Unfortunately, Kumeyasu Yajima (1911-1944) had a very short life, making his autograph very difficult for collectors to find. Born in Nagano Prefecture, Yajima first became famous throughout Japan for his game winning, sayonara home run against future Hall of Famer Saburo Miyatake in the 1926 Koshien High School Tournament. The autographed photo on offer here is depicts Yajima in his Matsumoto Commercial High School uniform. The photo was taken by the young Mitsuhiko Fujita during either 1926 or 1927 at the ballpark, and was signed on the same day. Upon graduation, Yajima, an outfielder, joined Waseda University in 1928. Following his career at Waseda, he played for various club teams in the Japan intercity tournament. In 1934, he joined the Japanese All Star team that squared off against Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and the rest of the U.S. Major League All Stars in their classic series of contests. Yajima then toured the U.S. with the Dai Nippon team, later to become the Yomiuri Giants, but like his teammate, Takeo Tabe, he did not remain with the Giants when the Japan Pro Baseball League began in 1936. Sadly, in 1944, Yajima was killed in Borneo during World War II. Blank backed. English fountain pen signature. Here is your opportunity to own an autograph and photo of one of Japan's all time greatest prewar heroes.
Size: 3 1/4" x 4 1/4"
Condition: Autograph--10 out of 10. Photo--Nm/Mt front. The blank back contains extra paper and glue residue resulting from previous placement in a photo album.