Japan's the place for baseball passion and fanaticism - not the USA!

by Ben Suenaga

Japan was the country of my early childhood, a place of which I only remembered three things – the deafening song of the cicadas (so loud in fact, while walking through the narrow back streets of Kyoto my wife and I had to yell at one another in order to communicate), the near Saharan heat in July, and the pungent scent of cigarettes at every turn.

It had been 20 years since I had returned and every fresh discovery made me feel more and more alien. If it weren't for relatives and what they call the "imprinting" process of my youth I would hold no resemblance to these people apart from my features. On this occasion the one firm memory I will carry with me would be the fervent, passionate and, it would be correct to say, fanatical nature in which the Japanese support their baseball.

Hiroshima is most recognisably remembered by the date August 6, 1945 - the day the atomic the bomb fell. Somewhere in the region of 140,000 civilians were killed and three-quarters of the buildings were reduced to ash as a result. The Genbaku Dome, also known as the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, a towering structure of steel and brick, remains as a reminder of what exists within the dark corners in the hearts of men. From this devastation a city was reborn and, with it, a baseball team - the Hiroshima Carp.

The spirit of this city is something I have never before experienced. The unparalleled respect and congeniality of the people is a true testament to the resilience of the human spirit. This same energy, this same enthusiasm I would later find out is also a noted characteristic of their fandom in baseball.

I first became aware of their team when seated in a cramped eating establishment (Hassei) which serves the city's characteristic okonomiyaki (best described as a savoury pancake containing any number of ingredients, usually a mixture of vegetable and seafood), known fittingly as the Hiroshima-yaki. Framed on the wall was a team photo of what seemed at first sight to be the Cincinnati Reds. Upon closer inspection, with the exception of the coach, the whole team was Japanese. Yes, these were the Cincinnati Reds with one important exception – the C in this case stands for carp.

In the evening we were strolling along the bank of the river which borders the Memorial Park and the Genbaku Dome after feasting on a five-course meal of another of Hiroshima's famed cuisines, the Hiroshima oyster - which are about four times the size of any oyster I've seen on my travels (a little larger than the size of my outstretched hand). The molluscs were served raw, fried, baked and stewed, and finished off with a bowl of cold noodles and tea. As we crossed over a bridge towards the Dome on our way back to the hotel we noticed a hypnotic sound, more of a rumble, or a clapping or stamping, or both, getting louder with every step.

Further in the distance, beyond the Dome, we could see the stadium, but until this point it was unimaginable to me that this sound could be created my these people. It would be the equivalent of the atmosphere of a Tuscan derby. We returned to the hotel, flipped through the channels and there it was... the Hiroshima Carp against long-time rivals the Yomiuri Giants from Tokyo. This is not like American baseball where the life of the crowd is only spurred by a run scored or trying to catch the attention of the peanut man.

There is no relaxing day at the park, sucking on hotdogs and the Coors Light silver bullet, this is a sporting event and, more importantly, these fans are there to support their city and their team. The crowd noise even through the hotel television was raucous and ceaseless. This beast, this organised animal of fandom relentlessly chanted the same thing over and over and over. It was foreign to me what they were saying but whatever it was, you could be sure there was mettle in it.

Football has quite a base of support and the J-League draws a lot of foreign talent, with Brazilians being a major import, but it still has not reached the level of their baseball both in support and skill. In fact, the real World Series - known as the World Baseball Classic - was won by the Japanese in 2006 (the US did not even make a placing in the top four).

If given the opportunity, please visit Japan and, furthermore, Hiroshima. Visit for the people, the food, the baseball and in remembrance of the tragedy which befell this city. Quite fittingly, here is a quote from Calgacus: "To plunder, to slaughter, to steal, these things they misname empire; and where they make a desert, they call it peace."

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