Oshima High School, which participates in the remote islands of Kagoshima Prefecture, will enter the first match of Senbatsu High School Baseball in the second game on the 23rd.

With the slogan "From the island to Koshien," we aim to win the Koshien for the first time, carrying the thoughts of the islanders who continued to send ale.

It was not a blessed environment

Oshima High School is located in Amami Oshima, which was registered as a World Natural Heritage Site last year.

Approximately 370 km south of Kagoshima City.

Baseball players travel by ferry for 11 hours when participating in prefectural tournaments or playing practice games.

For a ball child who dreams of Koshien, it is not a blessed environment, so in recent years, there have been an increasing number of cases of leaving the island and going to a so-called strong school when going to high school.

How did children stay on the island?

Mr. Hiroki Mihara, General Manager of Amami City's general affairs department, wanted to change this situation.

He also served as a baseball umpire, working to improve the public baseball stadium and attract professional baseball camps.



Mr. Mihara noticed a tournament called "Remote Island Koshien".


It was proposed by Choji Murata, a former professional baseball player who played an active part in Masakari pitching, and started in 2008 on Okinoshima Island in Shimane Prefecture.

Selected teams of junior high school students from remote islands all over the country gather on one island every year to compete for the championship.


Amami City has participated since the 10th tournament in 2017.

Mr. Mihara decided to subsidize the expedition expenses in the city, saying, "Children on the island do not have many chances to participate in national competitions. Adults must work to improve the environment."

From "remote island" to "real"

It was catcher Shintaro Nishida and ace pitcher Kazuo Matsui who gained confidence after participating in the "Remote Island Koshien".

We participated in the tournament with different teams, and both were in the top four.

In addition, Nishida says that he experienced "remote island Koshien" and wanted to play baseball with his friends on the island and want to go to Koshien from the island.


Then, I declined the invitation from a strong school that has participated in Koshien and decided to go on to Oshima High School.



On top of that, Nishida thought that pitcher Ohno was indispensable in order to aim for Koshien from the island.

Pitcher Ohno, who couldn't decide his course, furiously attacked "Let's go to Koshien together", and the two decided to build a battery.


Furthermore, following the decision of these two people, the friends who experienced "remote island Koshien" gathered "I want to challenge the whole country from the island".

Senbatsu ticket that I grabbed with my ability

As Mihara's thoughts came to fruition, many children remained on the island, and Oshima High School won the second place at the Kyushu tournament last fall and decided to participate in Senbatsu.

Eight years ago, the election was made in the "21st century frame" for schools that overcame difficult situations, but this time it was a ticket that I got with my abilities.


Mr. Mihara said, "In the old tradition of the island, there is a word" children are treasures. "Since children are conscious of the treasure of the island, we have supported them all over the island. Please stay on the island and go to Koshien. I'm glad that what I was secretly hoping for was really fulfilled. "

On the other hand, Nishida said, "Without the remote island Koshien, I might not have come to Oshima High School now, or I might not have been playing baseball with my friends from the old days on the island. I had such an opportunity. I'm glad I was happy, "said Mr. Mihara.



Carrying the thoughts of the islanders who continued to send ale, the players of Oshima High School aim for the first victory in Koshien.