Victory was almost in sight when Nisho Gakusha University Affiliated High School advanced to the final attack in the ninth inning with a 4-1 lead. As soon as the game started, he gave an unexpected lead in the first inning, but in the fifth inning, pitcher Morishita made up for it with an equalizing solo home run that crossed the left center, and in the sixth inning, he reversed the game with a two-run home run by Nakagawa 3 and a consecutive home run by Tsujii 4 in the 6th. state was. However, before he could catch the last three out counts, the opponent did not miss a moment when Morishita's control increased for a short time. One-out runners at first and second bases, the opponent's ball that flew deep to the right center was fortunately caught in front of the fence, but the game went back to the beginning with a three-point home run that passed the left fence to the next batter. Nisho Gakusha High School also showed the potential of participating in Koshien for the first time in three years.



However, the opponent's pursuit did not end there. 10 seconds immediately followed. Pitcher Morishita, who went to the plate at first base as a two-out runner, showed his skills again this time. Nisho Gakusha's relay play was greatly shaken as the ball hit the fence by passing the key of the opponent's left fielder who was defending forward in preparation for a single hit and bounced toward the center of the stadium for a long time. Morishita, who called the first-base runner home while the outfield was going back and forth, drove the momentum and completed a ground home run, scoring two points of gold in the finish line. In today's game, Morishita, who struck out 12 and blocked the opponent's line, threw more than 130 balls up to the 10th inning and threw the 10th without a score, leading to a dramatic victory.


Although I couldn't go to the Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture, where the match was held, as soon as I went to work, I listened to NHK's broadcast and cheered Kyoto Kukje High School 'partially'. The broadcast (?) at the beginning of the coverage file is a final game spectator written by a reporter who likes to watch baseball from the point of view of Kyoto International High School.



The first match of the round of 16 of the Japan National High School Baseball Championship (aka Koshien), which was broadcast through NHK on the 24th, through NHK, the Japanese public broadcaster, was held at Kyoto International. It ended with a comeback victory in high school. Kyoto Kukje High School, which played for the first time since the establishment of the baseball team, defeated the traditional powerhouses one after another, and achieved the splendor of advancing to the quarterfinals, the first among 49 participating schools. Last spring, he participated in the starting high school baseball tournament (aka 'Spring Koshien') for the first time and won the first game, but this time he gave back the bitter memories of losing in the round of 16.




Already last spring, when we first participated in the selection high school baseball tournament, the 'first victory of Kyoto International High, a Korean school' was highlighted by various media, so many of you are probably familiar with the name of Kyoto International High.

It was said that a Korean high school competed against a traditional powerhouse in Koshien, the 'dream stage' of high school baseball in Japan, and also competed in a summer tournament for the first time to advance to the quarterfinals.

As a Korean in Japan, it was a new feeling for me as a Korean in Japan that whenever Kyoto International High School wins, the Korean language school song is played in the stadium.

Even after winning today's victory, the players standing in a line and chanting school songs were broadcast on NHK.

The lyrics of Kyoto International High School's school songs are as follows.


Across the East Sea, the land of


Yamado

(Sat) is the

holy

land of

our ancestors,


our


ancient

dream,

morning and evening, our

friendly home to

nurture our

bodies and virtues

Korean academy


NHK has revealed that when this Korean school song is played, the Japanese translation submitted by the school will be provided with subtitles. In the subtitles, the first Korean word 'East Sea' is translated as 'East Sea' in Japanese, and the last 'Korean Academy' is translated as 'Korea-Japan learning place'. This is what I wanted you to write like this when you submit your Kyoto International High School song to NHK. At the Koshien Stadium, the school song that begins with 'East Sea~' certainly rang out, but the Japanese who read the Japanese subtitles said, 'East Sea? Shouldn't it be called the Sea of ​​Japan?' and it should be understood that the school's efforts were made to avoid the political corruption of academy sports, which should be pure.




Kyoto International High School starts as a Korean-Japanese school in Japan. In 1947, Kyoto Chosun Middle School, an educational facility for Koreans in Japan, opened, and in 1958, it was accredited by the Kyoto Prefecture of Japan under the name of Kyoto Korean Academy. After that, in the 1960s, it was accredited by the Korean government and became an educational institution recognized by both Korea and Japan. Then, in December 2003, as Japan recognized junior high schools and high schools (attached) as stipulated in Article 1 of the School Education Act, the label of 'various schools' was dropped. The total number of students is a little over 130, and although 60% of them are Japanese nationals, the school has an educational philosophy that emphasizes Korean and Japanese as well as international sensibilities without forgetting the roots of the Korean school by maintaining the school stanza. .



Kyoto International High School Principal Park Kyung-soo said in an interview with a Korean media last spring, "Most Japanese boys come because they want to play baseball, and girls like K-pop." By overcoming the financial difficulties of the 1990s with 'baseball specialization', Japanese baseball boys were also able to enter to play baseball. It is similar to the desire for Korean companies that employ many people to compete with their skills and succeed in the Japanese market.




If Kyoto Kokusai High wins two more in the future, they will advance to the long-awaited final. The Japanese media, which traditionally pays great attention to summer Koshien, have so far not reported much about Kyoto International High School and the path it has taken. If the first Kyoto International High School they participated in advances to the finals, and if they take one step further and win the championship, why does this school with Korean roots strive to enter Koshien and what they are trying to achieve through baseball? I can't help it. Of course, 'East Sea', a Korean school song that spreads through Japan, is welcome, but I hope that there will be many opportunities for both Korea and Japan to pay more attention to the voices of student athletes through repeated propaganda in Kyoto International High School. In that sense, I sincerely wish Kyoto Kokusai High School the best of luck in Koshien.         



(Photo courtesy of Kyoto International High School)