The historic Taikyu High School (Wakayama), founded at the end of the Edo period, will be participating in Koshien for the first time throughout the spring and summer.

The local community is excited about this historic achievement, and alumni have set up a hand-made support group to support the event.



At the center of the event is the famous pitcher's younger brother, and it will be the first big stage for not only the school but also the past alumni.


(Wakayama Broadcasting Station reporter Isamu Kumabe)

Founded the year before Perry arrived!

The local area is excited about the success

Senbatsu High School baseball is a hot topic in Yuasa Town, Wakayama Prefecture, where Taikyu High School is located.

Banners and signs celebrating the baseball team's first appearance are displayed everywhere, including the post office and the old station building.



Founded in 1852, it dates back to the 5th year of the Kaei era during the Edo period.



In fact, the baseball club has a long history, having been founded in the Meiji era, 119 years ago, the year before America's Commodore Perry led the Black Ships to Japan.

OB stands up, Osamu Higashio's younger brother also

“I want to support the athletes who achieved this feat.”

Shoji Higashio, secretary general of the support group

Successive alumni stood up and established a ``Special Support Association'' within the school.



At the heart of the handmade support group is Shoji Higashio (70), who serves as the secretary general.



He is the younger brother of Osamu Higashio, a famous pitcher who played for the Seibu professional baseball team and won a total of 251 games.

Osamu Higashio (2010)

The Higashio brothers are from Wakayama Prefecture.



Osamu participated in Koshien as the ace of Minoshima High School, which was in the same school district as Taikyu High School.



Mr. Shoji was active in Taikyu High School's baseball team, and after graduating, he watched over the growth of children as a teacher at a local junior high school.



With the decision to participate in the Senbatsu in his hometown, where nearly 40% of the town's residents are elderly, Shoji hopes that the town will revitalize even a little.

Shoji Higashio


: ``Minoshima High School won the Senbatsu for the first time when we were in our third year of high school, and the Minoshima era continued after that.It was a lively time, and the Arita region was also vibrant.However, now there are fewer industries. The situation has been stagnant, so I hope that participating in the Endurance Senbatsu will encourage local people to do their best."

I want to deliver it to the players

"I want to convey the feelings of the townspeople to all 19 players on the baseball team."

The first thing the special support group planned was to cheer them on with ``human characters'' at the Alps seats.



Local residents and current students will use the school color, magenta, to draw a ``T'' for endurance.

To that end, we created 3,500 pairs of support goods, including ``red and white hats'' and ``jumpers.''



In addition, we decided to organize a bus tour with approximately 2,300 people so that the townspeople could cheer from the Alps seats.

57 buses are scheduled to rush to Koshien Stadium.



When we started recruiting, we received a flood of applicants and the slots were quickly filled.

The town seemed to be more excited than the supporters had imagined.

The OBs are also busy.

As a result of the draw on the 8th of this month, Taikyu High School's first match was decided to be the 3rd match on the 3rd day of the tournament.



If all goes as planned, the game will be played in 12 days.

Preparations for the support meeting became even more hectic.

As the recruitment for tours to the Alps was done solely by the supporter's association without going through an agency, the supporter's association must also handle each individual communication, such as confirming attendance.



Some of the alumni working there checked each phone number one by one using magnifying glasses and continued calling participants.

Most of the members of the support group are retired seniors, but it is a dream stage for alumni as well.



Even with all our efforts, it took two days to complete the verification process, and we were clearly showing signs of fatigue.

One of the alumni


: ``Now we're all people with poor eyesight. It's tough. It's tiring.''

One of my former employees


: "I feel tired. I'm not sure if I can contact you. My throat is also tired."

On the other hand...

One of my alumni


: ``It's rewarding to hear words of appreciation and encouragement.''

Shoji Higashio


: ``It feels like it's been a long time since I last worked.We're at Koshien, too, and we're young.I've heard that some groups are planning to rent their own buses and hold reunions in the Alps seats.That's all. I feel the excitement, or rather the power.”

Local businesses and students also supported the enthusiastic activities of the support group.

Also stickers for support

An alumnus who runs a sticker company made 4,000 stickers for free in collaboration with students from the art club, hoping that they would be used as support goods.



The players' spirits have also increased.

Athlete


: ``In the morning, people I meet near my school are increasingly telling me things like ``Good luck.'' I think the power of support is amazing, so I hope I don't disappoint them.''

Player


: “I want to do my best”

Shoji Higashio


: ``When the players see the stands, I hope they think, ``You're cheering for us, so let's do our best too.''

The “20th player” watching over

This is the first big stage for the alumni, and we wanted to compete alongside our 19 juniors, so we decided to make goods to wear in the stands.

That is the T-shirt with the number "20" on it.



The idea is to support the juniors who are taking on the big stage with past alumni.

Shoji Higashio


: ``As the 20th player on the team, we're fighting together in the Alps. We're with you.'' That's the feeling. We'll be nervous at Koshien, and we need to show our strength under the stress. Regardless of whether we win or lose the game, that is my biggest wish.When I saw local people playing in Koshien for the first time, I thought, ``We can do it too,'' and ``I'm a big fan of the Arita region.'' I hope I can be of some help in making people think, ``Let's do our best.''

[NHK special site] Senbatsu High School Baseball 2024