2009 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

Nationalism and the Political Body: The Case of Hawai‘i's Second-generation Japanese American Baseball Players

Research Project

Project/Area Number	20700501
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Research Field	Sports science
Research Institution	Kogakuin University
Principal Investigator	MORI Satoshi Kogakuin University, 工学部, 講師 (20458988)
Project Period (FY)	2008 – 2009
Keywords	スポーツ文化人類学
Research Abstract	This research considers the political body of the second-generation Japanese Hawaiians active in the baseball scene and the processes that went into forming their identities. In my fieldwork, I collected materials relating to these second-generation players who played in areas across the Pacific Ocean during the Second World War. More specifically, I have made a comprehensive collection of historical materials such as newspapers, magazines, books, personal notes, life stories, and pamphlets from Japan, Hawaii, and the US mainland. On considering the collected materials, I discussed the extent to which the second-generation players aspire to blend in by emulating opposing playing styles (Hawaii, Japan, and the US mainland), although retaining their national or ethnic individuality and simultaneously (re)producing subtle variations and differences. Part of this research has already been presented at academic conferences and seminars; in the future, I intend to publish the results in a book for the general public rather than only for the academic community.

(2 results)