Shohei Ohtani’s rural hometown honors his superstar son; From town hall to hair salons

OSHU CITY, Japan (AP) — Shohei Ohtani’s birthplace in northern Japan is a rural town famous for its high-quality Maesawa beef, its history of making traditional ironwork and the intense green hills and mountains that surround it.

The Japanese call such places ‘inaka’ – roughly translated as ‘the countryside’. No glitter, quiet streets and cold winters in the north. It is only 500 kilometers from Tokyo, but it seems further away.

Today, Oshu City is best known for Ohtani himself, and the intense pride the locals show for one of the greatest players ever. He started in the local Little League with the Mizusawa Pirates and played for Hanamaki Higashi High School – a route that led him to the World Series. His Los Angeles Dodgers lead the New York Yankees 3-0, and fans here will be in the loop as LA looks to clinch the title early Wednesday morning local time.

The city honors Ohtani at every turn. And to experience it, first start with hairdresser Hironobu Kanno’s salon called “Seems.”

The hair salon that became a shrine to Shohei Ohtani

The waiting room is a museum dedicated to Ohtani with approximately 300 artifacts hung, stacked and pressed in every corner. There’s more stuff in storage.

There are autographed Dodgers and Angels jerseys, dozens of autographed baseballs, bats, shoes, caps, gloves, bobbleheads, photos of Othani and his wife, Mamiko Tanaka, shirts decorated with images of his dog Decopin (Decoy in English), stuffed animals, pillows and life-size cutouts of the superstar.

Kanno said many fans come to town on a “pilgrimage” of sorts, and his store is often part of that.

“My customers and those who visit Ohtani’s hometown really enjoy seeing the collection, and I think it is a very effective way for them to feel closer to Ohtani,” he said.

The gathering started innocently enough when Kanno attended a baseball game on May 23, 2013 — the first professional game in which Ohtani batted and pitched. This was for the Japanese Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, and Kanno returned with a ball signed by Ohtani.

“When I put the ball with Ohtani’s signature in my salon, the customers were very happy to see it,” Kanno said. “So I started collecting goods little by little.”

The rest is history.

He said his most treasured item is a cap signed by Japanese players who defeated the United States in the final of the World Baseball Classic in Miami last year.

Kanno confessed that the cost of Ohtani goods continues to rise. He suggested he had spent about 10 million yen (perhaps $100,000) on Ohtani merchandise over the past decade, and estimated the value might be five or six times that amount.

He said he had never met Ohtani, nor his father and mother – Toru and Kayako – and that the superstar had never seen the collection. He said he would eventually like to see it in a real museum, adding that he was not in it for financial gain.

A small town becomes a place of pilgrimage for the Ohtani-obsessed people

Head across town to City Hall if you need more Ohtani memorabilia. One corner is filled with photos of Ohtani, newspaper clippings and pennants commemorating his time as he won the American League MVP in 2023 and 2021. He is the favorite to be the National League MVP this season.

The centerpiece of the city hall collection is a replica of Ohtani’s right hand. Thanks to the golden hand, you can hold it and watch a video in which Ohtani shows how the replica was made.

Keigo Kishino and his wife Chiaki said they traveled from the western city of Osaka in one day — by plane and train — just to shake hands.

“He’s a source of energy for me, or something,” Chiaki said.

Jeffrey Kingston, who teaches history at Temple University in Japan, described Ohtani as a “combination of sheer skill, pride and nationalism that makes him irresistible to the Japanese public and to anyone even remotely interested in the game, even people who never really cared about baseball.”

He was referring in part to his wife, Machiko Osawa, an economics professor at Japan Women’s University. She’s not a baseball fan. But Othani piqued her interest – at least in the short term.

“Ohtani has changed the perception of the Japanese and helped to overcome their complex feelings towards Westerners,” she explained.

“When I was young, there was a huge skills gap between American players and Japanese players. Japanese players are smaller and unable to compete, but now Ohtani changed the image of Japanese baseball players. He is tall, fit and a superstar.”

Ohtani’s impact in Oshu City is unlike any other ballplayer

Ohtani is the only MLB player from Oshu City, although others are from the area. Pitcher Yusei Kikuchi also attended Hanamaki Higashi High School, and Rintaro Sasaki – the son of Ohtani’s high school coach – is a phenom who skipped professional baseball in Japan altogether and currently plays at Stanford.

But no one generates as much buzz at home as Ohtani. Earlier this year, a local rice field was used as an “artist canvas” with Ohtani’s image in Dodger blue and No. 17 – with Decoy next to it – cut into the green field. The similarity is unmistakable.

Oshu Mayor Jun Kuranari spoke of Ohtani as a source of inspiration, and the rice field could be an example. He also presented Ohtani as a role model.

“He plays with such a pure heart and his performance is amazing,” the mayor said. “But what I also love is that he can remain humble while playing so well. He is a role model for everyone and also makes the local population proud.”