The Los Angeles Dodgers announced a Japanese stone lantern that was gifted to the organization in 1965 is now going to be prominently displayed on the top deck of Dodger Stadium.
By placing the Dodgers’ Japanese lantern on the top deck, fans are going to have an opportunity to visit with and take photographs of it, beginning with the Dodger Stadium opener on Thursday.
“The Los Angeles Dodgers are extremely excited to display a remarkable monument from our past that showcases our long-term relationship with Japan and Japanese baseball,” Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten said in a statement.
“Now that we are making the lantern more visible and more accessible, our fans will have a wonderful opportunity to connect with this part of our history on a personal level.”
The eight-foot tall, 3,921-pound Kasuga-style stone lantern was presented to the Dodgers by Japanese sports columnist Sotaro Suzuki, who is also a member of the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame. Suzuki worked with former Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley to organize Brooklyn’s Goodwill Tour to Japan in 1956.
Suzuki wanted to give the Dodgers and O’Malley a gift for inviting him and his wife, Toku, as guests to the grand opening ceremony for Dodger Stadium on April 9, 1962.
Three years after his visit to Dodger Stadium, Suzuki contacted the Shimizugumi Stone Works Company to build the lantern, which was sculpted in Okazaki City. The lantern was shipped to Los Angeles in six sections during the winter of 1965.
Prominent Japanese natives to play for the Dodgers are Hideo Nomo, Takashi Saito, Hiroki Kuroda, Yu Darvish, Kenta Maeda and of course now Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Dodgers Japanese lantern details
The Japanese lantern on display at Dodger Stadium sits on a square platform that is placed inside a larger area that features greenery.
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