Nagoya –

If there was a fifth season in Japan, it would be 野球 (yakyū, baseball) season.

10月30日、オリックスが26年ぶりの日本一を果たして幕を閉じた日本シリーズ第7戦 (Jūgatsu sanjūnichi, Orikkusu ga nijūroku-nen buri no Nihon-ichi o hatashite maku o tojita Nihon shirīzu dai nana-sen, On Oct. 30, the curtain fell on Game 7 of the Japan Series with Orix coming first in Japan for the first time in 26 years). And thus the 2022 Nippon Professional Baseball Season ended with a heroic revenge tale, as the Orix Buffaloes avenged their 2021 defeat at the hands of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, becoming Japan Series champions for the first time in a generation.

オープン戦 (ōpun-sen, preseason games) began on Feb. 23, and the レギュラーシーズン (regyurā shīzun, regular season) starts March 30. This year, some early predictions have the 阪神タイガース (Hanshin taigāsu, Hanshin Tigers) and 福岡ソフトバンクホークス (Fukuoka sofutobanku hōkusu, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks) at the top of their respective leagues. It’s gearing up to be a good season.

I grew up in Philadelphia, a devoted follower of all Philly teams: 野球, アメフト (amefuto, American football), バスケ (basuke, basketball), アイスホッケー (aisu hokkē, ice hockey). For those of us sports fans displaced into a new country, it’s time to arm ourselves with the needed vocabulary to adapt to the world of Japanese スポーツ (supōtsu, sports).

A survey found the top five most popular Japanese sports to be 野球, サッカー (sakkā, soccer), 相撲 (sumō, sumo), ゴルフ (gorufu, golf), and テニス (tenisu, tennis). Not far behind came バスケ, モータースポーツ (mōtāsupōtsu, motorsports), ボクシング (bokushingu, boxing) and プロレス (puroresu, wrestling).

Most professional sports in Japan today got their start in the Meiji Period (1868-1912) after exchange with the West began in earnest. Some sports, of course, date back much further. There is an ancient Japanese sport called 蹴鞠 (kemari), a ball game that was popular with aristocrats as far back as the Heian Period (794-1185), which shares some similarities with サッカー. Meanwhile, 相撲 originated from Shinto rituals before gaining popularity with competitive tournaments in the 17th century.

Still, プロ野球 (puro yakyū, professional baseball) stands at the top. It is unofficially recognized as a national sport in Japan, with devoted fan bases for each of the 12 professional teams. Even the summer high school baseball championship, 甲子園 (kōshien), stands out as one of the most beloved and highly watched spectacles of the year.

Nippon Professional Baseball basically has the same rules as 野球 in North America: ９回のイニング (kyūkai no iningu, nine innings), イニングあたり３個のアウト (iningu atari sanko no auto, three outs per inning), with the positions of 内野手 (naiyashu, infielder), 外野手 (gaiyashu, outfielder), 投手 (tōshu, pitcher) and 捕手 (hoshu, catcher) facing off against a 打者 (dasha, batter). The crowd’s eyes are peeled for a 三振 (sanshin, strikeout) or ホームラン (hōmuran, homerun).

One noticeable difference is the importance of 応援 (ōen, cheering). Each team has its own 応援団 (ōendan, cheer squad) organized by passionate fans with huge flags, banners and 太鼓 (taiko, drums). They even have specific チア (chia, cheers) and 応援歌 (ōenka, fight songs) for individual players.

To get into your 一番好きなスポーツ (ichiban sukina supōtsu, favorite sport), whether it’s 野球, サッカー or something else altogether, some vocabulary and grammatical structures will come in handy.

Basics first: 選手 (senshu, players) compete in 試合 (shiai, matches), as a part of 大会 (taikai, tournaments) for the sake of winning the 優勝 (yūshō, championship). The possible results are 勝ち (kachi, win), 負け (make, loss) or 引き分け (hikiwake, tie). します (Shimasu, to do) or やります (yarimasu, to do) is typically used for “play” as in スポーツをする (supōtsu o suru, to play sports). With those words in mind, there’s the all-important cheers: 頑張れ (ganbare, do your best), 諦めないで (akiramenaide, don’t give up) and ファイト (faito, fight)!

Some more niche terms can also come in handy. In cases of an overwhelming victory, you can use 大勝利 (daishōri, huge victory); for a tight contest, there’s 接戦 (sessen, close match). For a comeback, use 逆転 (gyakuten); meanwhile, a triumph over a difficult opponent at long last might be a good fit for the phrase 待望の勝利 (taibō no shōri, long-awaited victory).

For baseball fans, チケット (chiketto, tickets) can be bought directly at the stadium, but they will sell out far in advance for popular teams. Brush up your Japanese for オンラインのチケット購入 (onrain no chiketto kōnyū, purchasing tickets online). Team websites will list 販売スケジュール (hanbai sukejūru, sales schedule) for different categories, but you’ll be on the lookout for 一般発売 (ippan hatsubai, general sale). Once you navigate to the correct game, you’ll typically need to register an account via 新規会員登録 (shinki kaiin tōroku, new account registration). It’s also possible to buy at convenience stores using the マルチコピー機 (maruchikopīki, copy machine) at 7-Eleven, Loppi at Lawson and Famiポート (fami-pōto) at FamilyMart.

Even if you’re not a sports buff, the topic can still be a great conversation starter. When discussing spectator sports, there’s the simple, 一番好きなスポーツは何ですか？ (Ichiban sukina supōtsu wa nan desu ka?, What is your favorite sport?) And if the answer is a mutual 野球です (Yakyū desu, It’s baseball), you can follow up with a, 何のチームを応援していますか？(Nan no chīmu o ōen shite-imasu ka?, What team do you support?) Or, to get the opinions rolling, 今年の優勝の予想はありますか？ (Kotoshi no yūshō no yosō arimasu ka?, Do you have a predictions for this year’s championship?)

Learning a wide variety of sports vocabulary is well worth it, since it will enable you to keep up with your favorite teams and leagues. スポーツの日本語の取得、がんばがんば！(Supōtsu no Nihongo no shutoku, ganba ganba!, [When it comes to the] acquisition of sports Japanese — fight, fight!)