Uriko

One of the most famous marketing slogans is “sex sells“. We would not normally equate that slogan with baseball, but perhaps that saying does have some truth when it comes to Japanese baseball or more precisely the selling of beer at ballgames.

In our last post titled Baseball Across the Pacific: Japan and Korea’s Professional Baseball Leagues, we covered some of the nuances that make up the game of baseball in those countries. Delving a little deeper into the Japanese baseball game experience, we would be remiss if we did not mention the biiru no uriko (bee-roo noh oo-ree-koh), which in English translates to “beer vendor”. In Japan, the role of beer vendors at baseball games are filled almost exclusively by young women, which are generally referred to as uriko (oo-ree-koh), the shortened version of the term.

The uriko carry a keg on their back that can weigh as much as 15 kg (33 lbs) for up to three hours, while pouring draft beers directly into cups for fans, while navigating the aisles throughout the game. Unlike in the US, these vendors each represent a different beer brand, so patrons have a variety of choices such as Asahi, KIRIN, Sapporo, or Suntory to satisfy their taste. That representation is noted on the uniforms the uriko wear in the form of a large logo of the specific beer they sell. Also in contrast to the US, these vendors do not work for the stadium, but rather sell directly for the beer companies.

Interestingly enough, this was not always a female dominated profession. Prior to the 1980’s it used to be the other way around, with mostly men serving as vendors at ballparks. In addition, rather than hauling kegs on their backs, the men would instead walk around selling cups of already poured beer from flat tables slung around their necks, similar to the US.

There are supposedly some men that work as urikos in Japan. This is not the case though at the Tokyo Dome (one of the most famous Japanese venues), and home to Japan’s most popular baseball team, the Yomiuri Giants, where all the stadium’s vendors are women.

The Tokyo Dome insisted that the uriko positions are open to both men and women as a spokeswoman previously noted, “There is not and will not be any obstacle standing in the way of men being employed, but around 100 times more women apply than men, so the result is that there are no men.”

We have no way of refuting the claims of those that run the Tokyo Dome, but their hiring logic seems somewhat illogical and dubious. Likely most candidates are women, but again not all. Instead they have found a way over all these years to not hire any men for uriko roles. Furthermore it is rumored that the women they hire for the jobs must adhere to beauty standards, and cannot work past the age of 25. In this day and age, this type of hiring and employment practice does not seem appropriate. This appears even more surprising, since Japan has embraced their own version of the #MeToo movement in recent years by challenging everything from high heels at work to traditions requiring they serve tea to colleagues. Despite these gender issues, Japanese fans, still seem to hold the uriko in very high regard. Beyond their normal job of serving beer it is not uncommon to see fans having their picture taken with these women during a typical game.

Love it or condemn it, the fact is that the female uriko continues on as a colorful and somewhat controversial figure of the Japanese baseball landscape.