[Congratulations! Juku High School Baseball Club Koshien Victory] [On the Koshien Victory] 17 Years Since "KEIO Japan's Best"

2023/10/11

Seventeen years after hanging the "KEIO Japan's Best" banner at our Hiyoshi-dai Stadium in the deepest part of Hiyoshi Campus, the dream has finally come true. If this banner played even a millimeter of a role in this great achievement, I am filled with deep emotion.

The first "KEIO Japan's Best" banner was hung in March 2006. The previous year, led by pitcher Nobuaki Nakabayashi, the team made its first appearance in the Spring Koshien in 45 years and reached the quarter-finals. That summer, they advanced to the Kanagawa Tournament finals but fell just one step short. That autumn, despite many Koshien members remaining and high expectations, they failed to make a consecutive appearance. It was then that Manager Makoto Ueda and I discussed, "Let's hang a slogan on the field that aims for victory, even if it's just a dream, rather than just participating in Koshien."

"KEIO Japan's Best"—this combination of alphabet and kanji was not chosen to be eccentric. We considered about 30 candidates using keywords like "Champions of the Land," "Keio," and "National Champions." Among them, I chose the one that felt right in the heart, both visually and aurally.

Initially, some people called it a waste of money. But we believed in the day that would come. The first banner witnessed three consecutive Koshien appearances, including the first summer in 46 years, and the first national title in 92 years at the Meiji Jingu Tournament before stepping down. The second banner watched over the 100th Koshien tournament in the spring and summer of 2018. And now, the third generation has finally seen the first "Koshien" victory in 107 years. Banzai!

However, "KEIO Japan's Best" was not actually intended only as a wish for a national championship. Since it was to be hung on the field as "another classroom," I wanted it to carry more meaning than that. In "Japan's Best," I entrusted the hope that the team would be worthy of being the best in Japan, and that each individual member would become a person worthy of being the best in Japan.

"KEIO" naturally represents Keio High School and Keio University, but it also refers to those who have worn the KEIO uniform. "KEIO Japan's Best" is a promise between the team and oneself, the alma mater and oneself, and oneself and oneself. This is because Koshien is a stage for high school students, not the goal of life. Life continues beyond this. What constitutes being the best in Japan is a difficult question, but it is also a promise to aim for the best in one's chosen path and to continue "learning and then challenging."

This autumn, the third banner completes its role and will be replaced by the fourth "KEIO Japan's Best" banner.