The 'missing link' to a favorite campus artifact is found
in a 1929 journey to Japan by U-M's baseball team

By Valerie Nao Yoshimura

Is it Darth Vader? A Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle? A samurai from Shogun? Long one of the most popular objects at the University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA), a Japanese suit of armor inspires such interrogation from children and adults.

An imposing presence of black lacquer and chain mail fastened with colorful laces atop an indigo blue undergarment upon which golden dragonflies alight, the mysterious armor is topped by an awesome black helmet that undeniably evokes the arch-villain of the Star Wars trilogy. What visitors don't realize, however, is that this armor has a University connection--and it's not James Earl Jones. Indeed, just as Darth Vader recovers his true identity after decades of obscurity, so, too, has this enigmatic suit of armor been unmasked: Far more than an appealing Asian artifact, the armor is, in fact, a tournament trophy awarded to the University of Michigan men's baseball team in 1929 by Meiji University in Japan after the Michigan nine won 11 of 13 games on its first tour of the Asian archipelago.

While enrolled in a graduate course in "Connoisseurship" offered by the Museum Practice Program, I selected the fascinating suit of Japanese armor as my object of inquiry. Little about it was known. Although it had been on display at the Museum of Art for a decade, UMMA maintained no files on it because the armor officially belongs to the U-M Museum of Anthropology (Accession No.2034, Catalogue No.36793).

The information available from the Museum of Anthropology was similarly scant: The file contained a single letter dated July 1, 1952, to Mrs. Fielding Yost that acknowledged her gift of the armor in memory of her husband, Fielding H. Yost (1871-1946). U-M football coach for a quarter of a century and then athletic director, Yost guided Michigan athletics through the first four decades of this century and was the inspiration behind Michigan Stadium, the U-M Golf Course and Yost Field House-the first indoor practice facility, now the ice arena that bears his name.

In an attempt to uncover the armor's provenance by identifying the family or prefecture from which it hails, I researched its composition, artistry and symbolism. The decorative aspects suggest that it dates from the late Edo period (1600-1848), a time of peace when ceremonial artistry superseded protective function. As color schemes and icons mark familial and regional identity, I investigated the family crest (kamon) on the helmet (kabuto), the 18 dragonflies painted in gold that adorn the indigo cotton undergarment and the dark blue and flame-colored lacing (kon-ito-odosi).

Traditionally known in Japan as katsumushi, or the "invincible insect," the dragonfly is a favorite symbol of strength and victory, admired for its elegance and lightness. Since the 14th century, the dragonfly has been the symbol of the Kaneko family from Kaneko village near Tokyo, yet it is also a symbol of Japan herself, as the shape of the islands are said to resemble this intriguing insect.

While such military and cultural associations help explain the predominance of the dragonfly on this armor, my investigations of provenance remained, nonetheless, inconclusive.

In the end, the answer was right here in Ann Arbor. Thanks to the incredible collection of University history preserved by the Bentley Historical Library, I was able to peruse Fielding Yost's scrapbooks and correspondence, as well as the scrapbooks, minutes, photos and records of the Athletic Department, the Alumni Association, and past issues of the Michigan Alumnus and the Michigan Daily.

Together, these records testify to a remarkable series of baseball exchanges between U-M and Japanese universities that began in 1911 and peaked in 1929 and 1932, when the Wolverine squad journeyed across the Pacific.

The Michigan Daily of October 16, 1929, describes the very special "trophy" brought back to Ann Arbor: "Probably the most unique trophies that will ever be displayed in the Yost Field House are two sets of Japanese armuor [sic] over 500 years old which were presented to the team at the University of Meiji. These awards instead of cups were given to Michigan because they are very highly prized in Japanese sporting circles and because the Meiji university baseball teams who have played here several times were of the opinion that Michigan had enough cups anyway."

The Japanese discover besuboru
In the wake of the "opening" of Japan to the West, the Japanese were introduced to that most American of sports: baseball. As Robert Whiting observed in You Gotta Have Wa (Random House, 1990), the emphasis on team building and group equilibrium found baseball especially well-suited to Japanese sensibilities. Whiting traced the beginnings of Japanese baseball (besuboru) to the 1870s, and noted that by the "early twentieth century, intercollegiate baseball was the country's major sport. . . a symbol of the nation's progress in its efforts to catch the West."

The leading Japanese teams came from Ichiko, Keio, Waseda and Meiji universities. International intercollegiate baseball exchanges began in 1905 when Waseda University toured the West Coast. Over the years, Michigan hosted Japanese teams in Ann Arbor: Keio visited in 1911, followed by Waseda in 1921, Meiji in 1924 and Osaka Mainichi in 1925. Finally, in 1929, Michigan Coach Ray Fisher received a letter from Meiji University Coach George J. Otsuki inviting the Michigan baseball team to tour Japan as "ambassadors of good will," compliments of Meiji University and the Japanese Ministry of Education.

On the recommendation of Fielding Yost, the Board in Control of Intercollegiate Athletics accepted the invitation at its February 9, 1929, meeting. The agreement included an understanding that Michigan would host two games against Meiji University in Ann Arbor on May 6-7.

The Michigan Daily featured front-page coverage as the Maize and Blue narrowly won the first game with a game-winning hit by Capt. Don Corriden in the bottom of the ninth before packed grandstands at Ferry Field. The Wolverines rallied in the sixth inning of the second game to overcome a two-run deficit and win by the same 3-2 score.

Coach Fisher commented that the Japanese players were "noticeably weak at batting" but displayed a "remarkable defense." The Michigan Daily of May 7, 1929, described the Meiji team as a "fast and colorful. . . team" with "fast fielding" and "lightning-like throws" that made them "the equal of most American college teams."

Led by Corriden and star pitchers Bill McAfee and Fred Asbeck, the 1928 Big Ten Conference Champions left Ann Arbor on July 31, 1929. After playing several games on the West Coast and one in Hawaii, the Wolverines arrived in Japan for a 30-day visit. Lodged at the Imperial Hotel, the 14 team members and Coach Fisher and his family were received lavishly by Meiji University.

The 1928 Big 10 Champion varsity baseball team. Front row, l-r: Louis Weintraub, third base; Ray Nebelung, right field; Carl Loos, shortstop, captain; Coach Ray Fisher; Donald Corriden, second base, captain-elect; Harvey Straub, second base; George Slagle, outfielder. Back row, l-r: James McKillen, Jr., manager; Gerson Reichman, catcher; Bennie Oosterbaan, first base; Samuel Gawne, pitcher; Frederick Asbeck, pitcher; William McAfee, Jr., pitcher; Ernest McCoy, catcher; Blott.  (From Michiganensian, 1929.)