Daisuke Miyake

2022/07/09

Image: Shaefer and others during their visit to Japan in 1910 (Keio Institute for Fukuzawa Studies collection)

The phrase "Enjoy Baseball" symbolizes Keio baseball. It is a style of baseball clearly distinct from the spiritualism that long plagued the Japanese sports world. While it feels as though it was established by Yukichi Maeda, who served as manager for two terms starting in 1960 and 1982, it can be better understood within the lineage of those who supported Keio baseball, such as Hisashi Koshimoto and Daisuke Miyake.

Among them, Daisuke Miyake (1893–1978) was a man who pursued "True Baseball," as the title of his book suggests, from his days as a Keio student until his final years, while cherishing his friendships with American baseball figures. I would like to introduce him based on "The Baseball and Life I Experienced," which was serialized in 35 installments in "Baseball Magazine" starting in May 1962.

Around August 20, 1945, shortly after the end of the war, Miyake encountered the writer Masao Kume while visiting a friend in Kamakura and was suddenly greeted with a handshake. Kume said, "Your era has finally arrived." Miyake recorded that moment.

I didn't quite understand what he meant. When I asked, "Huh?" he said, "When will baseball start?" and I finally understood. When I thought about the fact that the time to play baseball again had come, I was overcome with a thrill of joy. (Serial installment No. 29)

In fact, an All-Waseda-Keio match was held in November of that year, and the Tokyo Big6 Baseball League was revived the following spring. Additionally, many baseball magazines were born, and Miyake wrote prolifically. Among his works, the "Preface" to "Yakyu-gaku" (Baseball Studies), written and published in November 1946, best captures Miyake's spirit and attitude toward baseball at that time. It begins with the following sentence.

I believe that modern civilization is a world of science and organization.

In the modern era, no matter what one does, progress beyond a certain level cannot be expected without scientific research. Traditionally, Japanese people have lacked the habit of thinking deeply about things. In particular, there was little habit of studying things scientifically and systematically.

In traditional Japan, under a feudal class system, people developed the habit of moving only according to orders. The class issuing orders was made to think as if they were a different race of human beings, and the general public receiving orders lost the opportunity to think and research for themselves, leading to a state where no action was taken where there were no orders.

I believe that the fact that scholars were shunned and engineers were disregarded was a major cause of the lack of scientific research into things. The same can be said even for baseball, which should be the most democratic thing, imported directly from the United States, the home of democracy.

What comes to mind when seeing the point that "modern civilization is a world of science and organization"? The "organization" mentioned here refers to a relationship that is not divided into those who give orders and those who receive them—in other words, a relationship composed of independent people who can each think for themselves.

In 1897, in the "Essentials of Keio University Academic Reform," Yukichi Fukuzawa wrote regarding the school spirit, "If one dissects it, one will find that it consists of independence and freedom, yet a practical spirit." The "practical spirit" mentioned here refers to jitsugaku (science) based on scientific thinking. It also connects to the passage in "The Autobiography of Yukichi Fukuzawa": "The two things that exist (in the West) but not in the East are mathematics in the tangible realm and a spirit of independence in the intangible realm." Thinking this way, Miyake's point seems to be a direct expression of the spirit of Keio University.

Miyake, born in 1893, entered the Keio Futsubu School from Mita's Mita Elementary School after the death of Fukuzawa. However, Miyake took pride in having known Fukuzawa.

Miyake's father, Hyozo, came to Tokyo from Hiroshima in 1879 to rely on his older brother, Takuzo. Takuzo was a man who studied at the Keio University medical sciences school while serving as a student-servant for Munenori Terashima, and later became a Navy surgeon. Since Terashima and Fukuzawa were close as fellow scholars of Western learning, at Terashima's request, Hyozo came to live in the Fukuzawa household as a student-servant. After studying at the Juku, he worked for the Jiji Shinpo newspaper, and after Kakugoro Inoue went to Korea, he took over as secretary to Shojiro Goto, maintaining a close relationship with Fukuzawa both publicly and privately until Fukuzawa's final years.

Daisuke Miyake recounts memories of Fukuzawa's later years.

Our house was in Shiba Toyooka-cho at the time. It was right on the path where the Master took his walks, and early in the morning, (omitted) when the Master passed in front of our house, he would call out loudly, "Mr. Miyake!" My father would rush out and accompany the Master on his walk. (omitted)

One day, I decided to follow the Master for part of the way.

As I followed along at a slight distance, the Master asked my father,

"Is that your son?"

When my father replied, "He is my second son. His name is Daisuke," the Master said,

"Come along with us. A morning walk is good medicine for the body." The Master spoke to everyone in polite language.

From then on, I frequently accompanied the Master on his walks as far as his villa in Hiroo. (Serial installment No. 3)

He also recounts memories of how, during the walks, Fukuzawa would always take out biscuits wrapped in hanshi paper from his sleeve and share them. Furthermore, while resting on the veranda of the Hiroo villa before heading back, when Miyake recited Fukuzawa's "Sekai Kunizukushi" (Geography of the World) from memory, "The Master listened with a smile, and stroking my head, he praised me, saying, 'Even I, who wrote it, don't know it by heart, but you are quite impressive.'"

On February 3, 1901, Yukichi Fukuzawa passed away. Miyake was seven years old at the time. On the day of the funeral, he went to the main gate but could not get close due to the large number of mourners and Keio students. So, he waited for the funeral procession from among a crowd of people after crossing the Sannohashi Bridge over the Furukawa River. "I stood there until the coffin was out of sight. When I thought, 'The Master won't be coming for walks anymore,' I felt lonely and returned home with tears streaming down my face."

As soon as Miyake entered the Keio Futsubu School, he joined the baseball club. At that time, the baseball club combined the college, Keio Futsubu School, and the industrial and commercial school. In the spring of 1910, his fourth year at the Keio Futsubu School, he became a regular player. At that time, the Waseda-Keio rivalry was suspended, but it was a period when the Juku baseball club was vigorously researching and absorbing American baseball.

In 1907, they invited the St. Louis College team from Hawaii as the first-ever invitation of a foreign team, and in 1908, they went on a tour to Hawaii. At this time, among the student teams from the mainland participating in the league matches in Hawaii was shortstop Arthur Joseph "Art" Shafer, who would join the New York Giants the following year. After the tournament, they asked him to coach them and parted ways saying, "Please, make an opportunity to come to Japan to coach." After returning to Japan, the Juku baseball club formally wrote a letter to Giants manager John McGraw and invited Shafer and pitcher Elmer Thompson from the Giants as coaches.

For about a month starting at the end of 1910, about 20 club members held a training camp in Kobe and received instruction from both coaches. Since Shafer had been taught in detail by Manager McGraw on how to coach, he coached while saying, "You are receiving coaching indirectly from Mr. McGraw. This is authentic baseball." Every day, the members summarized everything they were taught that day in notebooks back at the camp. At the end of the camp, everyone's notes were organized and compiled into one. This is what has been handed down as the "Secret Book." Later, when Miyake became captain in 1916, he argued that keeping it secret was narrow-minded, which contributed to the improvement and progress of baseball throughout Japan.

Incidentally, Miyake said, "Previously, (baseball club member) Kazuma Sugase told me, 'If you want to study baseball, study English,' so I studied English hard. Therefore, (omitted) I was able to understand what the other party was saying."

Miyake and the Juku baseball club further toured the American mainland in 1911 and were invited by Stanford University for another tour in 1914, establishing baseball techniques and tactics.

Miyake, who graduated from the department of political economy in 1918, served as the manager of the Juku baseball club when the Waseda-Keio rivalry was revived in 1925. When professional baseball was established, he became the first manager of the Giants. He also led Eiji Sawamura, Shigeru Mizuhara, and others on their first American tour.

Among the letters that Yukichi Maeda cherished is one from Miyake dated late August 1967.

Perhaps because many professional baseball leaders these days have old-fashioned minds, their tactics are outdated and I find it unpleasant. I suspect they are using what they were taught when they were middle school students now that they have become managers and coaches. (omitted) I am looking forward to seeing you win in the autumn as well. However, please do not just win, but win by playing 'good baseball.'

Miyake was a man who cherished his friendships with American baseball figures, continuing to correspond with Shafer until his final years. He himself pursued "good baseball" throughout his life.

Finally, let me introduce Miyake's hidden achievements. Miyake's father was a man who, after serving as secretary to Shojiro Goto, served as a director of the Kabukiza Theatre and had a deep understanding of Kabuki. Additionally, Daisuke Miyake's younger brother, Saburo Miyake, was a drama critic. Perhaps influenced by this, Miyake himself wrote several scripts for plays, including Kabuki, which were performed.

After the war, he was also appointed as a member of the Kabuki Review Committee. He was not only involved in checking old scripts but also handled negotiations for permission to perform plays such as "Kanjincho" and "Chushingura." To the Occupation forces, who said they could not permit the performance of plays that emphasized feudal loyalty, Miyake persuaded them by saying, "It's the same with the comedy 'Carmen,' isn't it? You don't look at the state of a gypsy smuggling country; you want to hear 'good music' and 'good songs.'" He argued that Kabuki cannot be understood by the script alone. In the end, the officer in charge not only permitted the performance but reportedly became a fan of Kabuki.

Furthermore, the head of the theater department of the Occupation forces recommended the performance of American plays, and Miyake translated "Of Mice and Men," written and adapted by John Steinbeck. The 20-day run with two performances a day was always full. This is an episode typical of Miyake, who had a strong spirit of inquiry and was skilled at communicating with Americans.