BASEBALL -SHOHEI OHTANI- BANNERS : JAPAN'S ICON HONOURS

MORIOKA - JAPAN : Japan's baseball icon immortalised in mural art. LA muralist Robert Vargas bridges cultures with fresh tributes to Ohtani.

WALL paintings of Shohei Ohtani created by Los Angeles Robert Vargas have recently been unveiled in the northeastern Japan city of Ishu, 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.

In 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 decoy on the outer wall of a barbershop ran by a representative of a private Ohtani fan club.

The World Students Society thanks AFP.