[Congratulations! Keio Senior High School Baseball Team Koshien Victory] [On the Koshien Victory] Another Fierce Battle

2023/10/11

Actually, I once served as the Principal of the Juku high school (2012–13). No, I should say "Principal of Keio Senior High School" with respect and pride. Having been given so much inspiration by the school during my tenure, and given that connection and debt of gratitude, I could not help but rush to Koshien. Initially, I only planned to attend the first game against Hokuriku High School, but in the end, I made a total of four round trips between Tokyo and Osaka, including the final. Perhaps my enthusiasm was excessive; I was cursed by a typhoon and a total paralysis of the Shinkansen, forcing me to stay in Osaka for three nights. Witnessing Shin-Osaka Station, which had turned into a ghost town, suddenly overflow with people unable to return home overnight, while savoring the first Koshien victory in 107 years—August 2023 has become an unforgettable memory.

While the fierce battle on the field no longer requires further words, I would also like to record the "another fierce battle" that unfolded off the field.

Vice Principal Satoshi Shuto (in charge of special educational activities), and those involved with the baseball club—particularly Deputy Directors Tomonori Hoshino and Yuichi Baba—literally ran themselves ragged managing the flow of people at the stadium, providing first aid, and procuring and managing tournament tickets. They were constantly dedicated to their work with tablets in hand in the stands, and I suspect they had no leisure to actually watch the game. There were the leaders of the Keio University Cheerleading Team who kept shouting at the top of their lungs on the verge of heatstroke, and the alumni members of the team who maintained wonderful order among the supporters while jostling with the media to ensure paths were not blocked. Keio Senior High School is the only all-boys school among the participants, but it was our "friends" at the girls' school who dispatched their baton twirling club. The brass band kept their heavy wind instruments ringing and continued to beat their drums. These young men and women literally shed beads of sweat under the scorching sun that felt hot enough to cause burns.

The Keio Osaka City Campus opened its facilities regardless of the early morning or late night hours in response to the game schedule that was added one after another, carrying out the distribution of tournament tickets and megaphones. With a diverse range of people involved—including school staff, Mita-kai members, and the Keio University Cheerleading Team—I imagine it was very difficult to manage.

The advance at Koshien would not have been possible without the efforts of those associated with Keio University who supported behind the scenes, brilliantly controlling the flow of such a large number of people consisting of baseball players, cheerleading staff, students from affiliated schools, and the tsunami of Keio University alumni. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude and respect to everyone involved, including those I could not mention here. Thank you very much!

In the crowd in front of the Koshien Station ticket gate, a group of three approached me. When I asked, they said they were students at Keio Senior High School when I was the principal. I was moved that they remembered me so well. It goes without saying that I later shared a celebratory drink with them in Umeda.