The annual National High School Baseball Championship at Koshien Stadium keeps baseball fans entertained for days. Typically, people form emotional attachments to teams that represent their place of birth, current place of residence and places they've lived in the past. For some people, there are also teams affiliated with universities they attended.
The annual National High School Baseball Championship at Koshien Stadium keeps baseball fans entertained for days. Typically, people form emotional attachments to teams that represent their place of birth, current place of residence and places they've lived in the past. For some people, there are also teams affiliated with universities they attended.
This year's tournament, which gets under way Aug. 6, will have me rooting especially hard for three teams from the disaster-stricken Tohoku region. They are playing on the first three days.
Seiko Gakuin High School of Fukushima Prefecture, which is making its fifth consecutive Koshien appearance, is currently compiling a 61-game winning streak in the prefecture. The school may even win the championship as the first school from the Tohoku region to achieve the feat, some observers say.
Hanamaski Higashi High School of Iwate Prefecture is remembered for its star pitcher Yusei Kikuchi (now with the Seibu Lions), who dazzled fans in 2009.
Furukawa technical high school of Miyagi Prefecture is making its Koshien debut this year.
Located inland, all three schools were spared tsunami damage in March, but some team members lost their relatives and homes. Understandably, the boys say they want to win "for the sake of coastal schools (that were devastated by the tsunami)." But there is no need for them to be so melodramatic as to think they must represent the disaster-stricken Tohoku region.
It's wonderful enough that they've made it to Koshien in this year of disaster. Their years of hard work finally paid off this summer. It's as simple as that. I couldn't agree more with the Seiko Gakuin coach who said: "I have no intention of dwelling on the March disaster during the tournament. I just want my boys to focus on their play."
I want each player to enjoy Koshien to their heart's content, just like members of the Japanese women's national soccer team, Nadeshiko Japan, did. By just being who they are, these women cheered up the nation.
Watching the young ballplayers enjoying themselves at Koshien will definitely cheer up survivors and all baseball fans. I repeat, the boys need not feel obliged to "give" anything to the nation.
A special issue of weekly Shukan Asahi magazine quoted Kikuchi as saying, "My understanding is that people come across as truly cool and beautiful when they live their lives to the best of their abilities."
The intensity with which the players perform on the field will surely inspire the nation and remind everyone not to give up. That's all I ask for.
--The Asahi Shimbun, Aug. 5
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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.
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