Experiencing Japanese baseball culture

Shimane is filled with natural beauty and a relaxed, old-world mindset. The pace of life is slow and rarely excited. But now and then those of us who call Shimane home get the opportunity to roam beyond her borders and leave our inaka seclusion for the bright lights and hurried life of the "Other Japan", which consists of salarymen, neon lights, mammoth electronic stores and smog-choked skylines. Nestled within that "Other Japan" is the pastime many of us weren’t expecting to find when we made our way to this eclectic country.

As integral to Japanese culture as tea ceremonies and Kagura, baseball has become a defining characteristic of modern Japanese life. Since the 1930’s, when the first professional teams were established, baseball has grown in popularity, quickly becoming the most watched sport in Japan. Recently I had the opportunity to attend a baseball game with 50,000 chanting fans at Koshien Stadium near Osaka, home of the Hanshin Tigers. Heralded as the craziest fans in all of Japan, and possibly all of baseball, the Hanshin Tigers’ supporters welcomed my friends and me with wide inebriated arms.

Now I have been to baseball games before. I have sat in the blazing sun at Wrigley Field in Chicago, ate overpriced hot dogs and swilled down warm beer. I know what the true baseball experience should be. But I have never witnessed anything like the baseball fans in Japan.

The first difference I noticed between American and Japanese baseball was the handling of alcohol. Upon entering the stadium my friends and I noticed other fans carrying in bags of beer they had purchased across the street at a convenience store. We quickly learned that in Japan you are allowed to bring your own alcohol to a professional baseball game. It seemed absurd, but we went with the flow and filled a few plastic bags with our own game supplies.

Once inside, we found a stadium filled with fans chanting in unison. Each section had a conductor leading the cheers and I thought the enthusiasm would die down after awhile, but I was wrong. Throughout 9 innings of baseball, the fans banged their plastic bats and urged every single player to kattobase (hit a homerun). To support their team, young and old joined in one orchestrated roar.

While at most American sporting events the lulling moments in the game are filled with piped in music from a sound booth, Japanese fans enjoyed a small brass band located in the stands leading them in chant and s o m e t i m e s s o n g . V a r i o u s f a n s throughout the audience brought a trumpet to their puckered lips to blast out a peppy tune. While none of it seemed to be “official,” it appeared that everyone had adopted a certain role in their little section of Koshien Stadium.

There was the young drunk guy who screams louder than everyone. There was the old veteran fan who knows every word to every cheer. There was the guy with handmade puppets who mouth the words to the revelries. And there was the older woman who is being escorted by two police officers in case she gets out of hand. Yes,all the eccentric personalities could be found in their own little place in the world of Japanese professional baseball, coming together during one magic moment.

The “seventh inning stretch” takes place during the middle of the, you guessed it,seventh inning. In America we typically sing along with a special celebrity guest to the song Take Me Out to the Ball Game. It’s trite and overdone, but it makes us feel nostalgic, so on we go. And the Hanshin Tigers’ fans have developed their own traditional celebration of the “seventh inning stretch.” Instead of pretending to be Liberace, they puffed up their chests and filled balloons with their Tiger Pride. During the singing of the Hanshin Tiger anthem, each fan blew up a brightly colored latex balloon. Upon the conclusion of the song, tens-of-thousands of balloons were released in unison and created a swarming sea of color throughout the stadium預 photo moment to be sure.

The game ended un-dramatically with the Hanshin Tigers losing to the Fukuoka Hawks 2-0. And while the fans seemed disappointed, they all continued to cheer and support their favorite team. It seemed as though the point was not to bring home a victory, but to enjoy a few hours away from the hustle and bustle of urban life and relax with friends. And that is one way that Japanese and American baseball has remained the same.

Many people see baseball as a slow, boring sport, but the real thrill of going to a baseball game lies not on the field, but in the people around you. Chatting with friends and meeting eccentric strangers is where the real enjoyment is found. Japanese baseball has certainly carved itself a unique niche in the wide world of professional sports. But when all the glitz is stripped away and the raw experience of attending a baseball game is examined, it still remains a time to relax with friends and make a fool of yourself.

inaka - rural area
salarymen ・Japanese business men.