By the end of 1868, Japan was experiencing a substantial shift in government, culture, and diplomacy that had been instilled in the country for over 200 years. From 1615 up to 1868, Japan was under the control of the Tokugawa Bakafu government, a period in Japanese history that enforced a disciplined class structure, territorial realignment, feudalism under the acting daimyo and shogunates, and a strict isolationist policy, thereby rejecting any Western powers and promoting Japanese homogeneity. However, around 1853, the Tokugawa Bakafu, a family affair passed through generations, elected to disband the countries isolation from outside countries and encourage diplomatic relations globally, including the arrival of U.S. Navy Commodore Matthew Perry, who attended the Kanagawa Convention in Yokohama. The Kanagawa Convention of 1854 proved to be a momentous event in U.S. and Japanese relations, which authorized the first recognized treaty between the two countries and opened ports in several of Japan harbors for American vessels. In turn, the Tokugawa Bakafu steadily relinquished control of Japan for the remaining decade, eventually being overrun by the Meiji Government in 1868, a pivotal shift in Japan’s previous Anti-Western political rhetoric, that now willingly embraced Western influence, ranging from technology, science, philosophy, and art. Likewise, an unlikely American tradition would be shared with Japan that would evolve into a national phenomenon throughout Japan.
The origins of baseball as America’s National pastime has produced a mythical element, one that parallels the legend that circumvents the folk heroes of baseball from the dawn of the 20th century. Abner Doubleday, widely credited as the founder of baseball in Cooperstown, New York, has since been a victim of revisionist history that rejects the notion that Doubleday was indeed the founder, rather suggesting baseball continually evolved from England’s cricket since the first arrival of British colonists. Nevertheless, baseball has been embedded in the timeline of America’s history, bestowing the honor of America’s National Pastime, and remains intertwined in the fabric of the American identity. Shortly after the Meiji Restoration in Japan and the emergence of Western influence, baseball was introduced to the Japanese people a mere two years later in 1870, when Horace Wilson, an American professor, taught his students in Japan the rules of the game. Immediately, the popularity of baseball erupted in Japan, as local universities began to acquire enough talent to organize clubs and form the Big Six University League, thereby meeting the growing demand for the sport amongst Japanese natives. Furthermore, seen as an act of diplomacy and an effort to continue the global infatuation of baseball, the Major League of Baseball sent the all-stars of the American League to play amateur and university clubs in Japan in 1908, 1913, 1920, 1922, and 1931, providing Japan an occasion to witness the greatest players of the generation, while also allowing the MLB to maximize the potential of outsourcing baseball on a global scale. However, of all the American baseball visits to Japan, none was more influential than the 1934 U.S. barnstorming tour, that included New York Yankee’s Lou Gehrig, the Philadelphia Athletics’ Jimmie Foxx, Detroit Tiger’s Charlie Gehringer, and, most important of all, Babe Ruth.
The 1934 U.S. baseball tour was initially conceived by Matsutara Shoriki, the owner of the Yomiuri Shinbun newspaper, who understood the growing popularity of baseball in Japan and envisioned of a baseball spectacle that rivaled the U.S. players previous tours. Shoriki went on to organize an 18-game match-up that sprawled 13 different major Japanese cities, compiling a roster of the best talent in the Big Six University League to match their guests of honor. Connie Mack, the manager of the Philadelphia Athletics’, was tasked with producing an equally competitive assortment of the Major Leagues grandest players, which the highly respected manager obliged. Amongst the most significant acquisitions to the barnstorming tour was Babe Ruth, the New York Yankee outfielder who terrorized the Major Leagues for the past decade and showcased an immense hitting power that no player came close to in comparison. However, Ruth, at the age of 39 and nearing the end of his distinguished career, was believed to be at the tail-end of his prime. The previous season, Ruth hit only 22 home runs, 88 RBIs, and maintained a batting average of .288. Albeit, respectable season totals for a normal baseball player, but this was Babe Ruth, who had not hit less than 30 home runs, 100 RBIs, or batted below .300 since 1925, a season lost to lingering injuries. Nevertheless, the Sultan of Swat was the face of baseball, a man who defied logic on a daily occurrence, and was the most adored baseball player of the 1920’s. Regardless if Ruth was able to produce one more illuminating performance was beside the point, for the people of Japan yearned to host the greatest American baseball player of all time and bask in the greatness before them. Of course, the Babe Ruth of old would later rise to the occasion, elevating his level of play in a way only the Babe could ever do.
Upon arrival in Japan, 500,000 fans crowded around the airport and throughout the streets, in order to welcome the visiting Americans with a cascade of applause. Babe Ruth, known throughout his career for his charming persona, willingness to interact with fans, and love of the spotlight, thrived with the outpour of fans, arriving to his hotel waving both American and Japanese flags to signal the Great Bambino’s comradery, solidarity, and mutual respect towards the Japanese people. Throughout the U.S. tour, Ruth was not short of comedic relief, whether it was engaging with fans in the outfield stands, playing with children before the games, and even sporting a kimono. On one occasion, Ruth, not always the most socially overt or seemingly prepped for Japan’s cultural norms, conducted himself as he would back in America, boasting that he could pick up a local geisha with one hand. Geishas in Japanese culture are trained to entertain men through variations of art, song, or dance, which Ruth had mistakenly interpreted as a sexual advance. One teammate who had accompanied Ruth and was familiar with the Japanese language passed a slip of paper to the geisha to read to Ruth, at which point, the geisha hilariously read “Fuck You Babe Ruth”, much to everyone’s amusement. As much as Ruth was delight off the field, Ruth delivered with one final stretch of play on the field that bewildered fans and marked a capstone on one of the greatest careers in baseball history. Through 18 games, The Great Bambino amassed 13 home runs, batted .408, and even stole a base, perhaps the most surprising statistic, for Ruth was never known for his baserunning ability. Overall, the Big Six University all-stars were heavily outmatched by the American all-stars, losing every game, but the outcome of the games were minimal to lasting impact of the tour. By the end of the tour, Babe Ruth got one final moment to bask in the spotlight and baseball would forever be integrated as the national sport of Japan.
Today, the impact of Babe Ruth’s visit to Japan remains unprecedented. As Robert K. Fitts eloquently describes Ruth’s time in Japan in his book Banzai Babe Ruth: Baseball, Espionage, & Assassination, “Ruth, the jovial demigod of baseball, brought the two nations together and forestalled talks of war, becoming a symbol in Japan of American decadence.” Unfortunately, Japan’s growing consolidation of power in China and the rapid escalation of World War 2 soured the love between Babe Ruth and Japan for the next decade, as Japan ignited war with the U.S. following the December 7th, 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbor. Rumors of U.S. soldiers fighting on the battlefront of the Pacific theater believed to hear Japanese soldiers hollering “to hell with Babe Ruth!” as they approached U.S. stations, almost as if slandering the American legend was the ultimate insult to the identity of America. Nevertheless, following World War 2, Babe Ruth’s influential presence apart of the 1934 U.S. baseball tour has held a lasting impact on baseball and Japan. Japan, shortly after the departure of the 1934 U.S. tour, organized professional baseball leagues across the nation, eventually laying the foundation for the Nippon League in 1950, the primary baseball league still intact in Japan. Had it not been for Ruth, baseball may have never prospered as a profitable market in Japan, and the U.S. would have never been introduced to the immense talent of Japanese ballplayers such as Ichiro Suzuki, Hideo Nomo, and Shohei Ohtani, who is currently playing for the Los Angeles Angels as a duel-threat, pitcher and hitter. Furthermore, the 1934 U.S. tour marks the last display of heroics by Babe Ruth, who, in the following season, only played 28 games and laid to rest the career of the most revered baseball player in history. Lastly, Ruth remain a token of baseball pedigree in Japan, where, in 2002, the city of Sendai honored the baseball icon with erected a statue outside the Yagiyama Zoological Park, recorded as the location Babe Ruth hit his first home run in Japan that pays homage to the role Ruth played in inspiring the onslaught of baseball fandom in Japan . Although the 1934 U.S. baseball tends to get lost in the archives of baseball history, the tour was substantial in growing the popularity of baseball in Japan, continuing diplomatic ties, and serving as one final moment for the Great Bambino. Today, the game of baseball is better because of the 1934 U.S. baseball tour, a sport that is now played in countries across the world, and adds to the legend of Babe Ruth, as larger than life sports diety.
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