Japan’s baseball icon immortalised in mural art | The Express Tribune

MORIOKA, JAPAN:

Wall paintings of Shohei Ohtani created by Los Angeles muralist Robert Vargas have recently been unveiled in the northeastern Japan city of Oshu, likely becoming the newest must-visit spot in the baseball superstar’s hometown for fans.

The famed artist is known for his giant mural featuring Ohtani’s two-way talents as a batter and pitcher, painted on an outside wall of a hotel in Little Tokyo in downtown Los Angeles to commemorate his opening day playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2024.

On display in Oshu in Iwate Prefecture is a 3-meter-high and 4.8-meter-wide painting inside a local community center, which depicts Ohtani swinging his bat and watching the ball’s trajectory, and another one of Ohtani with his dog Decoy on the outer wall of a barbershop ran by a representative of a private Ohtani fan club.

Vargas told Kyodo News that he was happy to make artworks that will help connect Ohtani’s fanbases around the world and expressed eagerness to return to Oshu to produce other pieces. The idea to create murals in Ohtani’s hometown originated from the artist’s side.

Vargas spent two days completing the community center mural during his visit to Japan in March this year, when the Dodgers’ season-opening game was held at Tokyo Dome. It was unveiled to the public on September 1.

The other mural, which is 2.6-meter-high and 3.3-meter-wide, was finished in four hours when Vargas visited the barbershop ran by Hironobu Kanno in the second half of September. The work featured a scene from the Dodgers World Series championship parade last year.

Kanno, 64, said, “The smile of Ohtani who has made his dream come true is awesome. I hope many fans come to see it.”