisible by the constant mythologizing Explores the Japanese baseball invasion of the U.S. and its indelible effects on both nations.

Wall Street Journal

An aspiring exploration of the power of sport to bridge differences and lead cultural change Whiting has a knack for bringing characters alive in a short space and weaving them into historical context. He also revels in finding the ironies in their actions and conflicts, revealing them to the reader with wry humor.

Tokyo Weekender

Fascinating many piquant observations.

Oregonian

Intriguing up-to-the-minute a compelling read.

Publishers Weekly

Fascinating THE SAMURAI WAY OF BASEBALL is a delightful and enlightening read, filled with interesting facts and stories. What I enjoyed about the book is how Whiting interweaves little details into those stories.

Rafu Shimpo (CA)

A great book on baseball incisive and thoughtful With this dazzling display, Robert Whiting is a first ballot shoo-in as a Hall of Famer among Japanologists THE SAMURAI WAY OF BASEBALL is like having box seats in the World Seriesmemorable and lots of fun. Crack a beer, sit back, and enjoy.

Japan Times

Brings into the light of shrieking clarity the near-maniacal degree to which many Japanese players have dedicated themselves to the game.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Whiting writes about much more than Ichiro more than anything else he illuminates differences between a disciplined and a laid-back culture.

Richmond Times-Dispatch

Fans of Americas national pastime would do well to pick up [this book]. Whiting is the premier English-language writer on Japanese baseball [He] shines a light into the dark corners of the Japanese game clean, straightforward, anecdotal.

Daily Yomiuri

Whiting is an expert in American-Japanese culture He obviously knows the Japanese game.

Denver Rocky Mountain News

The role of Asian players in the major leagues had not been well explored until the publication of THE SAMURAI WAY OF BASEBALL.

Sacramento Bee

Fascinating reading THE SAMURAI WAY OF BASEBALL is a fine introduction to Japanese baseball solidly researched and well-written.

Anniston Star (AL)

YOU GOTTA HAVE WA

The definitive book on Japanese baseball and one of the best-written sports books ever.

San Francisco Chronicle

Bob Whiting has done it again! A book that will please baseball fans and enlighten anyone interested in Japanese-American relations.

James Fallows, Atlantic Monthly

Far more than a sports book What you read is applicable to almost every other dimension of American-Japanese relations.

David Halberstam

Wonderfully entertaining.

Time

A terrific, fast-paced account of Japanese baseball.

Chicago Tribune

Copyright 2004 by Robert Whiting

All rights reserved.

Warner Books

Hachette Book Group

237 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10017

Visit our website at www.HachetteBookGroup.com.

First eBook Edition: September 2009

ISBN: 978-0-446-56522-6

In memory of two old friends,
Greg and Dwight, who left too soon.

T HERE ARE A NUMBER OF PEOPLE ID LIKE TO THANK FOR HELPING me with this book. In the research department, Kozo Abe of the Fuji-Sankei communications group kept a steady supply of information and checked facts coming my way; Miwako Atarashi of the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Tokyo (Yaky Taku Hakubutsukan) verified data and responded promptly and kindly to numerous requests I made for material, which usually required her digging into nineteenth-century files; and my neighbor and old friend, the highly regarded baseball author and translator of You Gotta Have Wa, Masayuki Tamaki, as well as his wife, Kyoko, and members of his family, all provided numerous kindnesses.

Thanks to two of the worlds foremost authorities on the Japanese game who were generous enough with their time to check the manuscript for factual errors (and they found more than Id care to admit). One is ace Yomiuri columnist Jim Allen, the other is Marty Kuehnert, foremost bilingual media commentator on nihon puro-yaky for three decades. Others who read the manuscript in whole or in part and provided helpful advice were Peter Miller, Elmer Luke, Jeff Kingston, Mark Schumacher and Velisarios Kattoulas.

Among those Id also like to thank in no particular order are Leon Lee, Shuji Tsunoyama of the Sankei Supotsu, Wayne Graczyk, venerable columnist and author of the Japan Pro Baseball Fan Handbook and Media Guide, which weve all been referring to for more than a quarter of a century, noted Tokyo author Mark Schreiber, Michael Westbay, System Administrator/Editor of the popular Web site japanesebaseball.com, Jim Small, head of the Tokyo office of MLB, Nobuhisa Ito of the NPB Commissioners Office, Hiroko Tashiro, Toru Matsubara of the NPBPA, Zooher Abdool-Carim, Hannah Beech, Karl Greenfeld, Toko Sekiguchi and Shintaro Kano of Time-Asia, Shigeyoshi Steve Ino, Trey Hillman, Bobby Valentine, Tadahiro Ushigome, Rick Roa, Masa Oshima, Ken Belson and Howard French of the New York Times, Benjamin Fulford of Forbes, Sebastian Moffet of the Asian Wall Street Journal, Yuichi Hongo of Yeah, Isao Takeda of Playboy, Japan, Glen S. Fukushima, chairman of Cadence Design Systems, and his wife, Sakie, Skip Orr, president of Boeing Japan, and his wife, Miko Orr, Kenichiro Sasae of the Foreign Ministry and his wife, Nobuko, Hide Tanaka of the Asahi Shimbun and his wife, Yoshie, Professor Machiko Osawa, Akiko and Anastasia Yamamoto-Kattoulas, Leron Lee, Vicquie Lee, Gareth Torakichi Swain, Professor Seiyu Hosono, Koichi and Machiko Kawamura, Joichi Ito, president and CEO of Neoteny, the English Agency of Japan, Martin Fackler of the Asian Wall Street Journal, Yuko Aotani of NHK, Eric Prideaux, Editor Jack Gallagher of the Japan Times, Rekichi Sumiya, Richard Mei of the U.S. State Department, Wally and Jane Yonamine. And special thanks to Satoru Hayano for many services rendered, as well as to Fusakzu, Etsuko,Yutaka,Yoko, Hisashi and Kae Hayano for the Hawaii Ichiro seminar. To Noriko and Eiji Fukushima. To Masako Sakata. And to Eire and Michiko Haru, for arranging a memorable dinner with Michikos grandfather (son of Waseda Universitys Iso Abe, who led Japans first historic baseball tour of the United States in 1905). Also Matt Rifkin.

As always, I extend a big arigato to Midori Matsui, translator of The Chrysanthemum and the Bat, her husband, Kiyondo Matsui of Bungei Shunju, and to Satoshi Gunji of Kadokawa.

In Seattle, Id like to thank old friends Doug and Noriko Palmer, Masayoshi Niwa of Yeah magazine and journalist James Bailey, who all provided insights into the Ichiro craze as well as life in Seattle in general. Also special thanks to Bob Bavasi of Bavasi Sports Partners for his generosity.

In San Francisco, a gratitudinal bow of the head to old friends and S.F. Giants fans Rosser and Yin-wah Brockman, Frances Bushell and baseball connoisseur and Pac Bell Park fixture Steve Eigenberg. Also Blake Rhodes of the Giants front office and Katsunori Kojima. In Los Angeles, thanks to player agent Don Nomura of KDN, Jim Col-born, Jim Tracy, John Olguin and Scott Akasaki of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Derek Shearer of Occidental College. Tom House. In San Diego, player agent Tony Attanasio of Ada Finanacial and Robert E. Turner. In Chicago, Dusty Baker. In Tampa, John Kraal.