Nikkei Baseball: Japanese American Players from Immigration and Internment to the Major Leagues

by Samuel O. Regalado

 Nikkei Baseball examines baseball's evolving importance to the Japanese American community and the construction of Japanese American identity. Originally introduced in Japan in the late 1800s, baseball was played in the United States by Japanese immigrants first in Hawaii, then San Francisco and northern California, then in amateur leagues up and down the Pacific Coast. For Japanese American players, baseball was seen as a sport that encouraged healthy competition by imposing rules and standards of ethical behavior for both players and fans. The value of baseball as exercise and amusement quickly expanded into something even more important, a means for strengthening social ties within Japanese American communities and for linking their aspirations to America's pastimes and America's promise. With World War II came internment and baseball and softball played behind barbed wire. After their release from the camps, Japanese Americans found their reentry to American society beset by anti-Japanese laws, policies, and vigilante violence, but they rebuilt their leagues and played in schools and colleges. Drawing from archival research, prior scholarship, and personal interviews, Samuel O. Regalado explores key historical factors such as Meji-era modernization policies in Japan, American anti-Asian sentiments, internment during World War II, the postwar transition, economic and educational opportunities in the 1960s, the developing concept of a distinct "Asian American" identity, and Japanese Americans' rise to the major leagues with star players including Lenn Sakata and Kurt Suzuki and even managers such as the Seattle Mariners' Don Wakamatsu.

Genres: Baseball, History

208 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Trevor Raichura · Rating 2 out of 5]

As an avid fan of Japanese baseball, I was intrigued by this title. How did the game come back to America with Japanese immigrants, and what was their baseball community like?

The author goes into great detail at times and talks about the different mentalities between first and second generation immigrants. He also talked about some of the leagues and players. However, on the whole, I felt the book was a little dry and didn't have a great narrative or anyone that I started to care about as I read on. The main characters are not given much personality, in my opinion.

Just as I was starting to become interested in some of the players talked about, the book came to an end. Don't be fooled by the "percent completed" number: the final 1/3 of the book is references, glossary, indexes, and so on.