Academic-related, Photography

Favourite Photos: National Sport – Baseball (Photo in “Japan: The Basics” (2nd Edition))

Posted by HoodCP on

Japan: The Basics contains many photographs (all taken by me) to help with the discussions in the book. I have previously done individual posts on each of the photos that were in the first edition that are not in the second edition (a list of all the photographs in the first edition can be found here). I am now doing posts on all of the photos that appear in the second edition of Japan: The Basics using the tag Photo in Japan: The Basics 2 (all of the photographs can be found here). I’ve already done a series of posts on all the photos that appear in both editions of the book, and a series of posts on those photos where there was an equivalent picture in the first edition but which has been updated for the second edition. This is the next post in a series of posts about those photos which are new to Japan: The Basics.

The following picture is Figure 7.1b in the second edition of Japan: The Basics, and also fits within my series of Favourite Photos.

A baseball field surrounded by cheering fans. The word 'Victory' is on the main scoreboard, above which flies the Japanese flag.

The photo shows Hanshin Tigers fans celebrating a walk-off win at Kōshien Stadium in May 2023. The photo ties in with the discussion about what constitutes Japan’s national sport – see also Favourite Photos: National Sport – Sumo (Photo in “Japan: The Basics” (2nd Edition)).

While the above photo is not the last photo in Japan: The Basics, this is the last post about photos that appear in the book. So, just as the photo is of when Shota Morishita got a sayonara run, so this post is a sayonora post.

It is also fitting to have a picture of Koshien baseball stadium in a book that is published this year (2024) as the stadium is celebrating 100 years since its opening. I am looking forward to going to the stadium in July so I can visit the museum and learn more about both the stadium’s and Hanshin Tigers’ histories.

I have been supporting Hanshin Tigers since the early 1990s and the second edition of Japan: The Basics is not the first time that I have brought the team into my academic writing. With the president of the team being on the JAL flight JL123 plane, as well as many of the victims being Tigers fans, it was natural that aspects of the Hanshin Tigers would get mentioned in my research about the JL123 crash, including in the my books Dealing with Disaster in Japan: Responses to the Flight JL123 Crash and Osutaka: A Chronicle of Loss in the World’s Largest Single Plane Crash, as well as my chapter Truth and Limitations: Japanese Media and Disasters which includes the narratives related to JL123 such as Climber’s High (which is also discussed in Japan: The Basics – see Favourite Photos: Doai Station (Photo in “Japan: The Basics” (2nd Edition)) and Favourite Photos: Ichinokurasawa and Mount Tanigawa (Photo in “Japan: The Basics” (2nd Edition))) and Shizumanu Taiyo which contain Hanshin Tigers things to help audiences connect with 1985, the first and last time (until 2023) that the Hanshin Tigers were champions of Japan.

I like the photograph of Koshien in Japan: The Basics so much that I have a copy of it on my wall in my office.

The main reason why Hanshin Tigers and the photo of Koshien are included in Japan: The Basics revolves around a discussion about what constitutes a ‘national sport’. However, there are things that could easily had been considered had there been space. One of these relates to culture. In Japan: The Basics there is much discussion of culture and the need to be aware of the fact there are many cultures in Japan rather there being a single Japanese culture. There is discussion, for example, about the difference between some aviation photographers and railway photographers in Japan, and also between the various JR companies in relation to the shinkansen. But a similar discussion could have been done in relation to baseball fans. While the difference between Hanshin Tigers fans and those of Yomiuri Giants (based in Tokyo) may be an obvious one for many reasons (geographic and differences in success over the years, for example), this excellent post points out that geographic differences and success cannot explain everything as can be seen when comparing Hanshin Tigers and another Kansai team, Orix Buffaloes.

You can see more about when I took the photo in a Highlight on Instagram.

Here are links to some of my other posts relating to Hanshin Tigers:

Click here for a list of all my other posts relating to Hanshin Tigers