For the international aspects of the book, I referred to “‘Koreans, Go Home!’ Internet Nationalism in Contemporary Japan as a Digitally Meditated Subculture” in The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus; Karen Colligan-Taylor’s translation of Tomoko Yamazaki’s Sandakan Brothel No. 8: An Episode in the History of Lower-Class Japanese Women; Caroline Elkins’s Settler Colonialism in the Twentieth Century: Projects, Practices, Legacies; Monica Kim’s article, “Empire’s Babel: US Military Interrogation Rooms of the Korean War”; Jan Jarboe Russell’s The Train to Crystal City: FDR’s Secret Prisoner Exchange Program and America’s Only Family Internment Camp During World War II; and Atsushi “Archie” Miyamoto’s manuscript, “The Gripsholm Exchanges: A Short Concise Report on the Exchange of Hostages during World War II Between the United States and Japan as it Relates to Japanese Americans.” (Appreciation goes out to Thomas Philo of the Cal State Dominguez Hills Archives.)
For anyone who wants to know the mysterious ways of a knuckleball pitcher, I heartily recommend the Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg documentary Knuckleball! R.A. Dickey’s memoir, Wherever I Wind Up: My Quest for Truth, Authenticity, and the Perfect Knuckleball, is a great read, too.
Answering a call for various bits of information were Mark Schreiber, Coleen Nakamura, Komo Gauvreau, Todd Leighley, Bobby Okinaka, Richard Kondo, Kenji Nakano, J.K. Yamamoto, Lauren Xerxes, and Kay Hadashi.
For a more personal perspective, I learned much from La Vida de Izumi’s YouTube videos, as well as meeting Grandma Lee in Los Angeles, compliments of Kathy Masaoka of Nikkei for Civil Rights and Redress.
Thanks to the support of Judd and Leslie Matsunaga for the Yonsei Basketball Association and their purchase of the naming rights to two characters, Smitty Takaya and April Sue. Of course, the real people bear little resemblance to the fictional characters in Sayonara Slam.
Mary Cannon and Sherry Kanzer lent their eagle eyes to identify some minor corrections. My thanks to both women for their support of Mas and my writing career.
And finally, again, kudos to my agent, Allison Cohen, and to Colleen Dunn Bates, publisher of Prospect Park Books, for her commitment to books set in Los Angeles. She, book designer Amy Inouye, marketing associate Caitlin Ek, and proofreader Margery Schwartz make the whole crazy and ever-changing business of publishing a true joy.
Acknowledgments, as always, end with my husband, Wes, who helped me parse out the details involving knuckleballs, baseball strategy, and sports stadiums. The love of the game continues.
About the Author
Naomi Hirahara is the Edgar Award–winning author of the Mas Arai mystery series. Also nominated for the Macavity and Anthony awards, the series includes Strawberry Yellow, Blood Hina, Snakeskin Shamisen, Gasa-Gasa Girl, and Summer of the Big Bachi. She is also the author of the Ellie Rush mystery series, as well as 1001 Cranes, a novel for children. A graduate of Stanford University, Hirahara has also written many nonfiction books about gardening and Japanese American history and culture. Learn more at naomihirahara.com.
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