You Gotta Have Wa (Vintage) [Paperback]

Robert Whiting (Author)

Book Description

Release date: March 24, 2009 | Series: Vintage

A hilarious, informative, and riveting account of Japanese baseball and the cultural clashes that ensued when Americans began playing there professionally.

In Japan, baseball is a way of life. It is a philosophy. It is besuboru. Its most important element is wa—group harmony—embodied in the proverb "The nail that sticks up shall be hammered down." In this witty and incisive book, Robert Whiting gives us a close-up look at besuboru's teams, obsessive ritualism, and history, as seen through the eyes of American players who found the Japanese approach—rigorous pregame practices, the tolerance for tie games, injured pitchers encouraged to “pitch through the pain”—completely baffling. With vivid accounts of East meeting West, involving Babe Ruth, Ichiro Suzuki, Bobby Valentine, Japanese home run king Sadaharu Oh, and many others, this lively and completely unique book is an utter gem and baseball classic.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The "wa" one must have is the group harmony that is the essence of Japanese "besoboru," or baseball. (Japanese baseball fans view individualism as the fatal flaw in the American game.) This interesting comparative study of the sport as it is played on both sides of the Pacific concentrates on the American stars who have gone to play in Japan. Whiting ( The Chrysanthemum and the Bat ) shows how Americans abroad have adapted to punishing spring training and pre-game practices throughout the season in Japan, and their adjustment to such aspects of the sport as the sacrifice bunt, the hit-and-run and the squeeze. He also chronicles American athletes' problems with tyrannical managers and coaches and umpires bent on saving face. The conclusion: American and Japanese baseball are vastly different games. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

"Wa," Japanese for "team spirit," is the creed of Japanese baseball, played since the 1850s and professionally since 1935. Whiting, a long-time Japan resident, concentrates on the two pro leagues. The Japanese leagues, he reports, believe their severely coached game to be superior to the U.S. game. They discourage Japanese from entering U.S. leagues. A few Americans, usually older ones, have been accepted on Japanese teams, but they meet with resentment, criticism, and discrimination. The book updates Whiting's earlier The Chrysanthemum and the Bat (LJ 10/1/76) and contrasts with Sadaharu Oh and David Falkner's Sadaharu Oh (LJ 6/1/84; o.p.). A revealing and disturbing account that is heartily recommended for adult and YA collections.
- Morey Berger, Monmouth Cty. Lib., Manalapan, N.J.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Vintage; Original edition (March 24, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307455971
• ISBN-13: 978-0307455970
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.8 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #26,566 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #18 in Books > Professional & Technical > Accounting & Finance > International
  • #55 in Books > Business & Investing > International

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars More Japan than Baseball March 9, 2003

By therosen VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

On the surface, this is a treatise about baseball in Japan. Only slightly underneath, it's a fascinating work on the difference between Japanese and American culture. The title word Wa comes from the Japanese word for team unity, as opposed to the American interest in individuality.

The book goes through both a history of baseball in Japan, as well as challenges American's deal with over there. It covers the trials and tribulations of Americans like Bob Horner, who thrive on the diamond, but struggle off the field. It covers the adverserial relationship between Japanese coaches and their foreign (Gai-jin) charges. Any American going to work in Japan is well advised to pay attention!

How is Japan changing over time? Compare how the approval of "different" antics of foreigners changes over time. Learn how some Japanese players follow the model, but as the exception and not the rule. Is the Japanese culture changing, or a surface appearance of change part of the Japanese character? Read the book to find out. Again, it's only about baseball on the surface.

How does training differ? The American model suggests individuals can improve, but only to the limit of their ability. The Japanese model in both the field and the office is that there is no limit - strength and success is limited only by effort. This drive leads to a 10-11 month season counting training camp, as well as several hours of strenuous exercizes every day before practice. This is essential to developing the fighting spirit. Again, someone travelling to Japan for business is well advised to understand this.

The book is a must for baseball lovers as well as people interested in learning more about Japan.... The book is a fascinating work that hides great learning behind Japan under the story of America's pastime. Read more ›

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Same, but Different January 21, 2001

By James R. Hoadley VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

Baseball is baseball, right? Not when it's played in Japan, it seems. Pitchers pitch "until their arms fall off." Fielding practice is done until players drop from exhaustion. Fans chant highly organized and rhythmic chants at the same piercing volume, all game long, regardless of the score. It's not "play ball" in Japan, it's "work ball." And into this arena come the foreigners. Often bench-warmers and minor leaguers in North America, they are expected to become instant stars in Japan. The pressure and the intense work ethic drive many away after only a few weeks or months. Others, like Randy Bass, become national heroes, appearing on TV commercials nightly. However even Bass must have felt his outsider status when he was intentionally walked for the rest of the season when he challenged Sadaharu Oh's single-season home run record. If you are interested in baseball, or in what happens when Japan meets the outside world, this is the book for you.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Is It Really About Baseball? February 27, 2000

By Shogun Len

Format:Paperback

I have had the fortunate experience of visiting Japan twice and seeing some Japanese baseball. It was an experience I shall never forget. Curious about the subject I picked up and read this awesome book. However, as much as this book is about baseball. And it is filled with some great stories and information. I wonder how much this book is really about the cultural differences between the United States and Japan. Using the history of Japanese baseball and the rough experiences of many of the American players who have tried to play in Japan, the author does an awesome job teaching about Japanese culture. This is much more than a baseball book. Its about baseball and culture, and cultural diffusion, and the differences between Americans and Japanese. This is a funny book, a fun to read book, but you will learn alot about Japan by the time you are done. I have even assigned this book to my students. This book is worth it. An unforgettable read.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars The most thorough (yet sadly outdated) account of Japanese Baseball you can find January 26, 2007

By L. TAYLOR

Format:Paperback

As a long-time Japanese baseball fan, I was very excited to finally receive this book and start reading it. Robert Whiting has done an excellent job of finding material that is usually not accessible for the average foreign fan of Japanese baseball, simply due to the fact that everything is written in Japanese.

Whiting has succeeded in creating a very enjoyable and very interesting "summary" of Japanese baseball as a whole, and really portrays just how differently the game is played and thought of in the East. In particular, the mentality of Japanese baseball that he describes, along with the accounts of many of the players were eye-opening.

It's just such a shame that the book is published in 1988, with no revisions forthcoming since then, because, as is inevitable with time, baseball in Japan has moved on.

In the modern game, the popularity of the "Yomiuri Giants" which Whiting talks at length in his book are declining - so much so that they have trouble filling the stadium or even getting good ratings on TV. In fact, baseball as a sport in Japan as a whole has been on a gradual decline in the face of Soccer, which, when Whiting wrote "You Gotta Have Wa", was unthinkable.

There have also been great shifts in terms of the power of Japanese baseball: away from the Giants to other teams, and the players union even went on strike in objection to the loss of player jobs following the merger of the Orix Bluewaves and Osaka Buffaloes. Whiting wrote however that the player's union would never consider striking, as that was the Japanese player's mentality. This signifies just how much the game has changed in Japan.... Further, the systems have been edited to incorporate playoffs, and foreign coaches in Japan are now found at three clubs - a vastly different landscape to the one which Whiting reported on so excellently twenty years ago.

Even though the book is outdated however, it is still a very enjoyable and very thorough account of baseball and the mentality of baseball in Japan. For anyone with an interest in the sport in Japan, I would highly recommend reading it, as very little else is available which is of a similar quality to "You Gotta Have Wa".

But when reading, I just cant help but feel how worthy a book this would be if updated with information on the modern game. With stars like Matsui, Matsuzaka and Ichiro now plying their trades in the US, Whiting would have a lot to talk about.

I recommend it: Just realise that the game has moved on a little from then. Read more ›