The quiet, rural town of Oshu in northern Japan’s Iwate Prefecture has long been known for its farming, traditional ironware and Maesawa waygu beef. These days, however, its most prized export is none other than Shohei Ohtani, the Dodgers’ otherworldly ace and the MLB’s only two-way talent.
In June, documentary filmmaker Max Whittle joined forces with Canadian expat, interpreter and baseball guru Trevor Raichura to not only explore the city, located roughly 300 miles north of Tokyo, but also to capture the culture and community that raised baseball’s brightest star. Their findings and footage comprise the new documentary, Ohtani: Made in Iwate, which premiered Oct. 1 on SI TV.
