One of my favorite places in the whole world is Koshien Stadium, home of the Hanshin Tigers. I love baseball and Hanshin is my favorite team. But it is challenging for me at Koshien to balance my role as a fan and as a visual anthropologist. I am literally juggling cheering paraphernalia, chu-hai, katsu curry and camera while sitting in a narrow seat (or suddenly standing after a good play) in a very crowded stadium. But I wouldn't have it any other way. Here are some shots from my recent pilgrimage when Hanshin took on the Yokohama Baystars.
And by the way, Hanshin won! And it was a special game because it was the first win for the rookie player Fujinami who was drafted right out of high school in the first round. Here's hoping he becomes a Hanshin star...
See details of the game (4/14/13): http://japanesebaseball.com/blogs/thread.jsp?blogid=1137&thread=68313
See previous VAOJ posts and photos essays about Hanshin: click here.
