Nisei Baseball

The Nisei Baseball Research Project (NBRP) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization founded by Kerry Yo Nakagawa to preserve and share the history of Japanese American baseball. Based in Fresno, California, the project explores the Japanese American experience through baseball, highlighting the sport’s role in cultural exchange and US-Japan relations.

NBRP develops exhibitions, educational resources, and public programs that bring this history to life. Its exhibition, “Baseball’s Bridge Across the Pacific: Celebrating the Legacy of Japanese American Baseball,” features historical panels and prewar artifacts, tracing baseball’s introduction to Japan in the 1870s, the formation of early Japanese American teams, and their tours across Asia. These tours helped lay groundwork for professional baseball in Japan.

The project also preserves and shares archival materials, including rare 1927 film footage of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Japanese American all-stars playing in Fresno. NBRP offers educational curriculum resources for teachers and students, and participates in events and exhibitions that connect audiences with the enduring legacy of Nikkei pioneers and baseball diplomacy.