Muralist and Boyle Heights native Robert Vargas is breaking out the cans of Dodger blue paint again, this time thousands of miles away from Los Angeles.
Nearly a year after completing his 150-foot-tall mural of Shohei Ohtani in L.A.’s Little Tokyo, Vargas has unveiled a second mural dedicated to the Japanese baseball star in his hometown of Ōshū, in the northern prefecture of Iwate.
“This mural, in the center of the community and the center of town where he [Ohtani] used to come as a kid, it’s huge,” Vargas said in an interview with Boyle Heights Beat.
Vargas, known for his grandiose murals in L.A. and around the world, partnered with the Dodgers throughout the 2024 season. In September, he threw the ceremonial first pitch at Dodger Stadium and in October, he completed a three-panel mural of the legendary Dodgers star Fernando Valenzuela soon after his death.
His larger-than-life rendering of Ohtani on the side of the Miyako Hotel in Little Tokyo quickly became a tourist destination as “Ohtani mania” spread around the globe. The Little Tokyo mural comes to life through fans’ phone cameras, which animate the player throwing a fastball and swinging a bat after scanning a QR code at the base of the hotel.
“When I was painting that mural, he was going through turmoil with his interpreter,” Vargas said, referencing the sports betting scandal involving Ohtani’s interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, last year. “Now [Ohtani] has obviously proven that he was well worth all that money.”
Vargas’ newest mural, inside an Ōshū community center where kids do homework and elders meet with friends, depicts the 30-year-old player with a bat over his shoulder, seemingly gazing toward a high fly ball in the sky. Creating a second homage to the Japanese sensation across an ocean felt unifying to Vargas, who said the experience made him feel like Dodger fans worldwide share more in common than they might think.
“It’s not like I’m just putting up another Ohtani mural. This is a mural in his hometown. And there’s a pretty resilient community here that’s gone through tsunamis, earthquakes, fires and they’re still chugging along,” Vargas said. The town’s resiliency influenced Vargas to name the mural “The Pride of Ōshū,” symbolizing both Ohtani’s impact and the city’s enduring pride.
Vargas officially unveiled the mural on his Instagram page on Wednesday morning, a day before the Dodgers’ home opener. But even before going public, Vargas said people from Tokyo caught wind of the new splash of Dodger blue nearby and took the train to catch a glimpse of the artwork.
“They can root for the Dodgers, they can root for Ohtani, but to have something tangible right in their hometown, painted by somebody from across an ocean, who is sensitive to the cultural heritage, I think is appreciated and respected,” Vargas said.
Editor’s Note March 30, 2025: A caption in an earlier version of this story said Vargas took nine days to complete the mural. It was nine hours.