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Abe Isoo | |
|---|---|
安部 磯雄 | |
 Abe in 1935 | |
| Chairman of theShakai Taishūtō | |
| In office 24 July 1932 – 21 March 1940 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Chairman of theSocial Democratic Party | |
| In office 5 December 1926 – 24 July 1932 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Member of theHouse of Representatives | |
| In office 20 February 1932 – 21 January 1941 | |
| Preceded by | Gorō Akatsuka |
| Succeeded by | Hisashi Kawaguchi |
| Constituency | Tokyo 2nd |
| In office 21 February 1928 – 21 January 1930 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Succeeded by | Gorō Akatsuka |
| Constituency | Tokyo 2nd |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1865-02-04)4 February 1865[1][2][3] |
| Died | 10 February 1949(1949-02-10) (aged 84)[1] |
| Political party | Shakai Taishūtō (1932–1940) |
| Other political affiliations | SDP 1901 (1901) SDP 1926 (1926–1932) |
| Alma mater | Doshisha University University of Berlin Hartford Theological Seminary |
Abe Isoo (安部 磯雄; 4 February 1865 – 10 February 1949)[1][2][3] was a JapaneseChristian socialist, parliamentarian andpacifist. He largely contributed to development ofbaseball in Japan, and was called "Father of Japanese baseball." He created a baseball club ofWaseda University.[4]
Abe was born inFukuoka on 4 February 1865.[2][5] He entered atDoshisha University in 1879, and got baptized byJoseph Hardy Neesima at February 2, 1882.[4] In 1898, he created the firstConsumers' co-operative of university in Japan at Doshisha. After he graduated from Doshissha, he studied abroad, including at theUniversity of Berlin, before attendingHartford Theological Seminary inHartford, Connecticut.[6] It was while he was studying in Hartford that he became interested insocialism.[1]
After returning to Japan, in 1899,[1] Abe became aUnitarian preacher. He taught at theWaseda University starting in 1901, called Tokyo Semmon Gakko, at the time.[1] He later became a faculty of political science and economics and taught there for 25 years.[1][7] He occupied some important positions in the university like a dean of first School of Political Science and Economics and University Vice President. In 1901 he helped to found the short-livedJapanese Social Democratic Party, which the government swiftly prohibited.[4]
During theRusso-Japanese War, he advocated non-cooperation and participated in various earlyfeminist movements. When the anti-war newspaperHeimin Shimbun (People's Weekly News) was banned, he started his own magazine,Shinkigen (A New Era).[8] He used this as a soapbox to promote parliamentary socialism.[1] In 1906, he played an instrumental role in founding the first Japanese Socialist Party, from which he advocated aChristian Socialist viewpoint. However, the government outlawed this party too in 1907. He dropped out of public life until afterWorld War I, when he became active again.[1] He founded the JapaneseFabian Society, in 1921,[1] and in 1924, he became their first President. He resigned his teaching post to become the secretary-general of theSocial Democratic Party.[1][4] In 1928, he was elected to theJapanese Diet, where he held a seat for five consecutive elections.[1] In 1932, he became a chairman ofShakai Taishuto (Social Mass Party).[1][5] He withdrew from politics in 1940 due to the increasingly militaristic nature of the government of the time.[1]
Abe contributed to the development and spread ofbaseball in Japan because he believed that personality was built with sports like knowledge was built with learning.[1][2] Becoming the first manager of Waseda Baseball Club in 1901, he started theWaseda–Keio rivalry.[7] In 1905, during theRusso-Japanese War, he took the team to the United States and brought many techniques back to Japan, spreading them with his books. He also established the Japan Amateur Sports Association (later, Japan Sport Association) together withJigoro Kano.[4] He later helped with organizing the first Japanese Olympic team competing at the1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm.[9] In 1930, Abe became the first chairman of theTokyo Big6 Baseball League. After World War II, he also became the first chairman ofJapan Student Baseball Association [jp].
He is called the 'Father of Baseball in Japan' or the 'Father of Student Baseball' in Japan because of such contributions. Totsuka Ground, the main stadium of Waseda's baseball team changed its name to Abe Ground in 1949, following Abe's death.[10] When theJapanese Baseball Hall of Fame was opened in 1959, he was inducted into the hall.
