Rare and significant pair of photo albums compiled by Mike Nakano, first baseman for the Fresno Athletic Club, a Japanese American all-star baseball team, showcasing their 1927 barnstorming tour of Japan, Hawaii, Korea and Manchuria. With candid photos of the players on and off the diamond, including many portraits of Kenichi Zenimura, considered to be the father of Japanese American baseball.

In 1926 the Fresno Athletic Club, a California Nisei baseball team, defeated the Seattle Asahi in the Independence Day Championship and earned the right to represent the United States on a 40-game goodwill tour of Japan the following year. The team was led by the pioneering, multi-talented player, captain, and manager Kenichi Zenimura, whose outsized influence on Japanese American baseball cannot be overstated. Born in Hiroshima, Japan, in 1900, Zenimura moved with his family to the then-U.S. Territory of Hawaii when he was 8 years old. He moved to Fresno in 1920 and quickly established a ten-team Nisei baseball league. Zenimura had previously taken the Fresno Athletics to Japan in 1924, and would do so again in 1934.

The 1927 FAC all-star team was made up of the best Japanese American players in California. The roster included Zenimura playing shortstop, Fred Yoshikawa, John Nakagawa (dubbed "The Nisei Babe Ruth" for his batting prowess), Tandy "Pug" Mimura (still in high school at the time), Harvey Iwata, Ty Miyahara, Anthony Kumitomo, Ken Furubayashi, Sam Yamasaki, Dick Kawasaki, Thomas Mamiya, James Hirokawa, and the albums' compiler Mike Nakano, voted best first baseman of the California Japanese League, as well as three non-Nisei "ringers."

Between the two albums, there are about thirty photographs showing the Fresno team on the field, including a beautiful print of them proudly displaying both the Japanese and American flags. There are many photos showing identified players in uniform, some dramatically mid-throw, catch, or hit. On one particularly interesting page there is a hand-drawn baseball diamond, with the players' names next to their respective positions, and photo cut-outs of their faces as well. Since there were no professional baseball teams in Japan until 1935, the Fresno team squared off against the Big Six, an intercollegiate league featuring teams from six prominent universities, as well as various club teams. Included are photos of the Meiji University team (for whom Zenimura's cousin played), the Keio University team, the Takarazuka club team, and one photo of a team identified by their jerseys as "Ocean" that is signed by a number of players.

The rest of the albums show the team on their off-hours, with the largest amount of material pertaining to the Japanese leg of the tour. Because of the trip's significance to the players, they were willing to pay their own expenses. There are charming scenes of the team acting as tourists, exploring Japan's various shrines, hotels, art museums, and visiting friends and family. There are a number of photos showing Nakano et al sightseeing in Hawaii, visiting such places as Diamond Head, the Mormon temple, and the statue of King Kamehameha. One interesting image is captioned "Zeni's family." There are also photos of the team aboard the S.S. Korea Maru and the S.S. Tokyo Maru, as well as some photos documenting their time in Korea and Manchuria, both of which were controlled by Japan at the time.

The Fresno Athletic Club ended their six-month goodwill tour in triumph, returning home with an overall record of 50 wins, nine losses, and two ties. Later that year, four members of the Fresno team (Zenimura, Nakagawa, Yoshikawa, and Iwata) played against Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig during an exhibition game in Fresno. However, during the second world war, many of the players were sent to government-authorized concentration camps as per executive order 9066. While interned at Gila River, Kenichi Zenimura built a baseball field and organized a three-division, thirty two team league. In 2006, he was posthumously inducted into the Shrine of the Eternals, the Baseball Reliquary's alternative to the Cooperstown Hall of Fame, which pays tribute to individuals whose impact on the game transcends statistics or playing ability.

Overall, a significant addition to the story of Japanese American baseball.

More images available upon request