Welcoming signage of the new exhibit, a joint presentation by the JACL, the Nisei Baseball Research Project and JACL Houston chapter, now open thru June 1 (Photo: Courtesy of Gary Nakamura)
The new ‘Celebrating the Legacy of Japanese Baseball’
exhibit honors a storied history and its impact on
U.S.-Japan relations.
By JACL Houston Chapter
The Houston Central Library was the site of the opening reception for the new National Japanese American Baseball Exhibit “Through a Diamond: Celebrating the Legacy of Japanese Baseball” on March 6.
The special evening reception took place inside the Central Library’s Jesse H. Jones Building by the Main Gallery, where the exhibit will be on display until June 2. The exhibit was made possible by a partnership between JACL National, the Nisei Baseball Research Project and the JACL Houston chapter.
Celebrating the exhibit’s opening are (from left) Kerry Nakagawa, Larry Oda, Consul General Zentaro Naganuma, Gary Nakamura and Bill Staples. (Photo: Courtesy of Paul Shinkawa)
JACL National President Larry Oda and JACL National VP for Planning and Development Gary Nakamura, a past Houston chapter president, have been working together for the past two years with Kerry Nakagawa, founder and president of the NBRP, and Bill Staples Jr., NBRP director and JACL Arizona chapter president, to bring this exhibit to fruition.
(Read related story here.)
The exhibit honors early Japanese American baseball players and their impact on U.S.-Japan relations. (Photo: Courtesy of Gary Nakamura )
The traveling exhibit’s goal is to educate people around the country about Japanese American history through the prism of baseball and to uplift the broader Asian American community by celebrating the athletic achievements of Asians and Asian Americans.
“We have to take every opportunity to highlight our community, and this is one area where it’s not really well known that we had an interest in baseball,” said Oda in an interview with local TV station KHOU.
Added Staples to KHOU: “I like to think of baseball as the international pastime. It’s not just the national pastime anymore. And the legacy of Japanese American baseball is really all about building that bridge across the Pacific.”
During the opening reception, congratulatory remarks were made by Consul General Zentaro Naganuma of Japan, Texas State Rep. Gene Wu, Houston Public Library Director Sandy Gaw, Oda, Nakagawa and Staples. Nakamura served as the master of ceremonies.
The baseball exhibit is currently featured at the Houston Central Library Jesse H. Jones Building, which welcomes some 25,000 visitors monthly. (Photo: Courtesy of Gary Nakamura)
In his remarks, Naganuma noted that baseball has strengthened the bond between Japan and the U.S. and led to an understanding and cultural growth of both countries. In addition, he expressed his hope that the exhibit will allow the contributions of Japanese Americans to be passed on to future generations.
Guests were invited to take a close look at a wide variety of historical artifacts on display that ranged from wool baseball jerseys worn by Japanese American Issei and Nisei pioneer baseball players, as well as 100-year-old mitts, catcher’s mask and baseball cleats.
It also features more than a dozen artistic hanging banners that educate the public about the history of Japanese American baseball before World War II and during incarceration, as well as how the sport helped heal the wounds of war after WWII and promoted friendship between the U.S. and Japan.
“It’s still a hidden legacy,” said Nakagawa to KHOU. “Most of these prewar baseball players were marginalized, forgotten and invisible. It’s fantastic to be in one of the largest cities in the nation to share our artifacts, share their stories and keep their spirits alive.”
Items on display have been collected over decades and showcase the history of Japanese American baseball. (Photo: Courtesy of Gary Nakamura)
Said Nakamura to the Pacific Citizen, “This traveling baseball exhibit is very personal to me, since my late father played baseball while growing up in California. Before WWII, my dad played baseball with some of the legendary Japanese American pioneer baseball players on the Central Coast, and he was the starting third baseman for his high school team. . . . During WWII, my dad volunteered for the U.S. Army’s Military Intelligence Service from Gila River camp to prove his loyalty to the country of his birth, and he became a highly decorated WWII veteran.
Arroyo Grande YMBA team jersey (circa 1937) and Cortez Wildcats team jersey (circa 1938) (Photo: Courtesy of Gary Nakamura)
“My hope is to gently educate the American public about our Japanese American experience through baseball, so that we can increase understanding among various cultures,” Nakamura continued. “Since baseball is truly an international sport that brings people together from different backgrounds, I am hopeful that our exhibit might help in our collective efforts to fight against bigotry, racism and discrimination in the U.S.”
The exhibit will be on display at the Houston Central Library, the flagship library of the Houston Public Library system, through May to celebrate national AANHPI Heritage Month and will close in early June. The library welcomes an estimated 25,000 visitors every month, making it the most popular public library branch in the State of Texas.
Running concurrently with the exhibit in Houston, the traveling exhibit will make its debut in Los Angeles on May 1 in Little Tokyo at the Japanese American National Museum’s Democracy Center in conjunction with the 2026 L.A. Asian Pacific Film Festival.
From there, the exhibit will travel up the coast to California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo from mid-May, where it will be on display at the university’s main library for one month until graduation weekend in mid-June.
Plans are under way to take the traveling exhibit to several other cities in California during 2026 and to numerous other states over the next four years.
“The end goal,” said Staples to KHOU, “I feel for the work that I’ve been doing is making sure that we raise enough awareness that we can eventually have a permanent exhibit, maybe someplace like in Cooperstown.”
If you are interested in hosting the National Japanese American Baseball Exhibit in your city or if you have any questions about the exhibit, contact Gary Nakamura via email at gnakamura@jacl.org.
