Ninten

Mick was his first dear friend.
Ninten's Growing-Up Album

"You" are a boy named Ninten (if there is another name you're more partial to being called, then that is your true name). When you, or in otherwords Ninten, were born in the rural American town of Podunk Town, your pet dog Mick was one year and five months old. When he met the zero-year, zero-month old Ninten, who was raising his first energetic cries, Father and Mother nearly felt they could give God a kiss. Before long Ninten, though he would ride on Mick's back, and the other way around, got bigger. And, when Ninten was 5, his two sisters with identical faces were born - yep, Mimmie and Minnie. Immediately following that, Father would end up going to some faraway place, probably job-related. Despite this, Ninten helped out his mother (though he also caused her trouble), and grew very big. In class he was elected class president. He also became a regular on the Boys' Baseball team. Sometimes his asthma attacks cause his mother worry, but Ninten, brightly thinking of his friends, will go play or do something other than study, so it would seem he leads a very busy everyday routine.

When does he do homework?
A Day in the Life of Ninten

What Ninten first thinks about when he gets up in the morning is after-school baseball. Taking care not to forget Will Clark's home run he saw on TV the night before, he brushes his teeth. Then Ninten, arriving at the morning table where his little sisters have started drinking their milk, makes his mother certain promises: a single home run and lots of fine plays! At school, Ninten is popular and liked even by the honors students. There are some girls who say he looks like Luke from "Star Wars", but it seems he himself would rather live like Captain Han Solo. Operating a lightspeed ship from planet to planet...... when he thinks of such things, his science class, which he detests, ends right away. And then, the last bell chimes! After school comes, of course, baseball. If it's a rainy day and he absolutely must give up on that home run, he goes straight home. Keeping it a secret from his mother, he invites Mick into his room, and playing the electric guitar his father sent him, he makes himself heard. The dinner dish that his mother prepares is her once-a-week prime rib. It's Ninten's favorite (if there is another food you'd rather eat, then that is your favorite). Come to think of it, most recently, at dinner time there have been times when the spoons would bend easily. According to his mother, that apparently means "My, what great physical power!"...... Once the meal is over, if the San Francisco Giants win (or even if they lose), Ninten's day is game-set.

My Favorite Things

Baseball Cap
Ninten's trademark, recognized by himself and others. Except in cases where it comes off from a huge swing that misses the home run he was going for, and when he takes a shower, he almost never takes it off. It's his beloved hat he got Papa to buy for him.

GIANTS Tickets
Long ago, when Father went on a trip to Japan, he brought these back. Apparently, Ninten believes the Tokyo Giants to be the sister team of the San Francisco Giants, his favorite.

Nagashima-autographed Ball
One day, Ninten, having gone to watch a match in the Big Leagues, noticed that a Japanese baseball star was sitting in the seat next to him. It was Shigeo Nagashima, and (Ninten) had once before seen him in a special feature in a baseball magazine.

Bent Spoon
When Ninten is on his way home from school, sometimes he'll stop off at the hot dog stand. One day, it came time to eat dinner but he was full, and unable to contain himself, he took a spoon and played with it and then......!?

Penguin Toy
For as long as he can remember, Ninten has loved penguins. Having only seen them in pictures and on TV, he'll never forget the day penguins arrived at Choucream Zoo.


Photo of Great-Grandmother
In Ninten's desk drawer, there is one photograph that he holds dear. The beautiful girl captured on the sepia-colored photo, which is bordered into an elliptical shape, is the youthful image of Ninten's great-grandmother. Also, the right half, which is thought to feature her husband George, has been torn off. When George, who had been missing, slipped back to his house, the only thing he carried, you see, was a picture of his wife.
Description taken from Kenisu's translation of Encyclopedia MOTHER