Nikkei (neek-kay)
Japanese term meaning ‘of Japanese descent,’ referring to Japanese immigrants and their descendants.
On the Field
The colour barrier
In baseball in Canada and the United States before the Second World War, there were separate leagues for players of African descent. One Nikkei fan remembers, “Satchell Paige, the greatest pitcher of them all, used to come to Vancouver often.” In their sport in the mainstream Canadian senior leagues the Asahis were the only team of colour.
