MANZANAR BASEBALL PROJECT
Great Leap’s Associate Artistic Director, Dan Kwong, is spearheading the restoration of the WWII-era baseball field at the Manzanar National Historic Site, and planning an exhibition doubleheader for October. All-Star baseball game becomes historically-based, culturally-grounded performance art! Top players from California's Japanese American baseball leagues will be dressed in custom-made 1940s-style uniforms, bringing history to life in one of America's Japanese American incarceration camps.
Composed of these two major components, the field restoration and a day of cultural celebration, the project aims to shed light on the profound significance of baseball as a symbol of resilience, cultural identity and community spirit in the face of injustice.
Through meticulous research, oral and written histories, archival materials, and partnerships with descendants, community members and the National Park Service, the Manzanar Baseball Project seeks to uplift the experiences and stories of incarcerated Japanese Americans who found a way to play the game they loved in spite of their unjust incarceration during WWII.
By exploring this vital chapter of American history, the project not only honors the past but also fosters understanding, empathy, and dialogue about social justice, civil liberties, and the enduring human spirit. The project itself is a tribute to the determination of the Japanese American community to live life as fully as possible, no matter what.
Restoration of the baseball field at Manzanar National Historic Site began in May of 2023 through the support of amazing volunteers, sponsors, and partners.
Great Leap is honored to support this work as we build with the Manzanar National Historic Site, the Nisei Athletic Union (N.A.U.) Japanese American baseball leagues of California, and the broader communities interested in the intersection of history, community, justice, and resilience.
As part of this building, Great Leap, Inc hosted a double header of exhibition games in October 2024 at the Manzanar National Historic Site.
Join us in December as Great Leap co-hosts an event with the Japanese American National Museum sharing game highlight footage and an expert panel exploring this unique and complicated intersection of baseball, injustice, and community.
Click HERE for more about our Project Director, Dan Kwong
To learn more about the Manzanar Baseball Project, click HERE.
Great Leap’s Manzanar Baseball Project & Field Restoration is made possible by the following major donors: The Fund For People in Parks, LPA Design Studios, Telacu Construction, California Wellness Foundation, Southern California Edison, History for Hire, Japanese American National Museum, Los Angeles Dodgers, Otome Nagano & Family, Venice Japanese American Memorial Monument Committee, Sidden Consulting, and all of our Manzanar Baseball Project individual donors.
Special Thanks to Manzanar National Historic Site Staff: Jeremy Scheier - Superintendent, Jeff Burton - Cultural Resources Program Manager & Archeologist Dave Goto - Arborist, Jon Harris - Facilities Manager and Daron Hayes, Gil Larimore, Jerry Moore, Roger Myouraku - Facilities Staff.
Additional Thanks: Marisa Aboitiz * Tarabu Betsurai-Kirkland * Alisa and Alan Broch * Mike Boulia * Ann Burroughs * Jesse Chakrin * Dan Clem * John Clem * Ingrid Good * Phyllis Hayashibara * Cory Hayashi * Ann Kaneko * Kari Kikuta * Jenni Kuida * Aaron Hurst * Paul Hironaka * Robert Horsting * Rosanne Lampariello * Kim Lu Lawe* Loren Lawe * Darrin Lamarre * Gino McKiernan* Stephanie Matsuda-Strand * Joe Mendez * Mike Miklaus * Daren Mooko* Carrie Morita * Debra Nakatomi * Jim Nolan * Gwynne Pugh Urban Studio * Aaron Rapoport * Herrick Steel * Chie Saito * Gregory Sales * Lucy Solomon * Ashley Sparks * Alice Stek, M.D. * Chris Tashima * Suzanne Thompson * Christine Wada * Dr. Deborah Wong * Sho Yamada * Alvin Yano * Jane Yoshihara * 18th Street Arts Center - Jan Williamson * Independence Volunteer Fire Dept: Joe Cappello, Mike Cappello, Ryan Cappello * LA Department of Water and Power: Todd Thornburg * Minidoka - Kurt Ikeda * Nous Engineering - Liz Mahlow & Anna Tam * Siddens Consulting - Chris Siddens * Toyo Miyatake Studio - Alan Miyatake * Highways Performance Space - Darren Carter * History For Hire Props - Pam Elyea & Lauren Stewart *
INDIVIDUAL DONORS
Mark & Julie Akita
Luis Alfaro
Noel Alumit
Anonymous
Alina Anton
Henry Awaya
Catherine Azimi
Steven Barkan
Jeff Beall
Allison Behrstock
Kyrina Bluerose
Eve Brandstein
Danielle Brazell
M Susan Broussard
David Brown
Janet Buchbinder
Tina Bunch
Christian Burks
Patrick Burns
Jeff Burton
Julie Cadigan
Juliette Carrillo
Virginia Casillas
Mary Chabre
Paula Chambers
Lena Charles
Katherine Clark
Margery Cohen
Mark Cohen
Marty Cohen
Brandon Constantine
Thuy D
Dena Dahilig
Alan Dart
Sandie De Leon
Debra Disman
Daryl Doami
Samuel Ytzhak Donnelley
Andrea Dresser
Paula Eade
Dianna Eaton
Donna Ebata
Douglas Eisenstark
Jeffrey Enkoji
Elizabeth Esquivias
Helen Erickson
Kevin Fawley
Edward Fluet
Andrew Frastaci
Norman Friant
Linda L Fried
Lynda Fu
Robin Fujinaka
David Fujioka
Carin Fujisaki
Corey Fukuman
Kiyo Fukumoto
M Elaine Fukumoto
Warren Furutani
Collette Gaal
Mark Garcia
Justine Gish
Rodger Glenn
Alan Good
Ingrid Good
Nicole Gordillo
Robert Gould
Ruben Guevara
Ruben Guevara III
Lester Guthman
Kathryn Hall
Michele & Doug Hamilton
Joseph Hammes
Royd Hatta
Cory Hayashi
Kenneth Hayashi
Marc Hentell
Karen Herman de Muro
Mitchell Higa
Christine Higurashi
Miho Hiramatsu
Greg Hirami
Mae Hiura
Ginger Holguin
Leslie Hope
Chris Ann Horsley
Joshua Horton
Peter Howard
Lisa Hunnewell Family
Kyle Ichikawa
Linda Igarashi
Michelle IgeToshima
Margaret Imamoto
Donald Isa
Melody Ito
Mike Iwamasa
Linda Miya Iwataki
Timothy Hugh Jackins
Valerie Jaworski
Leslie Johnson
Trish Johnson
Daniel Jones
Wade Kato
Jenny Kawada-Mack
Jennifer Kim
Jeffrey Kinoshita
John Kinoshita
Jun Kinoshita
Wayne Kitade
Brian Kito & Fugetsu-do
Christine Knowlton
Alison Kochiyama
Joyce Kozloff
Jennifer Kubo
Kathleen Kubota
Jenni Kuida
Kristine Kuramitsu
Christine Kurata Anders
Barbara Kwong
Christopher Kwong
Diana Kwong
Maria Kwong
Jenni Lamarca
Benjamin Lau
Claytony Lau
Page Leong
Francisco Letelier
Victoria Lewis
Hazel Lim
Diana Linden
Michael Logue
Alisa Lynch
John Ma
Brian Maeda
Norman Maehara
David Marasco
David Markowitz
Wendy Marshall
Meryl Marshall-Daniels
Ruben Martinez
Mark Matsui
Amy Mayer
Kathe Mazur
Mark McCague
Mark McClure &
Teri (Yamane) McClure
Walter Menda
Eric Merriam
Peter Miller
Tim Miller
Louise Mita
Ben Miyaji
Nobuko Miyamoto
Robert Miyamoto
Chris Moe
Joshua Morey
Carrie Morita
Janet Motoike
Sumiko Motoike
Mike Murase
Dennis Murphy
Sharon Nakama
Daniel Nakashima
Stacey Nakasone
Penny Nishimura
Todd Odagawa
Jeff Ogata
Naoyuki Oguri
Angela Oh
Susan Ohashi
Joseph Okimoto
Kiri Oler
Sharon Omi
Ara Oshagan
Patricia Page
Shigemi Pang
Bradford Pearson
Dana Pehrson
Ann Peiffer
Deirdre Pfeiffer
Bob Port
Thomas Puchalski
Vickie Rabourn
Philip Rees
James A Reid
Karen Riggs
Michelle Ritter
Daniel Robinson
Devon Rosenheim
Kenneth Sako
Leslie Salmon-Zhu
Jenny SanAngel
Lorrie Sato
Stacie Sato
Neil Schiavo
Derek Seo
Marta C. Shallcross
Karl Shibayama
Joan Snyder
Janet Song
Harley Spiller
Matthew Stevenson
Joanne Suechika
Jeffrey Sugarman
Jack Sugawara
Gavin Tachibana
Blue Takahashi
Lawrence Takahashi
Debra Takeuchi
Jim Tamura
Mary Tamura
Kevin Tanaka
W & V Tanaka
Larry Tazuma
Judith Teitelman
Taylor Thompson
Cynthia Thompson
Stacey Toda
Kathy Tokudomi
Lon and Logan Tokunaga
Tomoko Tsuruya
Andrew Uchin
Mayrah Udvardi
Diane Ujiiye
Edward Uliasz
Roberta Uno
Romy Uyehara
Gary van der Steur
Lisa van der Steur
Anuradha Vikram
Ken Wada
Graham Warning
Mel Weiner
Rebecca Weinstein
Douglas Weir
Dan & Ellie Wendin
Allan Wexler
Michael Williams
Jan Williamson
Douglas G. Wolfe
Kristina Wong
Christopher Wycliff
Allison Wyper
Eyko Yamada
Brandi Yamashita
Marissa Yamashita
K Yin
John & Elaine Yoshikawa
Yasmine Yu
Gerald Zollars