Many Japanese players are active in the American Major Leagues today.
However, few are aware of the following episode,
which ocurred in Japan during the early days of baseball.
This is a story of men whose souls burned with a passion for baseball.
" Baseball Blues (For Love of a Ball) "
My original reason for visiting this place
was to investigate reports of a foreign ship
that had been spotted from time to time in the area recently.
Oh, and pardon the belated introduction, but I'm Manzou the Saw,
a secret policeman who was transferred to the area just recently.
What did you say?!
Let's see... How much farther do you think it is?
We came this way along the Nagasaki highway, so...
We'll reach Saga soon. It won't be long before we reach Ikitsuki Island.
Here you are.
Huh? Excuse me, we didn't order all this.
Don't worry about it, I ordered for us.
Hey, what're we gonna do about the money?
Don't sweat it.
Do you have a secret stash you haven't told us about?
I said, don't worry about it!
Delicious.
Hey, don't start without me!
Oh, that was so good... How long has it been since we ate this much?
Still, are you certain that you can take care of the bill?
You bet.
He's skipping out on his bill!!
Come back here!
He didn't!
Damn, this guy is fast!
Ow...
Who threw this?!
Hey, there.
It was you, huh?!
You're pretty good.
How 'bout it? Wanna play some ball?
Play ball?
Listen, if you play in the game that's gonna be held tomorrow, I'll pay your bill.
Or would you rather work your butts off here for a month to pay it off yourselves?
All right, take the heat for what you did.
You guys shoulda made a break for it, too.
What're you talking about?!
A month is a harsh sentence. Surely your only option is to play.
What the hell is this ball deal about, anyway?
Baseball. It's a sport from across the sea.
Basically, I throw this ball, and you try to hit it with this stick that's called a bat.
What, it's just a stick game?
This is no game. This is a battle that our country's future is riding on.
--Say what? --Well, it all began about a week ago.
Who's in charge here?
Hey, where can we find the person in charge around here?
I'm the town consul, if that's what you mean.
This is Commodore Alexander Joy Cartwright, commander of the U.S. East Indies Fleet.
I'm Doubleday, his interpreter.
We Americans have come here because we want to open trade with this country.
Y-You can make all the outrageous demands you like, but I can't help you.
Besides, there is an official edict that all foreign ships are to be driven off immediately.
Fuck them!
Please don't get the wrong impression here.
We didn't come here to make a request. This is an order.
Or would you prefer to go to war against us?
Whoa! Baseball? Sonuvagun!
Baseball, on a little island in the Far East?
Incredible! The sport of gentlemen comes to the country of savages!
All right, you're on.
In this peaceful country, there's no need for either one of us to throw our lives away.
What?
We'll settle this with baseball!
And so, that's how we got stuck playing a game against the Yankees.
But why did those Americans come all this way to do something like that?
What a bunch of troublemakers!
Don't you have any other players?
Well, I did, but...
Listen up! This is gonna be one seriously tough game!
Get it into your heads that if we don't win, there will be no tomorrow for us!
Have I made myself clear, you sons of--
Hey!
Look, if it's that tough, I'd rather not be in it...
Seriously. Leave me out of it.
Um, I have some errands to run, so see you later!
Get back here, damn it!
So that's how it went, and everybody ran away.
So tell me something. Are these Yankees really that tough?
You bet.
All right, I'll do it!
Well, give it your best shot.
What're you talking about? We don't have enough people.
All three of you are gonna play!
So, they came all the way to this little port to catch us by surprise...
What should we do, sir? We have to report this to Edo at once.
Hold your horses. Before we do that, I'm gonna sneak aboard that ship.
But that's... that's too dangerous!
Don't worry about me.
I just need to cleverly disguise myself as an American, and it'll be a piece of cake.
Okay...
You said your name was Kagemaru, right?
How did you know about this baseball stuff?
For generations, we've worked as secret agents for a certain feudal domain.
No way! You mean you were a ninja?
That's right. Kyushu has always had a lot of dealings with foreign countries,
so we've been researching those countries for generations.
But then the national isolation policy went into effect,
and our domain was crushed, too.
And so, they learned the rules of the game in a single night,
and were given a crash course in baseball through the night.
However, this part is boring, so I'll skip over it.
Freeze!
Who are you?
Who are you?!
Oh! American! American!
Shut up!
Nooo!
"Sports Fighting Spirit Period Drama "
"Samurai Champloo "
It's finally beginning! The matchup of the century is underway!
In this battle, the national prestige of America and Japan is on the line!
My name is Ichiemon, and I will be acting as your announcer today!
Aren't we a few people short?
It's okay. Don't worry about it.
Hey, look!
They let the dogs play baseball here?
Fantastic! That's the mystical orient for you!
What did you just say?
They're full-fledged players, too.
It doesn't say anything in the rules about animals not being allowed.
Okay!
It's the first at-bat! Play ball!
Doubleday is on the mound, and he lets it rip!
It's a bunt!
No!
Ninja baseball...
The next batter in the lineup is Jin.
Oh, my! He's using a gedan sword stance!
Can he successfully apply this technique to baseball?!
He nailed it! The ball is heading for short center field!
That was great!
The next batter up is Mugen, with no outs and runners on first and second.
And this new batter is using a two-sword technique!
Come on!
The pitcher winds up for his first pitch, and... What's this?
They're going to load the bases. They're intentionally walking him.
No way!
Out!
Oh, no! He passed the runner in front of him! He's out!
No way...
The next batter up is Fuu, the lone girl on the team.
--Let's do it! --Strike!
Strike!
Strike three! Batter's out!
Tragically, she was struck out.
The next batter is the village consul, the oldest on the team at age 80.
Mister!
Listen, step over my corpse and move on to a brighter tomorrow...
Mister!
Now, then, the next batter up is... the dog?
Hey, there's no way that an animal can hit the ball!
It'll be fine. He won't have to.
Ball! Ball!
Ball!
Oh, my! The pitcher can't seem to get anything into the strike zone!
Exactly. An animal's strike zone is tiny.
All he has to do is stand there, and he'll get walked.
And here comes the fourth pitch!
He ran away!
Momo!
Damn, I guess they're just animals, after all.
What's this, then? Why's a ball game being held in secret like this?
Who are you?
I could say that I was just a baseball fan who was passing by,
but I guess that would be a lie.
We're short on players, so you're gonna play, too.
A pinch hitter has come in! A perfectly innocent baseball fan who happened to be passing by!
Oh, my! It's his first at-bat, and he's calling a home run!
Who is this player?! Where did he come from?!
" Bunt! "
And Doubleday throws the first pitch!
Strike!
That moron...
"Wrong! "
" Didn't you understand me?! "
" I said bunt! "
" Bunt! "
Okay, here's the second pitch!
Strike two!
That dumb son of a bitch!
" Moron! "
" Dumbass! "
" Bunt, damn it! "
" Bunt! "
"Or you're dead! "
The batter's in a hole! And here comes the pitcher's third throw!
No!
The Japanese team is playing unexpectedly well!
The American players are currently gathered on the mound.
Son of a bitch!
Fucking Japs!
Time to teach these savages how we do things.
An eye for an eye. The American way, all the way!
Play...
Ball!
Shit! They're playing dirty!
Here it comes!
Amen.
No, I'm still alive...
Manzou is dead, but freedom will never die...!
That was dirty! Umpire!
So, they're in cahoots.
Now, here comes the first pitch to Jin!
Holy cow, he's fast! Will he go for an in-the-park home run?!
What the--?
I... am ashamed...
Out!
That's three! Change sides!
I want you to stay out of this.
Hey, I ain't dead yet...
Nobody else is gonna use that mound until my arm falls off.
The American team is finally on the offensive,
but the opposing Japanese team only has a pitcher and a first baseman!
What in the world do they hope to do?!
Out!
God damn!
Their next batter is Commodore Alexander Joy Cartwright!
Don't try it! Get out of there!
Come to papa!
I die with no regrets...
Out!
Things have gotten serious!
The Japanese team now has only one player remaining!
How in the world does he intend to keep fighting when the odds are 1 against 9?!
This is no contest at all!
Against a bunch of pansies like you...
...one of me is plenty!
Mugen is full of spirit as he winds up his pitch, and--
What in the world is he doing?!
--Shit! --That's a balk! Balk!
Ball!
Ball! Ball!
Ball four!
His plan has gone to pieces.
Not only does the pitcher have no control, he also seems to be dizzy!
All right, then. I guess I'll throw it normally.
N-No human being could possibly hit a pitch like that...!
Nooo!
D-Dead ball!
God help us... This isn't baseball!
This is madness!
What an amazing turn of events!
The American team's bench is now piled high with corpses, too!
They are down to one player!
This game has become a battle of one against one! Man against man!
I'm not going to lose! America can't afford to lose!
I can't believe it! Both players are down!
What will become of this game?!
Will it end as a suspended game?
Jesus...
Friggin' kamikaze!
All right, you damn Yankees...
Hurry up and haul your asses back to your own country!
He's on his feet! The American team has no players left!
The game is over! The game is over!
"Japan " "America "
and the Americans went home with a profound fear of Japanese people.
They didn't return to these shores until the arrival of Commodore Perry in 1 853.
One morning, I lay stretched out in the grass by the river
A butterfly tickles my nose, and the predawn sky is infinitely far away
What is projected on this gradually darkening blue screen is the continuation of my dream
I yawn and stretch, the character for "big " standing alone among the sounds of spring
Snow lingers on the distant mountaintops as my path carries me across the seasons
A swallow brushes my cheek as it flies past
And looking back, calls out "Good morning! " to me
It's time to be off, and with a "Heave ho " I get to my feet, but where am I off to?
As to that, as to that, as to that, as to that...
Yeah, right now, it's early spring, and my journey has just begun
In other words, we travel westwards, wandering hoodlums who think we 're samurai
The souls accompanying us drift up to the sky If they flap their wings, they can fly
In other words, we travel westwards, wandering hoodlums who think we 're samurai
The souls accompanying us drift up to the sky If they flap their wings, they can fly
I knew from the day I was born that I would set out on a journey one day
With a knapsack on my tiny back, I heard a voice calling out behind me
As I walked home from school along the little path lit by the setting sun
I was overwhelmed each day at how familiar it seemed
The journey finally begins to seek out and awaken the me that I'm sure lived long ago
Your world is far bigger than what you read about in the history books
That sensation reverberating up from beneath your sneakers
Is the history lying beneath the asphalt
As I travel from the present to the past, will I meet myself?
Also, my future self will find me, so I'll wait here a while for him
In other words, we travel westwards, wandering hoodlums who think we 're samurai
The souls accompanying us drift up to the sky If they flap their wings, they can fly
In other words, we travel westwards, wandering hoodlums who think we 're samurai
The souls accompanying us drift up to the sky If they flap their wings, they can fly
And so, he himself had no idea that he had inadvertently saved this country.
His thoughts were turned to the distant land to which the black ships were returning.
My thoughts aren't really turned anywhere. Stop making stuff up!
Who the hell are you, anyway? Shut your damn mouth!
Yes, sir...