Japanese baseball - Yakyu (literally "field ball") is Japan's version of the great American pastime. Baseball was first introduced to Japan in the 1870s, with the first team, the Shimbashi Athletic Club Athletics, established in 1878 by railway engineer, Hiroshi Hiraoka, who had become an ardent Red Stockings fan when he was a student in Boston.Amateur baseball thrived in the early years, and it was regarded as more of a moral discipline, like kendo, than a leisure activity. The purpose was to develop purity and self-discipline through endless training, self-denial, and emphasis on spirit - a philosophy which is often applied to the modern game.The first professional baseball league was formed in 1936, after the formation of the Dai Nippon Tokyo Yakyu Kurabu (the Great Japan Tokyo Baseball Club) in 1934, and its successful tour of the US the following year. The Giants, or Kyojin, went on to become Japan's most famous and wealthiest ball club - the New York Yankees of Japan!

Twelve pro teams - Since the two-league system was established in 1950, Japan has had twelve professional teams - six in each league. The Central League is the most traditional of the two, and as it contains the popular Yomiuri Giants, as well as their fierce rivals, the Kansai-based Hanshin Tigers - it's the wealthiest too. The Pacific League tends to innovate more (read: adopt American ideas more readily), but without the fan base, the PL teams tend to leak lots of cash. However, as most teams are owned by major corporations for public relations purposes, the losses can usually be written off. The following list gives the 12 teams and ownership info:

Central League		Pacific League
	Chunichi Dragons Chunichi Shimbun (newspaper company)		Chiba Lotte Marines Lotte (confectionary manufacturer)
	Hanshin Tigers Hanshin Railways (railroad/department store group)		Fukuoka Softbank Hawks Softbank (internet company)
	Hiroshima Toyo Carp Toyo (an affiliate of Mazda, the car company)		Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters Nippon Ham (processed meats firm)
	Tokyo Yakult Swallows Yakult (health drink firm)		Orix Buffaloes Orix (credit/leasing company)
	Yokohama BayStars Tokyo Broadcasting System (media company)		Saitama Seibu Lions Prince Hotels (part of the Seibu Group, with railway, trading and real estate interests)
	Yomiuri Giants Yomiuri Shimbun (media company)		Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles Rakuten (internet company)

The farm system is not particularly developed, and each club maintains one farm team in either the Eastern or Western Leagues. But there's a lot of interest in high school-level baseball, with two major tournaments held each year at Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya. There's an annual draft, and many hopefuls from high school, college and the semi-pro corporate leagues are snapped up by the pro clubs.The leagues have a 144-game season, played from early April through late September. However, this often extends into October when games postponed from the long rainy season in June and July are made up. Inter-league play was introduced in 2005. Both leagues will hold playoffs in 2007, with the winners meeting in the Japan Series, to be played from October 27.

Further information - You Gotta Have Wa, the 1989 book by Robert Whiting,which was the main source for this condensed history; Mr. Baseball, the 1992 movie starring Tom Selleck; or YakyuShop's links page are all good places to start to find out more about Japanese baseball. The best thing, though, is to go to Japan and see a game - a fascinating experience! The Japan Times has an excellent ballpark guide with maps and directions to all the ballparks. (And check out Bob Bavasi's JapanBall site for Japanese baseball tours.)