Even before the establishment of their first professional league in 1936, baseball had been played in Japan for over a half-century. Introduced by American teachers and professors in the 1870s, Japanese baseball evolved apart from the game played in the United States. Primarily used as a "teaching" tool, baseball during those early years was played rigidly, as if it were a martial art through which players strengthened themselves physically and mentally.

Smaller than their foreign counterparts, many Japanese felt they could eventually catch up with enough training and determination. Managers frequently claimed if their players did not piss or vomit blood, they weren't practicing hard enough.

Despite occasional tours of Major League ball clubs and all-star teams, baseball in Japan was largely limited to high school and college games. Probably an even bigger event than today's Japan Series, the annual National High School Baseball Tournament started in 1915. So established had amateur baseball become that some thought the idea of playing the sport for money profane.

Yet in December 1934, Yomiuri Shimbun owner Matsutaro Shoriki founded the Great Japan Tokyo Baseball Club, which he renamed the Tokyo Kyojin (Giants) after the team toured American the following year.

Organized in 1936, the Japan Professional League was formed, including the Giants and six new teams: Osaka Tigers, Hankyu (later the BlueWave), Dai Tokyo, Nagoya Kinko, Nagoya (Dragons) and the Tokyo Senators. Most of these ball clubs were sponsored by either newspapers (Yomiuri) hoping to boost their circulation or train lines (the Tigers and Hankyu) seeking to increase travel on their lines to their team's home ballpark.

The war years had a chaotic effect on baseball as with every other part of Japanese life. With English terms banned in an effort to stamp out anything subversive or foreign, the Giants became known as the Tokyo Kyojin while the Tigers and Senators respectively changed their names to Hanshin and Tsubasa. Several other teams either came into being, merged with other ball clubs or quietly expired.

By the war-shortened 1944 season, the league had been whittled down to six teams. With professional baseball suspended in 1945 because of the encroaching war, the league resumed play in 1946 with two new teams: the Senators (no relation to the earlier franchise) and Goldstar.

Out of all the chaos, one constant remained: the Kyojin were the team to beat. From 1936-44, the Giants earned six league titles (and two half-season flags in 1937-38) with their overwhelming pitching staff of Eiji Sawamura, 42-game winner Victor Starfin (1939), and career-ERA record-holder Hideo Fujimoto.

But weakened by the departure of Starfin, the death of Sawamura, and the one-year absence of Fujimoto, the Kyojin fell to fifth place in 1947, the same year they were permanently renamed the Yomiuri Giants. Immediately after the war, every other team had incorporated an English nickname in their title. With the addition of seven new teams in 1950, the two league system was born.

In the Central League, the Giants, Tigers and Dragons were joined by the Kokutetsu Swallows, Hiroshima Carp, Taiyo Whales, Nishi-Nippon Pirates (who would merge with the Pacific League Nishitetsu Lions in 1951) and the Shochiku Robins. After winning the 1950 pennant, the Robins quickly fell out of contention and merged with the Whales in 1953.

The Mainichi Orions earned the 1950 Pacific League pennant and defeated the Robins 4-2 to take the first Japan Series. The six other founding members of the PL included the Lions, Hankyu Braves, Tokyu Flyers, Nankai Hawks, Kintetsu Pearls and the Daiei Stars. In 1954, the Takahashi Unions joined the PL, but merged with the Stars after the 1956 season. After one year in which they placed last (41-89), the hybrid Daiei Unions merged with Orions. By 1958, both leagues were permanently fixed at six teams.

Throughout the 1950s, the Dragons, Giants and Tigers usually led the CL pack, with Yomiuri earning eight pennants in the decade. The PL offered slightly less-predictable pennant races. Though the Lions clearly dominated the circuit for most of the decade, the Orions, Hawks and Braves kept things interesting.

By 1964 it was clear the Giants had more than their share of talent. The highest-status team in Japan, Yomiuri had the money to buy whatever players they wished. To address this imbalance and help make both leagues more competitive, the player draft was introduced in 1965. Though the Giants won nine-straight championships from 1965-73, the draft eventually paid dividends.

In 1975 the Carp rose from the cellar and went straight to the Japan Series. Though Hiroshima proved the most dramatic example, other teams benefited from the draft as well. Since 1974, no Central League team has won more than two pennants in a row. No matter how beneficial, there were of course limits to how much equality the draft could impose.

The Giants' popularity had as much to do with their savvy use of the media as their all-star roster and their dominance of other teams. Owned by the Yomiuri media conglomerate, the Giants were televised nationally more than any other team just as TVs became a household fixture.

The most read newspaper in Japan, the Yomiuri Shimbun virtually advertised the team in their coverage of Japanese baseball. If that weren't enough for Kyojin-junkies, Yomiuri also owned the Hochi Shimbun sports tabloid which always found some pretext to put the Giants on their cover. With the team's rise in popularity, most other newspapers and television stations followed Yomiuri's lead.

Because the Giants were so powerful, they found ways to bend the rules to their favor. In 1978, Yomiuri signed pitcher Suguru Egawa to a contract, even though the college star had been the Hanshin Tigers' draft pick. After the baseball commissioner ruled the Giants' move illegal, the Kyojin threatened to withdraw from the Central League and form their own baseball circuit. The threat worked．

A decade later, Yomiuri catcher Sadaaki Yoshimura apparently injured himself in a drunk-driving incident, though the Giants initially stated the young star had hurt himself in practice. A magazine reporter, however, investigated the incident and stated that Yomiuri made a few phone calls to the National Police Agency which in turn helped to cover up the real cause of Yoshimura's ailment. To that, the Giants eventually responded with a vague "No comment."

What should have been a huge news story quietly died, however, as other publications became intimidated by Yomiuri. As described by Robert Whiting, in his book You Gotta Have Wa, reporters feared that the Giants would deny future access to any reporter who covered the Yoshimura scandal.

No other Japanese baseball team has ever had the power that the Giants still enjoy today. Partly because of Yomiuri's domination of the Central League and beyond, many fans looked to the Pacific League for a more dynamic and less-tainted version of baseball.

Lacking much media attention, the Pacific League set out in the 1970s to boost attendance with various gimmicks. Using a split season from 1973-82, the PL constructed an artificial playoff in which the first half leader would face the second half champion. Introducing the designated hitter, Pacific League clubs also used flamboyant mascots and neon uniforms.

But by the early 1980s, the PL began to revolve around one team. Purchased in 1979 by the Seibu corporation, the Lions won eleven pennants and eight Japan Series titles from 1982-94. Owned by Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, at one time estimated the richest man in the world, Seibu spared no expense to build the finest ballpark in Japan and stock the team with the best players available.

Critics, however, claim that the Lions used less-than-pure methods to obtain those players. Some were first hired by Seibu to play on the company's corporate team, then later signed with the Pacific League team. Others allegedly joined the Lions after their relatives were offered lucrative jobs.

Wealthy and powerful, the Lions still lacked the propaganda machine necessary to earn a widespread following. Grudgingly, many people respected the Lions but far fewer became fans. Without intense daily television and newspaper coverage, Seibu has yet to build a national fan base. After the defections of several all-star players in the early and mid-1990s, the Lions no longer roll over opponents as they had in the past.

Today, the two leagues are as competitive as they have ever been. Testament to that, the small-market, low-budget Yakult Swallows have earned four pennants and three Japan Series championships in the last six years. Though the Giants still hold a virtual lock on the media, sports coverage has been more balanced in recent years, especially in the English-language press. And with the introduction of satellite and cable television, other teams are gaining more exposure.

With a level playing field, more competitive leagues will likely lead to more exciting baseball in the coming years.