OSAKA—Perusing through the best-selling Japanese-English dictionary in Japan could give one the impression that the Hanshin Tigers have long been the most dominant team in professional baseball.

The entry for the word “assho” (overwhelming victory) in the Genius Japanese-English Dictionary features an example sentence that goes, “The Tigers overwhelmed the Giants.”

And as an example for “senpo” (strategy), the dictionary says: “Manager Okada’s surprise strategy paid off.”
Many other example sentences associated with the team headquartered in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, appear in Tokyo-based Taishukan Publishing Co.’s dictionary series.

But why?

The first edition was released in 1998, the second edition in 2003, and the latest third edition in 2011.

Around 1.5 million copies have been published, making it the top-selling Japanese-English dictionary series in the industry, according to the publisher.

The third edition contains about 83,000 words and phrases.

It also lists more than 100,000 example sentences, 60 of which include either “Hanshin” or “Tigers.”

The team is portrayed as overly strong.

One entry says, “In this inning the Tigers sent ten batters to the plate and scored five runs,” while another goes: “The Tigers got a lot of hits against the Giants last night.”

Even the team’s loyal supporters get mentioned in the dictionary. “Many fans want Okada to remain (stay on) as manager.”

(Akinobu Okada is now in his second stint as manager of the Tigers.)

KANSAI CONNECTION

Asked about the bias toward the Tigers, Mitsuo Nakamura, 64, a Kansai University professor who serves as chief editor of the dictionary, explained, “We didn’t have any meetings, but we unconsciously turned our eyes toward Hanshin.”

Nakamura himself has been a hard-core Tigers fan since childhood, and he used to copy the pitching delivery of its legend Yutaka Enatsu.

The editor-in-chief of the first edition was working at the Kobe City University of Foreign Studies and invited many editors from the Kansai region to work on the dictionary.

This resulted in a high percentage of Tigers fans on the editing team.

In summer 2003, when the editorial department was busy working on the second edition, the Tigers appeared unstoppable. The team won the Central League pennant in September for the first time in 18 years.

Exhausted from the hard work, the editors felt uplifted by the outstanding performances of the players. The workers’ feelings were naturally reflected in the example sentences, according to Nakamura.

It is unknown how many Tigers-related examples are included in the first edition, but 26 are found in the second edition.

The figure rose to 60 in the third edition.

BACK TO REALITY

However, the Tigers have hardly been the most dominant CL team since the 2003 season. 

When the editors were working on the third edition, Hanshin was struggling.

Nakamura said they had no choice but to add a sentence to come face-to-face with reality: “The Tigers have no chance to win the championship anymore.”

It remains unclear when the next edition will be published. But the chief editor gave an indication of what changes could be in store.

“It is only natural to see an increasing number of usages related to the Hanshin Tigers' victory,” Nakamura said.

His favorite example sentence (composed by himself) in the dictionary is: “The entire Kansai region was excited about the Tigers winning the championship.”

That became true in September this year, when the Tigers clinched the CL title.

PLAYFUL SPIRIT

“The warmth of the editors and their playful spirit are apparent,” a representative of Obunsha Co., which publishes the O-Lex dictionary series, said about the Genius Japanese-English Dictionary.

Obunsha also includes a few example sentences that contain wordplay or reflect the specific interests of editors, the representative added.

An official of Shogakukan Inc., which releases the Progressive dictionary series, said it is odd for a specific team to be mentioned so often in a dictionary.

When customers buy a dictionary, they place importance on the number of words it includes, its reputation, whether it is recommended by schools and other factors, the official said.

Example sentences that show how to properly use a word in sentences are also important.

“Placing a disproportionate emphasis on the Hanshin Tigers could work negatively depending on the customer base, but it might be a good motivation for fans to buy the dictionary,” the official said.

Shogakukan also offers the “Japan National Football Team Edition” of its Progressive Elementary English-Japanese/ Japanese-English Dictionary for grade-schoolers, featuring soccer-related English expressions with illustrations.

Gakken Inc. publishes the “English-Japanese Dictionary for Padawan Learners,” which includes example sentences associated with the popular film series.