Summer is the season of baseball, that quintessential Japanese game. Wait a second, what do you mean Japanese game? Isn’t it more like the quintessential American game? Well, baseball may have had its origins in America but it’s a sport as much beloved in Japan as it is in the U.S.
Dear Ichiro by Jean Davies Okimoto, illustrated by Doug Keith (Kumagai Press, 2002) is a book that explores Japan and America’s mutual love for the game of baseball. Henry Lockwood is a boy who lives in Seattle. One day he gets into a disagreement with his friend Oliver who accidentally spills grape juice all over Henry’s favorite stuffed animal. Unable to forgive Oliver, Henry carries his anger and resentment within him as he goes to a baseball game with his Grampa Charlie. The Seattle Mariners are playing and their key players are none other than Ichiro Suzuki and Kazuhiro Sasaki — two Japanese men. As Ichiro steps up to the plate, Grampa Charlie, who is a World War Two veteran, tells Henry that “A long time ago our countries were enemies.” As the game progresses, Grampa Charlie gets so excited he spills coke on Henry’s shirt. Henry doesn’t mind, though. It’s just a shirt, after all. But the incident does remind Henry of Oliver. Grampa Charlie, meanwhile, explains to Henry that the next player up is yet another Japanese man, and that reminds Charlie of how once again one of the hometown players is a fellow from a country that used to be enemies with America. That gets Henry thinking. Later, after the game is over, Charlie asks his Grampa how it was that former enemies could become friends. Charlie tells him that time must pass and that hearts must be open. That night, Henry pens a fan letter to Ichiro in which he tells him about how his Grampa’s words about how two baseball-loving countries used to be enemies and are now friends have inspired him to mend the rift he has with his friend Oliver.
Although American players have been playing in Japanese professional leagues for some time, it was only as recently as 2001 that the first Japanese position players were signed on to American pro leagues. That year, Ichiro Suzuki signed with the Seattle Mariners, and Tsuyoshi Shinjo with the New York Mets. Dear Ichiro celebrates these landmark signings in a way that clearly demonstrates how love of a game can overcome old enmities.