Michiko Niikuni Wilson was born and raised in Japan, and studied in the United States for her B.A. in English, and received her M.A. and Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of Texas at Austin. She teaches Japanese language, literature, and culture at the University of Virginia. Her interests cover a wide range of topics, including feminist literary criticism and cross-cultural communications. She has written many articles on modern Japanese literature, and is the author of The Marginal World of ?e Kenzaburo: A Study in Themes and Techniques (M.E. Sharpe, 1986) Michael K. Wilson graduated from the University of Texas at Austin where he majored in Asian Studies with an area concentration on Japan and China and also pursued graduate study in Comparative Literature and Education. Besides modern Japanese and Chinese literatures and cultures, his interests range from Latin American literature to environmental issues. He is an information specialist at the University of Virginia

• Introduction; Chapter 1 The Golden Age of Postwar Sandlot Baseball; Chapter 2 The Installation of a Ghostwriter; Chapter 3 But They’re Ancient History; Chapter 4 We’ve Immediately Taken Up the Struggle; Chapter 5 How We Felt Left Out of the Conspiracy; Chapter 6 This Is the Way I Encountered Big Shot A, That Is, the Patron; Chapter 7 A Multifaceted Study of the Patron; Chapter 8 A Sequel to the Multifaceted Study of the Patron; Chapter 9 The Switchover Pair Analyzes the Future; Chapter 10 The Odyssey of the Yamame Corps; Chapter 11 The Clowns Arrive in the Capital; Chapter 12 The Switchover Pair’s Sparring Match;

Michiko Niikuni Wilson was born and raised in Japan, and studied in the United States for her B.A. in English, and received her M.A. and Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of Texas at Austin. She teaches Japanese language, literature, and culture at the University of Virginia. Her interests cover a wide range of topics, including feminist literary criticism and cross-cultural communications. She has written many articles on modern Japanese literature, and is the author of The Marginal World of ?e Kenzaburo: A Study in Themes and Techniques (M.E. Sharpe, 1986) Michael K. Wilson graduated from the University of Texas at Austin where he majored in Asian Studies with an area concentration on Japan and China and also pursued graduate study in Comparative Literature and Education. Besides modern Japanese and Chinese literatures and cultures, his interests range from Latin American literature to environmental issues. He is an information specialist at the University of Virginia

• Introduction; Chapter 1 The Golden Age of Postwar Sandlot Baseball; Chapter 2 The Installation of a Ghostwriter; Chapter 3 But They’re Ancient History; Chapter 4 We’ve Immediately Taken Up the Struggle; Chapter 5 How We Felt Left Out of the Conspiracy; Chapter 6 This Is the Way I Encountered Big Shot A, That Is, the Patron; Chapter 7 A Multifaceted Study of the Patron; Chapter 8 A Sequel to the Multifaceted Study of the Patron; Chapter 9 The Switchover Pair Analyzes the Future; Chapter 10 The Odyssey of the Yamame Corps; Chapter 11 The Clowns Arrive in the Capital; Chapter 12 The Switchover Pair’s Sparring Match;

Michiko Niikuni Wilson was born and raised in Japan, and studied in the United States for her B.A. in English, and received her M.A. and Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of Texas at Austin. She teaches Japanese language, literature, and culture at the University of Virginia. Her interests cover a wide range of topics, including feminist literary criticism and cross-cultural communications. She has written many articles on modern Japanese literature, and is the author of The Marginal World of ?e Kenzaburo: A Study in Themes and Techniques (M.E. Sharpe, 1986) Michael K. Wilson graduated from the University of Texas at Austin where he majored in Asian Studies with an area concentration on Japan and China and also pursued graduate study in Comparative Literature and Education. Besides modern Japanese and Chinese literatures and cultures, his interests range from Latin American literature to environmental issues. He is an information specialist at the University of Virginia

• Introduction; Chapter 1 The Golden Age of Postwar Sandlot Baseball; Chapter 2 The Installation of a Ghostwriter; Chapter 3 But They’re Ancient History; Chapter 4 We’ve Immediately Taken Up the Struggle; Chapter 5 How We Felt Left Out of the Conspiracy; Chapter 6 This Is the Way I Encountered Big Shot A, That Is, the Patron; Chapter 7 A Multifaceted Study of the Patron; Chapter 8 A Sequel to the Multifaceted Study of the Patron; Chapter 9 The Switchover Pair Analyzes the Future; Chapter 10 The Odyssey of the Yamame Corps; Chapter 11 The Clowns Arrive in the Capital; Chapter 12 The Switchover Pair’s Sparring Match;