1927 Photograph of the Waseda University Basketball Team, the First Japanese Basketball Team to Play in the US.
California: 1927. Photograph measuring approximately 6 ¾ x 10 inches. Unevenly trimmed top edge; some folding at lower corners; excellent contrast with extensive pencil caption verso. Very good to excellent. Item #List3428
A portrait of the Waseda University basketball team from 1927; according to its manuscript caption the photo was taken following their defeat by the University of California team at the Oakland Auditorium, on a tour of the Pacific coast. The sport, invented in Massachusetts in 1891 (with a Japanese student partaking in the first game), was brought to Japan as early as 1902 by American missionaries.[1] A New York Times article from the time reports that Waseda University was the first Japanese basketball team to come to the US, following the success of its baseball team’s tour; and that there was “much interest” in the Japanese players’ strategy of “cat-like swiftness”.[2]
[1] Tetsuji Kakiyama, “Challenging established theory: History of Japanese Basketball,” Research Outreach, April 10, 2023.
[2] “JAPANESE FIVE PLANS TRIP; Waseda University Seeks Games With California and Others”, The New York Times, October 7, 1927, 33.
Price: $250.00