Baseball Then, Now: The Chrysanthemum and the Bat review

Digitized by Jessica Suchman and Catherine Nissley.

Japan's love affair with baseball goes back more than 100 years when Horace Wilson, an American professor in Tokyo, introduced the Japanese to the game. According to the author, baseball now is "unquestionably Japan's favorite sport."

Robert Whiting provides some keen insights into "besuboru" Japanese style. He describes the unwritten code of conduct which rules Japanese baseball players. Strongly akin to the Samurai or warrior ethic, this code stresses "such values as loyalty, self-discipline, reverence for nature, simplicity, modesty and unquestioning obedience."