Sport & Design Blog: live from Tokyo, Japan!
Women in Sport, Women in Art
Happy International Women’s Day! In honor of aspiring female athletes and artists all around the globe, we’ve got a few inspirational things to share from our Hope 81 community here in Tokyo...
#1...a very special interview with basketball star Shinko Ono, Japanese Women’s National Team member, of the W-JBL’s JOMO Sunflowers. She’s a wonderful person and a very talented player, so its great to start working with her towards women’s empowerment through sport. To start things off, you can find out more about Shinko and her views on women’s player development in Japan with her Hope 81 Team profile page here.
#2...meet Konomi Ikeda, one of Japan’s up-and-coming fashion designers and leader of her Shibuya-based girls streetball team: The Pink Suns. This is what girls power is all about. (In Japanese, we call it joshi ryoku!). Ikeda specializes in women’s sports apparel and has created a really fresh, new line that perhaps you will only see in Tokyo. Maybe some other communities will be inspired once they see this. Read about Konomi’s background along with a few pictures of her women’s limited edition streetball fashion here.
And this just in today! We’re making a prototype for a new product, in collaboration with a Tokyo-based female artist (and fan of the Rising Suns): Airi-chan!
The RS2010 iphone case 
To give credit where credit is due, these sparkling new cases (seriously, they are bling-ing) are a re-design of Tomoki Uematsu’s original Rising Suns: Represent! logo from our inaugural 2009 campaign. We’re planning to share the cases as a limited edition item, and funds we receive from sales will be used to help pay for our Rising Suns team journey to Paris this summer.
PS...We’re not sure how much these babies are going to cost, but for now you can share your feedback in the comments below while we get our RS2010 campaign up and running. Remember, proceeds from all sales will go directly back to the artists = Tomoki and Airi.
Support women in art. Promote women in sport. Once again, Happy International Women’s Day to everyone, wherever you are.
Hope 81
Life, Basketball and Japan
When I speak about Hope 81, people often ask me why Japan? To me, its sort of a no-brainer. I love my life here! But I guess the idea of a guy from California launching a nonprofit organization in Japan might seem a bit out-of-the-ordinary (or intriguing) to some, so the question deserves a better answer than that. Sometimes my answer turns into a long story of academic discourse, overlapping with personal anecdotes and so many twists and turns. I wish I had a 30-second version. Trust me -- I’m working on it. For now, here’s a special blog entry to give you a better idea.
A Common Dream
I’ve spent my life trying to move up and reach for success no matter what the odds are, and in spite of what people are saying around me. Dream big! For me, the dream of making it to the NBA has been on my mind ever since I was eight years old. And I’m happy to say that my dream is still alive today. Not as a player anymore, but as a facilitator for Japanese basketball to start gaining more interest from David Stern and the League office, pro teams, scouts, media, etc. Simply put, my dream is no longer about me. Its about seeing the kids around me here in Japan find their way to the NBA someday, or at least help them move closer to the top. Rising suns! This kind of struggle is what I know best. Now you might be wondering, where does my inspiration come from? My hoop dream began almost 25 years ago...
From Playground to the Playoffs
As a child, I spent years watching and learning from arguably the greatest point guard the NBA has ever seen -- Earvin Magic Johnson. Like many other kids, I would spend hours and hours at my local playground trying to copy Magic’s go-to moves, imagining myself in the clutch, hitting buzzer beaters, winning championships, living the NBA dream through Magic and his Showtime Lakers. Once during my high school days, my team had a special workout at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion. It came just around the time when Magic was preparing for his return to the League after being diagnosed with HIV. He happened to be there, doing some personal training in the back of the gym. I heard from my coach that he was in the gym, so I said I had to meet him -- no matter what! When I saw Magic, I thought I would try to impress him by showing that I knew his old nickname from college (before he became known as Magic). I shook his hand and with a calm, grownup-sounding voice, I said “Nice to meet you, Buck.” He laughed and asked me how I was doing. It was a short conversation, but one I’ll never forget. My first moment up close with my NBA hero and childhood role model.
My high school team had struggled with a .500 record that season and we were ranked as a bottom seed in our Division when the playoff brackets were announced. That meant we would face off in the first round against one of the top schools in Southern California. When we got word of the matchup, all we knew was that the other team had some star player who was highly recruited by all the big NCAA/Division-1 schools. And that the team we were going to play was Inglewood High. Maybe some of you know where this is going. Hint: the year was 1995.
Despite all of the hype, my team was actually winning by one point at the end of the third quarter! We were winning on the road, in front of a hostile crowd at Inglewood High, and one player on the other bench was not very happy about that. His name was Paul Pierce. He brought his team back with a fierce defensive push in the final quarter, including a steal from my point guard which led to a drive down the middle of the lane, followed by an emphatic windmill dunk on the inbounds passer -- which happened to be me. I wish I had that picture. Lets make it a poster and sell them for charity! Paul, if you wouldn’t mind emailing me that pic...
Learning Life Skills
After high school, I went to Laney City College in Oakland, California. I spent most of my free time playing hoops at UC Berkeley, where I participated in intramurals and weekly pick-up games. It gave me a chance to run with top Pac-10 players and future NBA talent like Francisco Elson and Sean Marks. It wasn’t all fun and games though. I earned a 4.0 grade point average at Laney and transfered to UC Santa Barbara with a small scholarship. There, I spent my days battling Gary Payton’s little brother Brandon for a spot on the team roster. He talked the game just like Gary did, so it was a lot of fun. Right before the season started, I broke my hand in a pick-up game in Venice Beach and my walk-on dreams were over...just like that. In a snap. Later that year, I went to a party near my university campus and Michael Jordan was behind the counter. He was part-owner of the bar, so he made a surprise appearance and greeted the guests when they ordered drinks. I asked for a coke, shook hands, and tried to figure out what had just happened. Did I just shake hands with the guy who destroyed my Lakers back in 1991?
When I graduated from UCSB, I moved back to my hometown of Long Beach, California and played ball everyday at a park near my home. I kept working at improving my game while battling with some of the toughest street players in the LBC. There, I got the name ‘Milk-Man’ for being the only white guy on the court, and took a lot of pounding -- day after day. I guess its true what they say... what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger.
Soon after, I moved to Japan and continued playing hoops for several years with a local baller network called The Rockers at Komazawa Park, and another street team called The Sunday Crew in Tokyo. The team won several Nike tournaments, one of which I was a part of in 2006. That same year, when Kobe scored 81 points in a single NBA game, he made a special promotional tour for Nike during the summer and stopped by my local street court at Yoyogi Park. The court was packed with screaming fans. I shouted at his PR people, “Hey! I’m from Long Beach!” and waved my throwback #8 jersey to get their attention. Next thing I knew, Kobe was walking straight over to me with an autographed ball. That was incredible, and more so because I was meeting him at a court on the other side of the world. Maybe that’s why he reached out to me. Thanks, Kobe!
In 2007, when I received my ‘Rotary World Peace Fellowship’ award to study for a master’s degree in Japan, I felt it was time to connect my sports background and passion for the game of basketball with something beyond sport. A bigger picture. A bigger dream. And the timing of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics couldn’t possibly have been any better. I began to rally my local community of athletes, volunteers, friends, networks, sponsors, and more. I was determined to bring a group of Japanese youth basketball players to the Olympics, knowing that this first-ever Olympics in China would be the biggest window of opportunity for our generation of streetballers to connect across borders in East Asia. If there was ever going to be a basketball-without-borders project in the region to help with Sino-Japanese post-war reconciliation, this was it. Thanks in large part to the cooperation shown by a local player by the name of ‘More Free’ and his CL Smooth Crew (pictured below), we were welcomed into the community and our common interest in the game of basketball served as a new bridge for grassroots diplomacy. Our Youth Sports Ambassadors participated in cultural exchange activities, attended cultural heritage sites, watched Olympic venues with tickets donated by local Chinese community members, and so much more. With all of the negative press surrounding the Games and China’s human rights issues, environmental concerns, etc., we were one of the only grassroots/civil society groups trying to put a positive spin on the Olympic Games. Whatever the case, our experience was groundbreaking and thankfully we were there to give it our best shot. The time was right, and we made the leap.
A Way Forward = A Luta Continua
With that momentum gained in Beijing, a year later I was able to land Japan’s first invitation to the QUAI 54 International Streetball Championships in Paris, France. The Michael Jordan-sponsored event is home to the world’s strongest teams, featuring national team members, professional players and street legends...and now Japan was at least going to be in the conversation. We lost, but the impact was made and we earned a second invitation for 2010.
Returning the initial question, why Japan?
Basketball has been a constant source of inspiration throughout my life, pushing me to work harder and experience more than I could ever imagine. Now if I can begin to share that inspiration with kids around me, and encourage local players to dream big in basketball and in life, maybe I can make a difference in their lives and help Japanese hoops grow to reach the highest level. And why not? Is there a better place to help grow hoop dreams? David Stern must have his sights set on China for now. But don’t forget, we’re right next door. Once again, as I said in the last blog, basketball is the most heavily played and least heavily watched sport in Japan. Plenty of work to be done here, that’s for sure.
Hope 81 Founder
Jason Hutson
More than a Game...
Watch this trailer about Lebron James and his rise to the top of the basketball world. Well, almost...he’s still waiting to get that first championship ring in the NBA, but no doubt he’ll get there one day. The documentary looks at the game of basketball as a way to move up through adversity, and build positive relationships in life, family, business, and everything else. Many of us have been inspired to work toward a better life from a basic passion for the game. In that sense, the movie really hits home on many levels. Basketball is part of the inspiration behind Hope 81, as well.
Now we know that playing professional basketball is a common dream for kids all over the world. And we know many of our young players here in Japan are fighting to reach the top. What the world may not realize is that basketball is one of, if not the most popular sports in Japan. The media here doesn’t make a big deal about it though, unfortunately. Basketball is one of the most heavily played and least heavily watched Japanese sports. Maybe one easy solution is to do more grassroots videos and utilize social media to promote Japan’s hoop scene. The Clutch Times online news source is doing its part to promote the sport, and guys like Ed Odeven at the Japan Times are doing theirs, day in and day out. But maybe we need a 24-hour hoops channel, streaming all access footage, interviews, and just pumping up the game, period. Pushing players to reach for their dreams, because if anything, they will know someone is watching and their performance matters. Lebron and his high school team were being watched by ESPN, Sports Illustrated, NBA scouts, at 17 years old...and look how they responded.
I guess in order to have that kind of ‘media push’ on real TV, it will take a breakthrough Japanese player dominant enough to stick in the NBA. Watching this movie should just make Japanese players hungrier for that moment of their own, shouldn’t it? This summer, we’ll have a chance to show the world how hungry our 2010 Rising Suns team members are, at the QUAI 54 International Streetball Championships in Paris.
And don’t forget, we’ve got our own story going here in Tokyo.
Look out for our complete RS2009 documentary DVD, available this spring!
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81 things to know...
Well, not that many! Here’s five things you should know about the number 81...
#5. The name of a famous Japanese fable = 'The 81 Brothers'
#4. The month, day and year MTV launched its first programming (08.01.1981)
#3. Legendary singer and revolutionary hero Bob Marley passed away in 1981
#2. NBA All-Star & 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist Kobe Bryant scored 81 points in a single NBA game
#1. The international calling code for our organization’s home base (+81) = Japan!
If you can think of any more, post it in the comments below!
Putting Japan on the map...
While searching for some resource materials for our new web design concept for Hope 81, I came across this cool map interface. Lots of interesting facts and statistics to think about, and more inspiration to start taking action...
Show World allows users to look at various social and environmental issues in the world, and puts the spotlight on Japan.
How about Japan’s total sportswear items going to waste, by prefecture? Time to make a map for Hope 81’s Sportswear Donation campaign!
From the Show World site:
“Including industrial emission, Japan produces 1.3 billion tons of CO2 every year, which is about half the amount of emission per person the United States produces. In the industrial sector, CO2 emission is great around Tokyo and the coastal industrial areas. In the private sector, the amount of emission is great in Northern Japan, where the average temperature is low and there is greater demand for heating and cars.”