Meiji Jingu Stadium

The Meiji Jingu Stadium (明治神宮野球場, Meiji Jingū Yakyūjō) is a baseball stadium in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. It opened in 1926 and holds 37,933 spectators. Property of the Meiji Shrine, it is the home field of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows professional baseball team. It also hosts college baseball, including the Tokyo Big6 Baseball League and the Tohto University Baseball League.

Meiji Jingu Stadium
LocationShinjuku, Tokyo, Japan
Coordinates35°40′28.3″N 139°43′01.4″E
Public transit
OwnerMeiji Shrine
Capacity37,933[1]
Field sizeLeft Field – 97.5 metres (320 ft)
Left-Center – 112.3 metres (368 ft)
Center Field – 120 metres (394 ft)
Right-Center – 112.3 metres (368 ft)
Right Field – 97.5 metres (320 ft)
Height of outfield fence – 3.5 m (11.5 ft)
SurfaceArtificial turf
Construction
Broke groundDecember 1925
OpenedOctober 23, 1926
Construction cost530,000 Yen
Tenants
Tokyo Big6 Baseball League (1926-current)
Tohto University Baseball League (1932-current)
Tokyo Yakult Swallows (Central League) (1964-current)

History

As the second oldest baseball stadium in Japan, Meiji Jingu Stadium is one of the few professional stadiums still in existence where Babe Ruth played. In 1934, Ruth joined several other famous baseball players from the U.S., such as Lou Gehrig and Jimmie Foxx, in a 22-game tour of Japan. (Matsutarō Shōriki, popularly known as the father of Japanese professional baseball, organized the American tour; he survived an assassination attempt for allowing foreigners to play baseball in Jingu Stadium.[2] He received a 16-inch-long wound from a broadsword during the assassination attempt.)

Jingu Stadium was also used for an exhibition of baseball when Tokyo hosted the 1964 Olympic Games. The United States team of college baseball players, including eight future major league players, defeated a Japanese amateur all-star team in Tokyo, 6–2.

In 2019 the Meiji Jingu Gaien, the Japan Sports Council, Mitsui Fudosan and Itochu Corp. groups agreed to redevelop both the Jingu stadium and the Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground. Under the plans Jingu Stadium will be demolished and a rebuilt on the site of the rugby ground at present.[3]

Field

It is one of the main stadiums in Ace of Diamond, a very popular manga and anime series.

It is the setting for Gurazeni, and the home stadium for Jingu Spiders.

References
  1. https://tokyocheapo.com/entertainment/jingu-stadium-baseball-pro-sport-japan-experience-cheap/
  2. "Matsutaro Shoriki: Japan's Citizen Kane," The Economist (Dec 22, 2012).
  3. "Olympics: Tokyo's iconic baseball, rugby fields set for redevelopment". Kyodo News. 28 February 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
Tokyo Yakult Swallows fans at the right field bleachers
Preceded by
Komazawa Stadium		 Home of the Toei Flyers
1962 – 1963		 Succeeded by
Korakuen Stadium
Preceded by
Korakuen Stadium		 Home of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows
1964 –		 Succeeded by
N/A


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