Addendum: This belonged to Dodgers catcher Dixie Howell; we were able to translate the Japanese on the front to match his last name.
In the fall of 1956, the “Father of Professional Baseball in Japan,” Matsutaro Shoriki, invited the Brooklyn Dodgers to tour his country. This 1956 excursion was just one of several MLB tours to Japan staged in the hopes of uniting the two nations through baseball in the aftermath of WWII. Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and many other Yankees had already paved the way for the adoption of America's Pastime in Japan with their historic tour 22 years earlier. That was before the U.S. and Japan went to battle in World War II. The Dodgers’ legendary owner Walter O’Malley wanted to be sure that key Dodgers would make the trip before responding, and ultimately he was able to get commitments from pretty much everyone: Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, Duke Snider, Pee Wee Reese, Gil Hodges, Don Drysdale, Don Newcombe and manager Walt Alston were among those who made the long journey across the Pacific not just as baseball ambassadors, but as proponents of peace and reconciliation.
This lot features a Dodgers Tour of Japan kimono from that very trip worn by backup catcher Dixie Howell. The dark blue satin kimono features a pair of embroidered baseballs on the front with Katakana (Japanese) syllables below each ball. The right lapel translates to "Dodgers", while the left lapel spells out "Howell". Beautifully embroidered cherry blossoms adorn the bottom of the kimono. On the reverse is "Dodgers" embroidered in white script, with a giant embroidered, off-orange colored "B" for Brooklyn just below it. A beautiful keepsake still in pristine condition commemorating the Dodgers’ memorable trip in ’56 to the Far East.