Over 20 local Asian American nonprofit and community organizations welcomed Don Wakamatsu as the Mariners new manager at a reception coordinated by the Executive Development Institute in Bellevue.
The event recognized Wakamatsu as the first Asian American manager of a major league baseball team.
“Baseball is the sport that saved the morale of the Japanese-Americans while they were interned during World War II,” said Ted Yamamura, co-founder of EDI. “The sport continues to be a bridge for U.S.-Japan relations.
Yamamura added that Wakamatsu exemplifies EDI’s mission which is to develop culturally diverse leaders.
“We are honored to have him as a role model in our community,” Yamamura said.
Wakamatsu’s paternal grandparents were fruit growers living in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. His father was an iron worker born at Tule Lake internment camp for Japanese-Americans during World War II. The Mariners’ manager attributes his management style to what he learned from his father and grand parents.
“In Japan there is a saying, ‘isshin denshin’, which means speak from the heart,” Wakamatsu said. “My heritage shapes how I manage – I believe in working closely with each player and building a strong relationship. Then when that player performs well, I personally feel his success.”
Lori Matsukawa, KING5 TV anchor and emcee for the event, introduced Japan’s Consul General Mitsunori Namba who shared the meaning of ‘wakamatsu’ or young pine, used in traditional decorations to celebrate the New Year. Seattle Mariners President Chuck Armstrong and Kerry Nakagawa, project director for the Nisei Baseball Research Project, also welcomed and introduced Wakamatsu.
Tomio Moriguchi, chairman of Uwajimaya, closed the evening with a toast for the Mariners manager’s success and thanked Wakamatsu for bringing the Asian American community together.
In line with Japanese tradition, Wakamatsu painted the left eye of a Japanese Daruma doll with the hope that the Seattle Mariners would reach the play offs. A Daruma doll is traditionally given to someone starting a new venture or having an ambitious goal at the beginning of a New Year.
The Executive Development Institute, now in its 15th year, was formed under the auspices of the Japanese American Chamber of Commerce to encourage Japanese-American leadership in corporate America. The program subsequently expanded to include all Asian-Pacific and Hispanic communities and organizes culturally tailored leadership programs to position its participants on a fast track for success.
Over 500 EDI alumni from 15 Asian-Pacific ethnicities spanning five generations are living and working in the Seattle and Portland area today.
