Shoujuji Temple (The monument of Shiki & Baseball) 



 " The ball failed to hit have been in Catcher's mitt and the runner cant't advance"



 " Players filled the three bases just now, I feel uneasy in spite of myself"


                                                               (Shiki)
These short poem ,tanka (Japanese poem of thirty-one syllables ), of baseball in nine tanka published in Newspaper "Nippon" in May 24th of 1898 (Meiji 31). Shiki was a sportsman in his youth and had been absorbed in baseball. He said in his essay, "Fude-makase ; leaving to pen" published in 1887 (Meiji 21) ; "There is no war filled with pleasure but baseball."

Shiki had another pen name "Yakyu (No-ball)" that was made a parody of his popular name "Noboru". It had been said that it was probably the first time to use the word of "Yakyu" in Japan.
In 1895 (Meiji 29), Shiki explained the rules and so on about baseball in Newspaper "Nippon" and used his own Japanese equivalent for baseball term. Shiki first used "Chokkyu (first ball)", "Dasha (batter)", "Sousha (runner)", "Kyu (ball)", and so on, and he said in this article ;
"The word of "baseball" has not Japanese equivalent yet. These Japanese I showed here now, are concerned in my original idea. (...) "

The picture on this monument was taken on Mar. of 1890 (Meiji 23) when Shiki was a baseball player of the Preliminary School of Tokyo University at the age of 24.
It was the first time in Matsuyama that Shiki initiated Hekigotou Kawahigashi into baseball in 1889 (Meiji 22).

Shiki composed nine tanka in 1898 (Meiji 31). - These tanka expressed the scene being in progress to play ball and then fill three bases. -

  1. "I never get weary of watching the baseball game that had been started by American"
  2. "It's amazing for me to watch that Japanese and foreigners compete with each other for hitting in the baseball game"
  3. "Although there are a large number of sports played by young men, nothing can compare with baseball for enjoyment"
  4. "Nine players are in the nine positions of field and the baseball game is about to begin"
  5. "Nine players play a game in nine innings and the sun go down today too"
  6. "A ball is hit a fly high in the cloudy sky and falls into the player's glove"
  7. "A ball hit a fly by halves are nearly missed catching, but a ground ball on the field don't easy come to a stop"
  8. "The ball failed to hit have been just in the catcher's mitt and the runner cant't advance"
  9. "Players fill the three bases just now, I feel uneasy in spite of myself"