# List of Nippon Professional Baseball players to hit for the cycle

In baseball, completing the cycle is the accomplishment of hitting a single, a double, a triple, and a home run in the same game. Collecting the hits in that order is known as a "natural cycle", which has occurred five times in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). The cycle itself is rare in NPB, occurring 76 times since Fumio Fujimura's first cycle during the single league era in 1948. In terms of frequency, the cycle is roughly as common as a no-hitter (90 occurrences in NPB history); Baseball Digest calls it "one of the rarest feats in baseball". Hitting for the cycle was not recognized in Japanese professional baseball until former Major League Baseball (MLB) player Daryl Spencer made a remark about it after hitting for the cycle with the Hankyu Braves in 1965. Of the 12 current NPB teams, only the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles have never had at least one player hit for the cycle.
The most cycles hit by a player in Nippon Professional Baseball is three, accomplished by Bobby Rose. Playing for the Yokohama BayStars, Rose hit his first cycle on May 2, 1995, the next on April 29, 1997, and his final cycle on June 30, 1999. Other than Rose, only three other NPB players have hit multiple cycles: Fumio Fujimura with the Osaka Tigers and Hiromi Matsunaga with the Hankyu/Orix Braves and Kosuke Fukudome with the Chunichi Dragons and the Hanshin Tigers, all with two. Fujimura is also the only player to have hit a cycle during both the single league era and the current dual league era. The 2003 NPB season saw the most cycles hit in a single season—five. That season also saw the only instance of cycles occurring in two different games on the same day: on July 1, hit by Atsunori Inaba of the Yakult Swallows and Arihito Muramatsu of the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks. The next day, Shinjiro Hiyama became the third player to hit for the cycle in two days. Conversely, the longest period of time between two players hitting for the cycle is one day shy of 6 years. The drought has lasted from Michihiro Ogasawara's cycle in 2008 until Rainel Rosario's in 2014.
No player has ever hit a cycle in both the Central and Pacific Leagues; however, after Alex Ochoa hit his cycle with the Dragons on April 13, 2004, he became the only player to hit a cycle in both MLB and NPB. Ochoa hit his first and only cycle in the MLB eight years prior on July 3, 1996, while playing for the New York Mets. Swallows catcher Atsuya Furuta is the only player to hit for the cycle in an NPB All-Star game, hitting one in game 2 of the 1992 series. Furuta's cycle is not considered an official NPB cycle as it occurred during an exhibition game. Inaba is the only player to hit for the cycle in a rain-shortened game. After hitting a triple in the first inning and hitting a home run in the fourth, Inaba collected the other two necessary hits in a seven-run fifth inning when the order batted around. Six players achieved their cycles by acquiring a required hit during extra innings. Kosuke Fukudome is the only player to have hit a grand slam as the home run of the cycle. Hiroshi Ohshita and Kazuhiko Kondo are the only two players to have hit a walk-off home run to win the game as the final hit of their cycles.

## Cycles by player

Key to symbols in player table :
| † | Inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum |
| * | Denotes a natural cycle |
| § | Indicates that a hit required for the cycle was acquired during extra innings |
| (x) | Number of cycles recorded to that point (if the player recorded more than one) |
Nippon Professional Baseball players who have hit for the cycle, the date of its occurrence, team, league, and opponent :
| No. | Player | Date | Team | League | Opponent | Stadium |
| 1 | Fumio Fujimura$^†$ (1) | October 2, 1948 | Osaka Tigers | Japanese Baseball League | Kinsei Stars | Koshien Stadium |
| 2 | Masayasu Kaneda | April 16, 1949 | Osaka Tigers | Japanese Baseball League | Nankai Hawks | Korakuen Stadium |
| 3 | Fumio Fujimura$^†$* (2) | May 25, 1950 | Osaka Tigers | Central League | Hiroshima Carp | Koshien Stadium |
| 4 | Masato Monzen | June 27, 1950 | Taiyo Whales | Central League | Chunichi Dragons | Korakuen Stadium |
| 5 | Natsuki Higashitani | April 13, 1952 | Hankyu Braves | Pacific League | Mainichi Orions | Kawasaki Stadium |
| 6 | Naoto Asahara | April 20, 1952 | Tokyu Flyers | Pacific League | Kintetsu Pearls | Kawasaki Stadium |
| 7 | Masaharu Takita | June 22, 1952 | Daiei Stars | Pacific League | Tokyu Flyers | Kawasaki Stadium |
| 8 | Takenori Yamakawa | June 26, 1952 | Hiroshima Carp | Central League | Kokutetsu Swallows | Korakuen Stadium |
| 9 | Noboru Aota$^†$ | April 23, 1953 | Taiyo Shochiku Robins | Central League | Yomiuri Giants | Korakuen Stadium |
| 10 | Tokumitsu Harada | August 17, 1953 | Nagoya Dragons | Central League | Yomiuri Giants | Korakuen Stadium |
| 11 | Hiroshi Ohshita$^†$$^§$ | July 15, 1954 | Nishitetsu Lions | Pacific League | Hankyu Braves | Heiwadai Stadium |
| 12 | Tetsuharu Kawakami$^†$ | July 25, 1954 | Yomiuri Giants | Central League | Hiroshima Carp | Shikishima Stadium |
| 13 | Tokuji Iida$^†$$^§$ | August 24, 1955 | Nankai Hawks | Pacific League | Tombo Unions | Kawasaki Stadium |
| 14 | Shoichi Busujima | June 23, 1957 | Toei Flyers | Pacific League | Kintetsu Pearls | Komazawa Baseball Stadium |
| 15 | Kiyoshi Watanabe$^§$ | July 19, 1957 | Hankyu Braves | Pacific League | Kintetsu Pearls | Osaka Stadium |
| 16 | Takao Katsuragi | August 27, 1957 | Mainichi Orions | Pacific League | Nankai Hawks | Osaka Stadium |
| 17 | Akira Owada | June 20, 1959 | Hiroshima Carp | Central League | Taiyo Whales | Hiroshima Municipal Stadium |
| 18 | Yukihiko Machida | July 26, 1959 | Kokutetsu Swallows | Central League | Chunichi Dragons | Nagoya Stadium |
| 19 | Taisuke Obuchi | August 6, 1960 | Nishitetsu Lions | Pacific League | Toei Flyers | Heiwadai Stadium |
| 20 | Isao Harimoto$^†$ | May 7, 1961 | Toei Flyers | Pacific League | Kintetsu Buffalo | Komazawa Baseball Stadium |
| 21 | Kazuhiko Kondo* | July 8, 1961 | Taiyo Whales | Central League | Hanshin Tigers | Kawasaki Stadium |
| 22 | Masuho Maeda | September 16, 1962 | Chunichi Dragons | Central League | Taiyo Whales | Nagoya Stadium |
| 23 | Sadaharu Oh$^†$ | April 25, 1963 | Yomiuri Giants | Central League | Hanshin Tigers | Korakuen Stadium |
| 24 | Daryl Spencer$^§$ | July 16, 1965 | Hankyu Braves | Pacific League | Kintetsu Buffaloes | Nishikyogoku Stadium |
| 25 | Hiromi Wada | May 28, 1968 | Nishitetsu Lions | Pacific League | Nankai Hawks | Heiwadai Stadium |
| 26 | Hiroyuki Yamazaki | August 14, 1971 | Lotte Orions | Pacific League | Toei Flyers | Meiji Jingu Stadium |
| 27 | Sumio Hirota | July 11, 1973 | Lotte Orions | Pacific League | Nittaku Home Flyers | Meiji Jingu Stadium |
| 28 | Takahiro Tokutsu* | April 17, 1976 | Lotte Orions | Pacific League | Taiheiyo Club Lions | Miyagi Baseball Stadium |
| 29 | Sachio Kinugasa$^†$ | July 7, 1976 | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | Central League | Yomiuri Giants | Maruyama Baseball Stadium |
| 30 | Tsutomu Wakamatsu$^†$ | July 9, 1976 | Yakult Swallows | Central League | Chunichi Dragons | Meiji Jingu Stadium |
| 31 | Keiichi Nagasaki | May 20, 1978 | Yokohama Taiyo Whales | Central League | Hanshin Tigers | Yokohama Stadium |
| 32 | Akinobu Mayumi | May 20, 1979 | Hanshin Tigers | Central League | Chunichi Dragons | Nagoya Stadium |
| 33 | Mitsuyasu Hirano | July 17, 1980 | Kintetsu Buffaloes | Pacific League | Hankyu Braves | Hankyu Nishinomiya Stadium |
| 34 | Tatsuo Omiya | July 29, 1980 | Nippon-Ham Fighters | Pacific League | Nankai Hawks | Osaka Stadium |
| 35 | Yutaka Fukumoto$^†$ | May 21, 1981 | Hankyu Braves | Pacific League | Seibu Lions | Seibu Lions Stadium |
| 36 | Hiromi Matsunaga (1) | October 8, 1982 | Hankyu Braves | Pacific League | Nankai Hawks | Hankyu Nishinomiya Stadium |
| 37 | Koji Yamamoto$^†$ | April 30, 1983 | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | Central League | Hanshin Tigers | Koshien Stadium |
| 38 | Shigeru Kurihashi | May 21, 1985 | Kintetsu Buffaloes | Pacific League | Nankai Hawks | Osaka Stadium |
| 39 | Takanori Okamura* | May 22, 1985 | Seibu Lions | Pacific League | Lotte Orions | Heiwadai Stadium |
| 40 | Yoshiaki Kanemura | July 17, 1986 | Kintetsu Buffaloes | Pacific League | Hankyu Braves | Hankyu Nishinomiya Stadium |
| 41 | Koji Akiyama$^†$ | July 13, 1989 | Seibu Lions | Pacific League | Kintetsu Buffaloes | Fujiidera Stadium |
| 42 | Fujio Tamura | October 1, 1989 | Nippon-Ham Fighters | Pacific League | Fukuoka Daiei Hawks | Heiwadai Stadium |
| 43 | Hiroshi Fujimoto | July 7, 1990 | Fukuoka Daiei Hawks | Pacific League | Nippon-Ham Fighters | Hamamatsu Stadium |
| 44 | Takahiro Ikeyama | August 23, 1990 | Yakult Swallows | Central League | Chunichi Dragons | Meiji Jingu Stadium |
| 45 | Hiromi Matsunaga (2) | May 24, 1991 | Orix Braves | Pacific League | Lotte Orions | Green Stadium Kobe |
| 46 | Jack Howell | July 29, 1992 | Yakult Swallows | Central League | Chunichi Dragons | Meiji Jingu Stadium |
| 47 | Norihiro Nakamura | September 18, 1994 | Kintetsu Buffaloes | Pacific League | Nippon-Ham Fighters | Fujiidera Stadium |
| 48 | Bobby Rose (1) | May 2, 1995 | Yokohama BayStars | Central League | Chunichi Dragons | Yokohama Stadium |
| 49 | Bobby Rose (2) | April 29, 1997 | Yokohama BayStars | Central League | Yakult Swallows | Yokohama Stadium |
| 50 | Kazuyoshi Tatsunami | August 22, 1997 | Chunichi Dragons | Central League | Hanshin Tigers | Nagoya Dome |
| 51 | Katsumi Hirosawa | September 26, 1997 | Yomiuri Giants | Central League | Chunichi Dragons | Tokyo Dome |
| 52 | Tomoaki Kanemoto $^†$ | April 24, 1999 | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | Central League | Chunichi Dragons | Hiroshima Municipal Stadium |
| 53 | Toshihisa Nishi | June 25, 1999 | Yomiuri Giants | Central League | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | Hiroshima Municipal Stadium |
| 54 | Bobby Rose (3) | June 30, 1999 | Yokohama BayStars | Central League | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | Alpen Stadium |
| 55 | Kazuo Matsui | June 7, 2000 | Seibu Lions | Pacific League | Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes | Seibu Dome |
| 56 | Boi Rodriguez | July 27, 2002 | Yokohama BayStars | Central League | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | Chiyodai Baseball Stadium |
| 57 | Hirokazu Ibata | September 21, 2002 | Chunichi Dragons | Central League | Yokohama BayStars | Nagoya Dome |
| 58 | José Ortiz$^§$ | May 3, 2003 | Orix BlueWave | Pacific League | Seibu Lions | Seibu Dome |
| 59 | Kosuke Fukudome | June 8, 2003 | Chunichi Dragons | Central League | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | Nagoya Dome |
| 60 | Atsunori Inaba | July 1, 2003 | Yakult Swallows | Central League | Yokohama BayStars | Matsumoto Baseball Stadium |
| 61 | Arihito Muramatsu* | July 1, 2003 | Fukuoka Daiei Hawks | Pacific League | Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes | Osaka Dome |
| 62 | Shinjiro Hiyama | July 2, 2003 | Hanshin Tigers | Central League | Chunichi Dragons | Koshien Stadium |
| 63 | Toru Hosokawa | April 4, 2004 | Seibu Lions | Pacific League | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | Sapporo Dome |
| 64 | Alex Ochoa$^§$ | April 13, 2004 | Chunichi Dragons | Central League | Yomiuri Giants | Tokyo Dome |
| 65 | Julio Zuleta | September 22, 2007 | Chiba Lotte Marines | Pacific League | Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles | Fullcast Stadium Miyagi |
| 66 | Michihiro Ogasawara | September 3, 2008 | Yomiuri Giants | Central League | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | Kyocera Dome Osaka |
| 67 | Rainel Rosario | September 2, 2014 | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | Central League | Yomiuri Giants | Nagano Olympic Stadium |
| 68 | Yohei Oshima | July 20, 2016 | Chunichi Dragons | Central League | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | Mazda Stadium |
| 69 | Kosuke Fukudome (2) | July 30, 2016 | Hanshin Tigers | Central League | Chunichi Dragons | Koshien Stadium |
| 70 | Yuki Yanagita | April 21, 2018 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | Pacific League | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | Sapporo Dome |
| 71 | Tetsuto Yamada | July 9, 2018 | Tokyo Yakult Swallows | Central League | Yomiuri Giants | Kusanagi Stadium |
| 72 | Masayuki Kuwahara | July 20, 2018 | Yokohama DeNA BayStars | Central League | Hanshin Tigers | Yokohama Stadium |
| 73 | Ryosuke Hirata | August 16, 2018 | Chunichi Dragons | Central League | Yokohama DeNA BayStars | Nagoya Dome |
| 74 | Ryutaro Umeno | April 9, 2019 | Hanshin Tigers | Central League | Yokohama DeNA BayStars | Koshien Stadium |
| 75 | Shugo Maki | August 25, 2021 | Yokohama DeNA BayStars | Central League | Hanshin Tigers | Osaka Dome |
| 76 | Yasutaka Shiomi | September 18, 2021 | Tokyo Yakult Swallows | Central League | Yomiuri Giants | Tokyo Dome |

## Cycles by franchise

List of franchises, showing NPB-active dates and numbers of cycles achieved and allowed :
| Franchise | Active dates | Cycles hit | Cycles allowed |
| Taiyo Shochiku Robins / Yosho Robins / Taiyo Whales / Yokohama Taiyo Whales / Yokohama BayStars / Yokohama DeNA BayStars | 1950–present | 10 | 6 |
| Nagoya Club / Sangyo Club / Chubu Nippon / Chubu Nippon Dragons / Nagoya Dragons / Chunichi Dragons | 1936–present | 8 | 11 |
| Hankyu Baseball Club / Hankyu Bears / Hankyu Braves / Orix Braves / Orix BlueWave / Orix Buffaloes | 1936–present | 7 | 3 |
| Nishitetsu Clippers / Nishitetsu Lions / Taiheiyo Club Lions / Crown Lighter Lions / Seibu Lions / Saitama Seibu Lions | 1950–present | 7 | 3 |
| Hanshin Baseball Club / Osaka Tigers / Hanshin Tigers | 1936–present | 7 | 7 |
| Kokutetsu Swallows / Sankei Swallows / Sankei Atoms / Atoms / Yakult Atoms / Yakult Swallows / Tokyo Yakult Swallows | 1950–present | 7 | 2 |
| Hiroshima Carp / Hiroshima Toyo Carp | 1950–present | 6 | 8 |
| Mainichi Orions / Mainichi Daimai Orions / Tokyo Orions / Lotte Orions / Chiba Lotte Marines | 1950–present | 5 | 3 |
| Great Japan Tokyo Baseball Club / Tokyo Giants / Yomiuri Giants | 1934–present | 5 | 7 |
| Senators / Kyuei Flyers / Tokyu Flyers / Toei Flyers / Nittaku Home Flyers / Nippon-Ham Fighters / Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | 1946–present | 5 | 8 |
| Kintetsu Pearls / Kintetsu Buffalo / Kintetsu Buffaloes / Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes | 1950–2004 | 4 | 8 |
| Nankai Club / Kinki Nippon Club / Kinki Great Ring / Nankai Hawks / Fukuoka Daiei Hawks / Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 1938–present | 4 | 7 |
| Gold Star / Kinsei Stars / Daiei Stars / Daiei Unions | 1946–1957 | 1 | 1 |
| Tombo Unions / Takahashi Unions | 1954–1956 | 0 | 1 |
| Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles | 2005–present | 0 | 1 |