| High School Baseball In Japan |
Article Index for High School |
Website Links For High School |
Information AboutHigh School Baseball In Japan |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL IN JAPAN | |
| baseball in japan | |
| childrens sport | |
|
In Japan, "high school baseball" (高校野球: kōkō yakyū) generally refers to baseball tournaments played by high schools nationwide culminating at a final tournament at Hanshin Kōshien Stadium in Nishinomiya , Japan . The tournaments themselves are commonly referred to as simply "Kōshien". They are organized by the Japan High School Baseball Federation in association with Mainichi Shimbun for the National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament in the spring (also known as "Spring Kōshien") and Asahi Shimbun for the National High School Baseball Championship in the summer (also known as "Summer Kōshien"). These nationwide tournaments enjoy widespread popularity, arguably equal to or greater than professional baseball. Qualifying tournaments are often televised locally and each game of the final stage at Kōshien is televised nationally on NHK . The tournaments have become a national tradition, and large numbers of frenzied students and parents travel from hometowns to cheer for their local team. It a common sight to see players walking off the field in tears after being eliminated from the tournament by a loss. The star players of the championship team achieve a degree of celebrity status. For the players, playing at Kōshien is the door to playing at the professional level. Due to the recruiting practices of Japanese high schools, top prospects often play on strong teams that are able to reach the final tournament at Kōshien. Several professional baseball stars first made their mark at Kōshien, including Ichiro and Hideki Matsui . BACKGROUND There are two main tournaments:
In addition, there is a separate and less well-known Meiji Jingu Baseball Tournament held each year in November at Jingu Baseball Stadium in Tokyo . Since the 2002 tournament, the winner is guaranteed a spot in following Spring Kōshien. PARTICULARS In the week preceding the tournament in spring and summer, teams who have won a spot in the tournament each hold a 30 minute practice on the grounds of Hanshin Kōshien Stadium. This is mainly to help the players adjust to the environment of the stadium. In the summer, due to scheduling conflicts with the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball , practices are held in the mornings only. In addition, teams are able to practice during the tournament at public and private facilities made available in Nishinomiya, and neighboring Osaka , Amagasaki , and Kobe . Usually, 1st year students cannot take part in Spring Kōshien (only 2nd and 3rd year students), so in three years of high school there are five chances for a player to go to Kōshien. In November 2004, in response to a growing trend the Baseball Federation announced that players could not participate with dyed-hair or shaved eyebrows. NOTABLE EPISODES Participation of overseas teams Before World War II , teams from Taiwan , Korea , and Manchuria , which were all part of Japan at the time, participated in the tournaments (in the spring only Taiwan took part). The first overseas teams to participate were Pusan Commercial High School of Korea and Dalian Commercial High School of Manchuria in the 1921 Summer Kōshien. Foreign teams have made it as far as the championship game, but have never won the tournament. The last tournament including foreign teams was the 1940 Spring Kōshien.
Six-time Kōshien participants Currently, the maximum number of times a player can appear in Kōshien is five. However, under the old high school system, a player could appear more than five times. Here are two examples.
Makeshift Kōshien The tournament was suspended due to the War from summer 1941 until spring 1946, with the exception of a "Promote the Fighting Spirit" tournament held by the Ministry Of Education in 1942 at Kōshien. The number of teams was only 16 compared with 23 at the previous tournament, but each region held qualifying tournaments and sent teams to a national tournament. The military theme was prevalent at the tournament, with military slogans posted on the scoreboard, and names on uniforms written in trendy Roman alphabet letters replaced by traditional Japanese kanji characters. The tournament proceeded smoothly and Tokushima Commercial High ( Tokushima ) won the championship. However, since this tournament differed from past Summer Kōshiens hosted by Asahi Shimbun it is not counted as an official Kōshien tournament. Sacred "Dirt of Kōshien" In the 1937 Summer Kōshien, Kumamoto Tech ( Kumamoto ) advanced to the championship game, but lost. After the game, Kumamoto Tech player Tetsuharu Kawakami grabbed a handful of dirt from the playing field of Kōshien Stadium and put it in his uniform pocket as a memento. Some years later, in the 1949 Summer Kōshien, after Ogura High ( Shizuoka ) lost to Kurashige Tech ( Okayama ) in the semifinals, Ogura pitcher Kunio Fukushima scooped up some Kōshien dirt and took it home. This has become known as the original scooping of "the dirt of Kōshien". Since then, as a memento of their fleeting time on the hallowed grounds of Kōshien, players from the losing teams take home a pouch of the precious soil. At the 1958 Summer Kōshien, Shuri High ( Okinawa ) became the first school to represent Okinawa (then under U.S. government rule) in a Kōshien tournament. They were eliminated in their first game by Tsuruga High (Fukui). After the game, they collected souvenirs of dirt and took them home. However, due to quarantine regulations of the Ryūkyū government they were not allowed to keep the dirt, and it was confiscated. Some Japan Airlines flight attendants heard about this, and had a sea stone lying outside Kōshien Stadium sent to Shuri. Even today this "Monument of Friendship" lies in the yard of the school as a reminder of the first trip to Kōshien by a team from Okinawa. JARGON FOR LACK OF REGIONAL CHAMPIONS Shirakawa Barrier and the Tsugaru Strait This term is based on the barrier built in Shirakawa , Fukushima . No team north of the northern Kanto region had ever won a tournament at Kōshien. This fact became known in the high school baseball world as the "Shirakawa Barrier". At the 2004 Summer Kōshien, Komazawa University Tomakomai High (southern Hokkaidō ) took the title, and in one bound leaped over not only the Shirakawa Barrier but also the Tsugaru Strait separating Hokkaido from Honshū. On the plane carrying the team and championship flag back home, at the moment the plane crossed the Tsugaru Strait, the passengers joined in unison for a celebration cheer. In 2005, Komazawa University Tomakomai High won a second straight Summer Kōshien title, becoming the first to do so since Ogura Secondary (Fukuoka) in 1947-48. This title was tainted after the tournament, however, by reports of repeated incidents of physical punishment of one of the players, once during the tournament, by the baseball club advisor (a 27-year old school faculty member). Besides a reprimand for withholding the report until after the tournament, the High School Baseball Federation did not punish Komazawa Tomakomai. However, the report drew widespread attention to the issue of physical punishment in youth sports in Japan. It is believed that such physical punishment probably goes heavily underreported, due to cultural tendencies.
As mentioned above, Komawaza University Tomakomai won the 2004 Summer Koshien, becoming the northernest school to win since Sakushin Gakuin ( Tochigi ). However, the route travelled by the championship flag from Koshien to Hokkaidō did not actually pass through the Shirakawa Barrier by land, so many fans (especially in the Tōhoku Region ) believe that the barrier has technically not yet been broken. Passing Hakone In high school baseball jargon, a championship by a school in the region from Kanagawa to Tochigi. The first team to "pass Hakone " was Keio Futsūbu (Tōkyō). After that, Shonan High ( Kanagawa ) won in summer of 1949. Despite the fact that Keio Futsūbu won in summer of 1916, the victory by Shonan High in 1946 is known as the first "passing of Hakone". Reasons for this include the fact that 33 years had passed since the Keio Futsūbu and Shonan High victories, the fact that western Japanese teams were seen as stronger than eastern Japanese teams at the time of Shonan High's victory, and the fact that high school baseball was not yet well known in 1916. The first spring passing of Hakone was achieved by Waseda Jitsugyō (Tōkyō) led by pitcher Sadaharu Oh in 1957. Also, the "fording of the Tone River " in northern Kantō has also been achieved. Since the victory of Waseda Jitsugyō, since championships by Kantou teams are not so rare, these terms have fallen out of use. Shirakawa and Hakone were both strategic checkpoints during the Edo period, with official passes needed to pass through, leading to these names. Kanmon Straits In high school baseball jargon, when a team from Kyūshū wins a tournament. The first to "cross the Kanmon Straits " was Ogura Secondary in the 1947 Summer Kōshien. Coincidentally, Ogura Secondary repeated as champions in 1948, a feat not matched until Komawaza University Tomakomai also became the first team to bring the title to their region then repeated the following year.
Mountain of Aso Based on Mount Aso in Kumamoto . In high school baseball jargon, when a team from the southern half of Kyūshū wins the tournament. The first to "pass the Mountain of Aso" was Seiseikō High (Kumamoto) in the 1958 Spring Kōshien. This is not been achieved in the Summer Kōshien yet. Ocean crossing In high school baseball jargon, when a team from Okinawa wins a tournament. The first to "cross the ocean" was Okinawa Shōgaku (Okinawa) in the spring of 1999. This has not been achieved in the Summer Kōshien yet.
Into snow country In high school baseball jargon, when a team from the Hokuriku region wins a tournament. As of 2005, no team has achieved this. Fukui Commercial High ( Fukui ) in the 1978 Spring Kōshien and Seiryō ( Ishikawa , alma mater of Hideki Matsui) in the 1997 Summer Kōshien reached the semifinals. RELATED LINKS
EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|