The Social Side Of Japanese Baseball essays

The Social Side Of Japanese Baseball essays The Japanese have historically been adapters of ideas from other lands, and anyone familiar with Asian history knows that Japans early culture was greatly influenced by the Chinese. Advanced civilization developed much earlier in China, of course, but once the Japanese began forming their own culture, development was rapid as they sought to catch up. However, the borrowing did not stop after a foundation for ancient culture, but has continued though the present day, and has expanded to influence almost every aspect of life. After World War II, many countries were completely demolished physically and mentally. Among the countries was Japan. Countless numbers of people were dead, and land, buildings, and entire cities were destroyed. For the first time in their history, the emperor had spoken to the public, which tarnished his immortal reputation. During the postwar years, Japan looked to the major powers of the world to develop a foundation for a new country. Included in the foundation was a need for new ideas and dreams. They did not completely erase thousands of years of tradition and culture, but many international ideas were taken and transformed as had been done in the past. In the movie Mr. Baseball, a Japanese woman described the borrowing techniques. "Japan takes the best from all over the world and makes it Hers" (Welles). Included in the world powers of the time was America, and therefore, Japan borrowed several ideas from the United States. One such idea was the national pastime, baseball. Although the fine arts in Japan were based on the Chinese model, they were, nevertheless, characterized by a strong, unmistakable creative element of their own. The same phenomenon held true for baseball. The Japanese borrowed the game from America, but in developing it, they added many original touches not seen in the West. The basic game as it is played in Japan and America is the same, but the subtle and so...