Makoto Kozuru

Makoto Kozuru is one of those players who exists mostly in the sepia-toned corners of Japanese baseball history, and honestly that makes him more interesting to me, not less. Born in Iizuka, Fukuoka in 1922, he was swinging a bat in the immediate postwar years — a time when getting a crowd to forget its troubles for nine innings was practically a public service. At 176 cm he had real size for that era, and I can picture a big, no-nonsense swing that the people in the stands just lived for. No highlight reels, no social media clips, no stats databases to argue over — just the crack of the bat and the roar of a crowd that needed something to cheer. That his name still surfaces at all, a generation later, tells you the impression was real. He passed in 2003, so a whole postwar chapter of Japanese baseball went with him. I find myself quietly tipping my cap.

Makoto Kozuru (December 17, 1922 – June 2, 2003) was a Japanese professional baseball player born in Iizuka, Fukuoka Prefecture. He stood 176 cm tall and attended Nihon University before pursuing a career in baseball. He is remembered as a batter who energized postwar Japanese professional baseball during its formative era.

Name (English)

Makoto Kozuru

Name (Japanese)

小鶴誠

Reading

こづる まこと

Born

December 17, 1922 – June 2, 2003

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Sagittarius / Dog (戌)

Origin

Iizuka, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan

Height

176 cm

Occupation

Baseball player

University

Nihon University

Motto

Private

• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%B0%8F%E9%B6%B4%E8%AA%A0

Tags

• From Fukuoka Prefecture
• Baseball player

Last updated

2026-06-02

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.