New member intro: Greetings from Japan

[seanofjapan]

Hi,

I just registered (long time lurker) and thought I`d introduce myself since this forum includes new member introductions.

I live in Japan (am Canadian though) and collect a mix of Japanese and American vintage baseball cards (focusing mostly on 70s/80s stuff in Japan, pre-war and Expos stuff in MLB). I can probably answer any questions about Japanese stuff anyone has.

Nice to meet you all.

[Huck]

Hello Sean,

I used to live in Japan (Yokohama, Yokosuka) back in the late 60's. What is the card market like there? Is Ichiro all the craze? I wish that I had collected a ton of Sadaharu Oh cards when I lived there.

[ullmandds]

Grettings...so there seems to be a steady supply of shonen ruth postcards coming from japan. How commonly found are these in japan??

[EvilKing00]

Welcome to the forum!


001.jpg

[Leon]

Welcome Sean!! Hope you enjoy your stay. We have some other Japanese collectors on the board too. Happy Collecting!!

[ALR-bishop]

Welcome Sean

Sincerely, Tuffy Rhodes

Drop by post war when you have a chance

[Jayworld]

Welcome, Sean, from one Japanese baseball card collector to another!

[Kawika]

Welcome to the Friendly Confines, Sean.
Lots of terrific Japanese baseball things out there. Looking forward to what you share.

[glchen]

Welcome to the board! Another Japanese collectible.

[Yoda]

I lived in Tokyo (Azabu Juban) in the early-mid seventies and found collecting North American sports cards back then almost impossible. Dealers, didn't want to ship internationally, auction houses were not as ubiquitous as now, etc. So being now a Tokyo boy, I became a Yomiuri Giants fan, went to many of their games, (the Japanese fans loved the fact that I was a gaijin supporter, sitting in their section of the stands, and collected a few Nagashima and Oh cards, now long disappeared. I suspect my ex-wife who organized our departure might have had something to do with it. Great memories. Welcome to the board, and I hope we will hear from our Asian correspondent often.
P.S. One of the fascinating things about Japanese baseball back then was the practice of when a batter hit a foul ball, a parade of young pretty Japanese girls armed with gloves would rush the field and whoever caught the ball would dutiful toss it back to one of them. It never failed to amaze me, exemplified Japanese group discipline, but I doubt would ever work at Yankee Stadium. Does this still go on? However, when there was a home run a lucky fan got to keep the ball.

[packs]

Welcome aboard. Here's one I don't get a chance to post too often:

[JasonD08]

Hey greetings a kid I know is pitching for the Baystars......Mike Broadway.

[Exhibitman]

Heckuva Ruth, Gary. Nice to see something completely unknown to me.

Welcome to the show seanofjapan.

[clydepepper]

Hello Sean - Welcome to the Board - You will enjoy the time you spend here.

I'm sure you have heard of this guy:

1947 JBR VICTOR STARFFIN PSA-7.jpg

[h2oya311]

welcome aboard the board! I used to have a large collection of Japanese HOF cards...now I only have these Nagashima rookies plus a few others (like Oh and Fukumoto:

[Rookiemonster]

Welcome a board !

[seanofjapan]

Thanks for the kind words of welcome everyone!

Originally Posted by biohazard

Hello Sean,

I used to live in Japan (Yokohama, Yokosuka) back in the late 60's. What is the card market like there? Is Ichiro all the craze? I wish that I had collected a ton of Sadaharu Oh cards when I lived there.

Thanks. I live in Nagoya but have been to Yokohama a few times, its a great city (probably its changed quite a bit since the 60s though!)

There is a pretty active market for cards here, mostly Japanese ones. Its not as developed as the US one, which I kind of like (keeps things simple).

Ichiro of course is huge, especially with his accomplishments this season!

Grettings...so there seems to be a steady supply of shonen ruth postcards coming from japan. How commonly found are these in japan??

I got my own copy of the Shonen Ruth postcard a few months ago. They are actually a bit hard to find these days. I check Yahoo Auctions Japan (Japan`s version of Ebay) for them regularly and copies only show up once every 2-3 months or so.

I suspect that most copies have already left the country to the US market, where the demand (and prices for them) were quite a bit higher until recently, so there probably aren`t a lot left actually in Japan anymore. The prices here for them have more or less caught up by now (I paid almost $200 for mine, which seems to be about what they go for in mid-range in US auctions).

Incidentally the standard catalogue (and PSA, SCG and other grading companies) have made some pretty big errors in describing that postcard. It was actually issued in 1929, not 1928, and the correct title is "Shonen Kurabu" or possibly "Shonen Club" rather than "Shonen Kulubu".

Kawika, Evilking000, glchen, h2oya311, packs -love those cards! My main collecting interest these days is Calbee cards from the 1970s and 80s. My main project at the moment is(over-ambitiously) trying to put together a full set of the 1975-76 Calbees, which is almost 1500 cards. I put some photos of the highlights on my blog if you are interested: http://baseballcardsinjapan.blogspot.jp/

I`ll try to put some pics up here too as I get new (and hopefully interesting) stuff.

I lived in Tokyo (Azabu Juban) in the early-mid seventies and found collecting North American sports cards back then almost impossible. Dealers, didn't want to ship internationally, auction houses were not as ubiquitous as now, etc. So being now a Tokyo boy, I became a Yomiuri Giants fan, went to many of their games, (the Japanese fans loved the fact that I was a gaijin supporter, sitting in their section of the stands, and collected a few Nagashima and Oh cards, now long disappeared. I suspect my ex-wife who organized our departure might have had something to do with it. Great memories. Welcome to the board, and I hope we will hear from our Asian correspondent often.
P.S. One of the fascinating things about Japanese baseball back then was the practice of when a batter hit a foul ball, a parade of young pretty Japanese girls armed with gloves would rush the field and whoever caught the ball would dutiful toss it back to one of them. It never failed to amaze me, exemplified Japanese group discipline, but I doubt would ever work at Yankee Stadium. Does this still go on? However, when there was a home run a lucky fan got to keep the ball.

Oh wow, the favorite cards in my collection are my mid-70s ones (which mostly feature the Giants) - I would love to have been able to take in a game back then. I think spectators are allowed to keep the balls nowadays, though I read about that practice before. I`ve been to games in a few different stadiums here (Koshien Stadium (the greatest place to watch a game in Japan), Nagoya Dome, Fukuoka Dome and Green Stadium) but never caught a foul ball so I`m not sure if they all have given that up or not.

Fortunately collecting US cards is a bit easier these days thanks to Ebay. Unfortunately most sellers still don`t ship overseas (or charge an arm and a leg for it) but there are some that are accomodating!

[prestigecollectibles]

The Babe Ruth postcard is from the August 1929 issue of Shonen Club. SGC is grading them with the correct details and after a long battle with PSA they are finally doing them correctly too. If you have them graded as a 1928 Shonen Kulubu they should redo the holder.

[the 'stache]

Welcome to the forum, Sean! Make yourself at home, and if you have any questions (even something as simple as "how do I find ___"), please feel free to ask. My inbox is always open.

Have fun. You're going to love this place.

Bill

[h2oya311]

'75-76 Calbee for your viewing pleasure, since you said you're working on the set.



That would be quite the feat to finish the set!!

Yutaka Fukumoto - second only to Rickey Henderson in stolen bases across the two leagues. I think he also has a '74-75 Calbee, but I have yet to find one.

[seanofjapan]

Prestige - I read an article at Old Cardboard based on research you did to track down which issue of Shonen Club that Ruth card came from, that must have been a lot of work!

the `stache - Thanks a lot, I will be sure to drop a line when I (inevitably) have questions!

h2oya311 - you have good taste! I love Fukumoto cards, these are a few of his from my collection (73 Calbee, 75-76 Calbee and 79 Calbee. I`m pretty sure he also appeared in the 74 set. He has a lot of cards in the 75-76 one!)

[MacDice]

Looking for some cards of Leon Lee. Please let me know if you have any to trade or sell

[h2oya311]

Originally Posted by seanofjapan

h2oya311 - you have good taste! I love Fukumoto cards, these are a few of his from my collection (73 Calbee, 75-76 Calbee and 79 Calbee. I`m pretty sure he also appeared in the 74 set. He has a lot of cards in the 75-76 one!)

Wow! Awesome! Didn't know about that '73 card! Thanks for sharing!

[prestigecollectibles]

[QUOTE=seanofjapan;1577096]Prestige - I read an article at Old Cardboard based on research you did to track down which issue of Shonen Club that Ruth card came from, that must have been a lot of work!

Thanks, I have the original August 1929 issue of Shonen Club.
These items are not for sale but you can view most of my collection here. http://imageevent.com/yakyu

[Buythatcard]

Welcome to board Sean.

I have been selling vintage cards for 14 years on eBay but have never come across a card from Japan. I don't know anything about them and would love to get hold of some to try and sell.


What were the earliest Japanese cards produced? Which ones were considered "The Holy Grail" of Japanese cards? Do you know of any good publications out there that talk about Japanese cards? Are most of the consumers Americans that collect the cards?

[mrvster]

WELCOME! you are going to love it hear

peace

johnny

[GeorgeBailey2]

Thanks for joining and linking your blog.

The visuals of the Japanese cards are great. Although I have been fascinated by them since seeing a small offering in either Stan Martucci's or Bruce Yeko's catalogues from the mid-70's, aside from a couple of mid-90's BBM packs, I have never pulled the trigger.

One of my favorite books is "You Gotta Have Wa."

[trdcrdkid]

Welcome, Sean! Here's an article about Japanese baseball cards that appeared in volume V, issue 5 of The Sport Hobbyist in early 1964. I'm not positive, but I think it's the earliest article about Japanese cards to appear in an American hobby publication.

[TheNightmanCometh]

Welcome to the board!

[AustinMike]

Konnichiwa Sean-san!

Like some others on the board, I lived in Japan for a few years. I was there from Jan. 1969 to May 1971. My dad was in the Air Force and we were stationed at Itazuke AB. The base was about 20 some odd miles east of Fukuoka. Unfortunately I was in high school then and had stopped collecting baseball cards just prior to moving there, so I have no baseball related items from my time there. I did watch it on TV though. But enough of my reminiscing, welcome to the board!

David - that article caught my eye. The guy who wrote it was from Sasebo. There was (maybe still is, I don't know) a naval base there. We went there for a baseball tournament one weekend. Loads of fun.

[Beansballcardblog]

Great thread, I have enjoyed seeing the cards and look forward to seeing more of them.

Sean, I tweeted from my blog account a link to your blog. I look forward to checking it out more!

-kin

[Enfuego]

Welcome to the Net54 Family

[Huck]

Originally Posted by TheNightmanCometh

Welcome to the board!

That is a cool looking display. Can you elaborate on the cards?

[seanofjapan]

Originally Posted by MacDice

Looking for some cards of Leon Lee. Please let me know if you have any to trade or sell

I`ll let you know if I get any. I have quite a few of his cards from the early 80s, but no doubles at the moment. Let me know which ones you are looking for and I can keep an eye out!

Originally Posted by Buythatcard

Welcome to board Sean.

What were the earliest Japanese cards produced? Which ones were considered "The Holy Grail" of Japanese cards? Do you know of any good publications out there that talk about Japanese cards? Are most of the consumers Americans that collect the cards?

Good questions! I`m not sure what constitutes the "first" Japanese card, but they have been around since before the war, mostly in the form of Menko, which are cardboard game cards. There is a pretty good overview of the history of Japanese cards here: http://www.robfitts.com/japanese-baseball-cards.html

The main guide (in English) to vintage Japanese cards is by Gary Engel (here http://www.prestigecollectibles.com/Item.aspx?ID=1102 ). There is also a Japanese language publication called Sports Card Magazine, which is sort of the equivalent of Beckett for Japanese collectors.

There is a pretty big collector market here, not as big as the US. Mostly it is Japanese collectors. It developed a bit later in the US though. Calbee, which is kind of the Japanese version of Topps (well, its way different than any card maker in the US, but at least in terms of the company that has produced annual sets for the longest) put out its first set in 1973, while BBM (which is a bit more like a conventional US card maker) put out its first set in 1991.

Originally Posted by GeorgeBailey2

Thanks for joining and linking your blog.

One of my favorite books is "You Gotta Have Wa."

Thanks! I love You gotta Have Wa, it is by far my favorite book on Japanese baseball. Whiting used to do a regular column in the Japan Times but he hasn`t been writing much recently, I wish he would get back into it!

Originally Posted by trdcrdkid

Welcome, Sean! Here's an article about Japanese baseball cards that appeared in volume V, issue 5 of The Sport Hobbyist in early 1964. I'm not positive, but I think it's the earliest article about Japanese cards to appear in an American hobby publication.

Wow, that is an amazing find, I had no idea American collector interest in Japanese cards had its origins that far back. Thanks a lot for sharing!

Originally Posted by AustinMike

Konnichiwa Sean-san!

Like some others on the board, I lived in Japan for a few years. I was there from Jan. 1969 to May 1971. My dad was in the Air Force and we were stationed at Itazuke AB. The base was about 20 some odd miles east of Fukuoka. Unfortunately I was in high school then and had stopped collecting baseball cards just prior to moving there, so I have no baseball related items from my time there. I did watch it on TV though. But enough of my reminiscing, welcome to the board!

David - that article caught my eye. The guy who wrote it was from Sasebo. There was (maybe still is, I don't know) a naval base there. We went there for a baseball tournament one weekend. Loads of fun.

Oh interesting. I lived in Fukuoka city for 4 years when I was a student. In fact the university I studied at was actually hit by an F4 Phantom that crashed into it (fortunately the pilots ejected safely) from Itazuke base in the late 60s, maybe while you were there? (way before my time!)

It was a great place to live. There still is a navy base in Sasebo BTW.

Great thread, I have enjoyed seeing the cards and look forward to seeing more of them.

Sean, I tweeted from my blog account a link to your blog. I look forward to checking it out more!

Oh thanks a lot, I will be sure to post more! Thanks for the tweet too!

[Tay1038]

Sean - Sadaharu Oh Game Used Tokyo Giants Flannel Jersey

https://goldinauctions.com/1960s_Sad...-LOT64344.aspx

[Shoeless Moe]

I never understood why that guys number wasn't ZERO

[brianp-beme]

Originally Posted by Tay1038

Sean - Sadaharu Oh Game Used Tokyo Giants Flannel Jersey

https://goldinauctions.com/1960s_Sad...-LOT64344.aspx

And, four years later, welcome aboard again Sean.

Brian

[jb67]

Welcome to the board Sean. You have a great thread started with your first post. Here is my one and only Japanese card.

[seanofjapan]

Nice to still be made to feel welcome here!

That jersey is nice. I am kind of curious how much it goes for and if the seller might have done better trying to sell it in Japan (though there aren't any good auction houses for high end vintage stuff here like in the US).

Nice Oh rookie David! I recently added this one to my collection, its from a different set issued that year.

Originally Posted by Shoeless Moe

I never understood why that guys number wasn't ZERO

Why would his number be zero?

[brianp-beme]

Originally Posted by seanofjapan

Why would his number be zero?

I didn't catch it the first time, but his last name is definitely often substituted for Zero when calling out numbers, such as area codes, zip codes, etc...

Brian

[seanofjapan]

Originally Posted by brianp-beme

I didn't catch it the first time, but his last name is definitely often substituted for Zero when calling out numbers, such as area codes, zip codes, etc...

Brian

Ha, good point, I hadn't thought of that.

[Shoeless Moe]

Originally Posted by seanofjapan

Nice to still be made to feel welcome here!

That jersey is nice. I am kind of curious how much it goes for and if the seller might have done better trying to sell it in Japan (though there aren't any good auction houses for high end vintage stuff here like in the US).

Nice Oh rookie Dave!



Why would his number be zero?

0 looks like the letter O

[Jobu]

Glad you are still here 4 years later!

Here are my only items from Japan - what is possibly a one-of-a-kind GT Son bromide of the 1931 World Tour featuring Gehrig and many others and two photos that I thought were awesome (I Masuda & S Tanabe).

[Mungo Hungo]

Welcome -- I'm in Hawaii, roughly halfway between you and various collectors in California.

I've been surprised at how difficult it is to find Japanese cards in the U.S., even on ebay. Any tips for how to find them?

Actually, I'm really just looking for a card--any card--of Chang-Yong Lim, who played for Yakult from 2008-12, briefly for the Cubs in 2013 and for Korean teams before and after that time. Would you happen to have a double of him lying around, and/or any thoughts as to where I could find one?

Jeff

[seanofjapan]

Bryan - that Bromide of the 1931 team is fantastic!

Originally Posted by Mungo Hungo

Welcome -- I'm in Hawaii, roughly halfway between you and various collectors in California.

I've been surprised at how difficult it is to find Japanese cards in the U.S., even on ebay. Any tips for how to find them?

Actually, I'm really just looking for a card--any card--of Chang-Yong Lim, who played for Yakult from 2008-12, briefly for the Cubs in 2013 and for Korean teams before and after that time. Would you happen to have a double of him lying around, and/or any thoughts as to where I could find one?

Jeff

There are a couple of places outside of ebay. One is Mandarake, which has a good stock of Japanese cards (mostly 70s-80s-90s) that you can browse in English and they will ship to the US. I know at least one American collector who gets cards from them:

https://order.mandarake.co.jp/order/...e=0606&lang=en

Unfortunately though there is no postal service between Japan and the US now due to the pandemic, so they have to send stuff by private courier which is insanely expensive. Once postal service resumes though (whenever that happens) its much cheaper.

For high end stuff there is also Prestige Collectibles, which has some of the best stuff anywhere in their auctions: https://prestigecollectiblesauction.com/

About Chang Yong Lim I can definitely hook you up, he is in some Calbee sets that I have a lot of. I haven't checked but its very likely that I have a double of him lying around somewhere (and if I don't its not hard to find one). The only problem is the above mentioned lack of postal service to the US. Send me a PM though and once that resumes I can get one to you!

[Mungo Hungo]

Thanks Sean -- that's really helpful. I had not heard of Mandarake, but the English-language feature sounds great.

I also wasn't aware of the current lack of postal service -- but I guess these are the times we're in.

And on Chang Yong Lim, I'll send you a PM. Thanks!

Jeff

[Topnotchsy]

Welcome!

I've been able to pick up some photos from the 1931 US Tour of Japan with some early Japanese HOFers and figures. Haven't been able to find out too much about a number of players:

Atsushi Kono
Hisashi Koshimoto
Tsunekichi Oshita
Takizo Matsumoto
Jiro Ito

[rfitts]

I hope it's okay that I plug my new book here. I figure most of you will be interested.
Rob Fitts

[toledo_mudhen]

Konnichiwa Sean!

[seanofjapan]

Nice looking book Rob, its on my reading list for the summer holiday.

Topnotchsy - those are great. I'll try to look up some info on those guys when I get some time!