The Sportsworld of the Hanshin Tigers

Professional Baseball in Modern Japan

By: William W. Kelly

Write A Review

Paperback | 13 November 2018 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Paperback
321 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
23.0 x 15.0 x 2.0

Paperback

RRP $59.40

$57.25

or 4 interest-free payments of $14.31 with

Aims to ship in 7 to 10 business days

Baseball has been Japan's most popular sport for over a century. The Sportsworld of the Hanshin Tigers analyzes Japanese baseball ethnographically by focusing on a single professional team, the Hanshin Tigers. For over fifty years, the Tigers have been the one of the country’s most watched and talked-about professional baseball teams, second only to their powerful rivals, the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants. Despite a largely losing record, perennial frustration, and infighting among players, the Tigers remain overwhelming sentimental favorites in many parts of the country.

This book analyzes the Hanshin Tiger phenomenon, and offers an account of why it has long been so compelling and instructive. Author William Kelly argues that the Tigers represent what he calls a sportsworld —a collective product of the actions of players, coaching staff, management, media, and millions of passionate fans. The team has come to symbolize a powerful counter-narrative to idealized notions of Japanese workplace relations. The Tigers are savored as a melodramatic representation of real corporate life, rife with rivalries and office politics familiar to every Japanese worker. And playing in a historic stadium on the edge of Osaka, they carry the hopes and frustrations of Japan’s second city against the all-powerful capital.

Industry Reviews

"The volume is a must-read for those with even a passing interest in Japanese baseball." * Monumenta Nipponica *
"[T]his book will be essential to readers who seek to learn more about . . . baseball and sport in Japan." * Contemporary Japan *

"The Sportsworld of the Hanshin Tigers is strongly recommended to students, scholars, and general readers interested in baseball and/or Japanese culture and history."

* Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute *

Shipping

	Standard Shipping	Express Shipping
Metro postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Regional postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Rural postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95

How to return your order

At Booktopia, we offer hassle-free returns in accordance with our returns policy. If you wish to return an item, please get in touch with Booktopia Customer Care.

Additional postage charges may be applicable.