Lot # 107: c. 1960 Chujun (Suishu) Tobita (HOF) Autographed Shikishi

Category: Autographs

Starting Bid: $175.00

Bids: 1 (Bid History)

Time Left: Auction closed
Lot / Auction Closed




This lot is closed. Bidding is not allowed.

Item was in Auction "Auction 60: Ended 3/21/2021",
which ran from 3/5/2021 6:00 PM to
3/20/2021 11:00 PM



Chujun Tobita (1886-1965) is known as the man who brought the traditional Bushido code of behavior to Japanese baseball. A second baseman at Waseda U. during the first decade of the 20th century, Tobita returned to Waseda as manager in 1919. Approaching baseball like a martial art, Tobita trained his players until they dropped from exhaustion. Under Tobita's tutelage, Waseda had a 36-0 record in 1925! Beginning around 1926, when he began to write newspaper articles for the Yomiuri Shimbun and Asahi Shimbun among others, he began to use the first name of Suishu.

The shikishi offered here was autographed by Tobita in traditional brush pen. For some reason, Tobita nearly always signed only his first name. In this case, these two characters (Suishu) are found at lower left. The rest of the text is a motto, roughly translated as, "You have to do your best on your position, and your way will be opened."

This is only the second autographed item of Tobita that we have ever handled, and the first since 2005.

Size: 9 1/2" x 10 3/4"

Condition: Signature--8 out of 10. Shikishi--Vg/Ex mainly becuase of foxing which does not affect the signature.

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