Dodgers' Japan relationship stretches back to team's 1955 World Series win. Here's a closer look

The Dodgers kicked off the season in Tokyo, Japan Tuesday, and it was also a homecoming for superstar Shohei Ohtani.

This remarkable combo of the Dodgers and Japan didn't happen overnight. In this episode of ABC7's FACEism, "The Lantern" we take a closer look at the origin of this relationship.

You might see the Dodgers landing Shohei Ohtani and then winning the World Series as an amazing stroke of luck, but is it?

There's a famous saying, "the harder you work, the luckier you get" and through the decades, the Dodgers have worked hard on a special relationship with Japan and its players.

It teaches us a lesson not just about sports, but about life.

At the top of Dodger Stadium stands an 8-foot, 4-thousand-pound, Japanese Lantern. You might think it's there because of Dodger sensation Shohei Otani, but actually, it's just the opposite.

This lantern lit the way for Ohtani and so many others.

It's a story that begins when the Brooklyn Dodgers won the world series in 1955.

It was their first championship, one celebrated by the whole team by taking a trip to Japan in 1956 for a series of exhibition games.

"They decided that summer, yes, we'll go to Japan because Walter O'Malley, the owner, saw baseball as an international game. He saw the big picture," said Dodgers historian Mark Langill.

Langill described O'Malley as a visionary. He knew the Brooklyn Dodgers touring Japan was not only a fun getaway, but more importantly a doorway to the future.

First, by helping to mend the tragedy of the past.

"The United States was able to use baseball after World War II as a way to repair and to bring relationships between the two countries," said Langill.

Baseball helped heal deep wounds from World War II. The Japanese welcomed the Dodgers with huge crowds.

"Carl Erskine took home movies, and it was a chance for them to spend time together, but to be able to sightsee. And they were also able to bring their spouses. And so it was a great family affair," said Rachel Robinson in her book. She wrote that she was surprised how much Jackie enjoyed it.

That would be the legendary Jackie Robinson. What made that moment even more historic, Robinson, the first Black player in the history of MLB, would suddenly decide to retire. His last swing of the bat was during that trip.

"In terms of where was Jackie Robinson's farewell to baseball? It was in Japan," said Langill.

Another monumental moment for the Dodgers' Japan trip actually happened when the team was on its way to Japan, stopping in Los Angeles to refuel, and Walter O'Malley had his eyes wide open.

"So since they were in Los Angeles anyway, you might as well look around, kick the tires, talk to some politicians," said Langill.

Two years later, in 1958, O'Malley left Brooklyn and they became the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Their connection to Japan was just beginning. Japanese players and teams would take part in Dodger spring training through the years, with famed Japanese sports writer Sotaru Suzuki coming along.

Suzuku and O'Malley would become dear friends.

"When Sotaro Suzuki is invited to the first game at Dodger Stadium, April the 10th, 1962, he decides, I think we're going to have a gift and the gift is going to be a stone lantern," said Langill.

In a letter from Suzuki, he tells O'Malley he found craftsmen in Nagoya to make the lantern, saying they are "very popular for their skill and good workmanship".

"It was meant for the internal appreciation for the Dodgers' relationship with Japan," said Langill. "The lantern comes during the 1965 season, and they decide to put it on a hillside."

The vast majority of fans never knew it was there, just like the deep bond with Japan, but in 1995 that bond struck gold. Nomo-mania.

"Hideo Nomo was a great player, but not just a great player. He started the all-star game that year in 1995 and had 236 strikeouts and was just a big star," said Langill.

Thanks to the Dodgers, he was the first Japanese superstar, opening the door for more and more players to cross the Pacific Ocean.

And that brings us to the sensation. When the Dodgers landed Ohtani, the lantern was moved to the stadium and he in turn had one of the greatest seasons in history.

"Shohei comes to town, leads the Dodgers to glory. Sets every record. Oh, by the way, he's the nicest guy in the world and everybody's crazy going, 'We've never seen this before'," Langill said.

Just as historic, Dave Roberts, whose mother is Japanese and father is Black, became just the second Black manager to win the World Series and the first ever of Asian descent after the Dodgers won in 2020.

So there it sits, at the Top Deck of Dodger Stadium. Its torch shining a light, not on a single player, but on a beautiful relationship between two countries that has come to mean so much more than baseball. We are more alike than different.

Think about this: The Dodgers broke the glass ceiling with Jackie Robinson, Fernando Valenzuela, Hideo Nomo and now are dominating with Ohtani, winning championships all along the way.

Isn't sports a metaphor for life? The Dodgers have been teaching us a powerful lesson for decades. Diversity makes you stronger.