Tag: tokyo
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The Chrysanthemum and the Bat review
by Library Journal (Aug 15, 1977) Japanese baseball, even more than its American counterpart, is a game of custom and tradition, a sport which has acquired staggering appeal. Children play baseball 12 months a year; major league players are treated with deference reserved for royalty and clergymen. Whiting touches upon these topics in this definitive…
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Review: The Chrysanthemum and the Bat
by L. Vington, Fort Worth Star Telegram (Jul 17, 1977) Although baseball is a business affair in America, in Japan, despite its vast popularity, a ball club is often merely a tax write off for its sponsoring firm. Which is but one of the numerous differences in the game that seem to be the same…
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In Japan, umpires even get hits – in the head
by Abe C. Ravitz, The Plain Dealer (Jul 14, 1977) An easy ground ball is booted by the shortstop as the winning run scores. The offending player looks at the crowd and smiles. An error doesn’t bother him, it’s perfectly human. That’s baseball Samurai style. A popular .350 hitter speaks disrespectfully to his manager and…
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Book Review: Gamblers, Fraudsters, Dreamers & Spies: The outsiders who shaped modern Japan
by Henry Hilton, Japan Today – April 27 2024 TOKYO Foreigners behaving badly goes down well with audiences in Japan. Stories of Yankee misfits, British conmen and Korean upstarts are guaranteed to find eager readers. Throw in shady espionage rings, guys who started out by sleeping on park benches, plus stories of massive transfers of dollars bills in…
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Reading “Gamblers, Fraudsters, Dreamers & Spies” by Robert Whiting
by DC Palter, Japonica – June 18 2024 Robert Whiting is always fun to read. The author of You Gotta Have Wa and Tokyo Junkie, Whiting has been writing about Japan since arriving in the country in 1962. Whiting is the preeminent English-language writer and commentator on Japanese baseball, and has also written extensively about the yakuza in Tokyo…
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Tokyo Junkie’s Current Activities and New Book – Interview with the English Journal (EJ) on Tape
1993, issue 6 You can enlarge the images below by clicking on them.
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Nick Zappetti Interview Tape 6: 28th September 1989
(TAPE 6) Nicola Interview Sep 28, 1989 (Includes: Lawyers, Japanese Citizenship, Hokkaido Ranch, Gaijin Ballplayers, Hokkaido Land) (Counter 000) SIDE A (LAWYERS) A: Yesterday, I went to my lawyer. My new laywer. And he’s telling me that ‘s not true. He says if you tell the truth the court won’t accept it. You know we’re…
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Nick Zappetti Interview Tape 2 – 24th August 1989 II
Nicola Interview August 24, 1989 II (Includes Imperial Hotel Diamond Robbery, Yoshiko, Trade Discussion, Omura, First Wife, First Restaurant, Yoshiko) (LANSCO) A(con’t) Dollars at that time were maybe 480 520 for a dollar. But the (official) rate was 360. So you sell the dollar checks to somebody and they give you maybe 500 yen. And…
Tokyo Junkie 