Manga Artist Mizushima Shinji and the Fight for Gender Equality in Japanese Sports

Special Mizuhara Yūki editions of Yakyū-kyō no uta. The comics provide numerous scenes that continue to resonate with contemporary gender discourse. (© Nippon.com)

Mizushima Shinji is greeted by Emperor Akihito at an imperial garden party held in November 2015 in Tokyo’s Akasaka Imperial Gardens. In 2005 Mizushima was decorated with Japan’s Purple Ribbon Medal of Honor, followed in 2014 by the Order of the Rising Sun. (© Jiji)

The 1978 LP release for the soundtrack to Yakyū-kyō no uta’s anime adaptation (broadcast 1977–79) bore a dedication from Mizushima Shinji “to all the girls who love baseball, and all the fans who love Mizuhara Yūki.” (Courtesy Hotta Junji)

In 2008, high school knuckleball pitcher Yoshida Eri became the real-life Mizuhara Yūki when she signed for Kansai Independent Baseball League team Kobe 9 Cruise. Her subsequent transfer to US Golden Baseball League team the Chico Outlaws was reported by the New York Times. (© Kyōdō)