Arizona JACL Zenimura Book Signing Recap

I want to extend a sincere thank you to Ted Namba for inviting me to the recent event at the Arizona JACL hall in Glendale. It was a honor to have the opportunity to share the new Zenimura bio, talk baseball, and mix and mingle with the community (especially with my favorite pioneers Mas Inoshita and James "Step" Tomooka).

Among the many people in attendence was George Nakamura, editor of Oasis, the only Japanese publication in Arizona. George was ready with the camera and took some photos to accompany the story below.


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2)ケンイチ・ゼニムラ、日系野球の開拓者」、新著のサイン会がJACL会場で
21日夜、新著「ケンイチ・ゼニムラ、日系野球の開拓者(Kenichi Zenimura, Japanese American Baseball Pioneer)」のサイン会がJACL(日系市民協会)ホールで行われた。著者のビル・ステイプルズさんは、アメリカン・ベースボール・リサーチのメンバーであり、 二世野球研究会の理事でもある。2004年にケンイチ・ゼニムラ(銭村健一郎)のことをオンラインで知り、その後彼の人生を詳細に調べた。また、日本のテレビ朝日でもゼニムラの人生に興味を抱き、そのドキュメンタリー番組が作成された。これは、日本で今年の8月8日に放映されている。将来は和訳の本の出版もありそうだ。

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According to Google translator, here's the gist of the article:

2) Kenichi Zenimura, Japanese American Baseball Pioneer, author signs his new book at JACL event

On the evening of August 21, an autograph session with the author of the new book "Kenichi Zenimura, Japanese American Baseball Pioneer, was held at the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) hall. Author Bill Staples is a member of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) and is also a board member of the Nisei Baseball Research Project. Bill moved to Chandler in 2004 and first learned about Kenichi Zenimura online, and then examined his life in greater detail. In addition, the life of Zenimura has gained the interest of TVAsahi in Japan, who created a documentary of his life. The show aired in Japan on August 8, 2011. It is also likely that there will be a Japanese translation of this publication.

Photos: George Nakamura, Oasis Magazine, 2011

TV Asahi in Japan Features Zenimura and His Historic WWII Ballpark


(Photo, left to right: Takahashi, Maeda, Kono, Staples, Uramoto, Nasu.) On July 20, 2011 I had the good fortune of meeting with a crew from TV Asahi in Japan to discuss my new book, Kenichi Zenimura, Japanese American Baseball Pioneer, and serve as a behind-the-scenes consultant for a segment on Zenimura that aired August 8, 2011.

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Interest in Kenichi Zenimura is growing on both sides of the Pacific. On August 8, 2011, TV Asahi in Japan featured "The Father of Japanese American Baseball" and his historic baseball field at Gila River, Arizona, during WWII. If you can read Japanese, click here for more details. Even if you can't read it, it's still pretty cool to check out.

I had the good fortune of serving as a consultant for the news segment. On July 20th the TV Asahi crew came to our house in Chandler, AZ, to interview me and review photos and research used for the new Zenimura book. Despite the language barrier (only one member of their crew spoke English), we had a great time and really enjoyed the cross-cultural exchange.

Zenimura Book Events: August 2011

Please join me at a future presentation and/or book signing:

Saturday, August 13, 2011 / 10 a.m.
Sun City Grand Sports Interest Group
Sun City Grand Cimarron Center
17100 W. Clearview Blvd.
Surpirse, AZ 85387 | MAP

Details: Zenimura presentation, book sales, signing

MORE INFO: 623-670-2859 (Steve Rothschild)

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Sunday, August 21, 2011 / 6:30-8:00 pm
JACL Hall
5414 W.Glenn Drive
Glendale, AZ 85310 | MAP
Details: Book sale and signing: Commemorative bookmark and baseball card included with book purchase
Price: $27.99 (discounted 30% of suggested retail price)