CHAPTER 48: CHAPTER 48: SETTING OUT

As the opening day of the competition steadily approached, Waseda Industrial School set out, ready to head towards Nishinomiya City in Hyogo Prefecture.

Generally speaking, most schools, to save on expenses, would choose to take the long-distance bus to Hyogo; cash-strapped public schools would even transport their cheering squads on cheap overnight buses the night before the competition to Koshien Stadium.

Unlike these schools, Waseda Jitsugyo opts for the faster and more comfortable, albeit more expensive, Shinkansen for both its players and cheering squad, which is one of the reasons for the substantial expenses.

Speaking of which, there’s a rather interesting historical reason for this tradition of taking the Shinkansen:

It is well-known that Waseda University and Keio University are two of the best private universities in Japan, relentlessly competing for many years.

Their competition extends beyond renowned alumni in politics and academia, manifesting also in baseball, rowing, and various sports where neither gives an inch.

Naturally, Waseda Industries and Keio High School, as affiliated schools to these universities, have continued this tradition: if Keio’s "young masters" make it to Koshien, they’ll typically choose to travel by Shinkansen; therefore, Waseda Jitsugyo follows suit to keep up with its rival.

No matter the high cost, this tradition continues—although it might seem somewhat showy, the experience is at least comfortable for the players.

The journey from Tokyo to Osaka takes a little over three hours, passing quickly; as the West Tokyo Conference ended relatively early, Waseda Jitsugyo chose to depart two days in advance to adapt to the local environment and offer the players some free time to explore the Holy Land of baseball.

With over 20 instances of Summer Koshien participation experience, Waseda Jitsugyo had long established a fixed base in Hyogo Prefecture — the hotel where the players stayed even had a partnership with the school lasting several years.

After settling in, coach Izumi Minoru announced a half-day break in the afternoon and would resume regular training the next day, to which the players enthusiastically applauded.

At the strong request of the senior third-year students, the team planned to visit Koshien Stadium in the afternoon for a pilgrimage — though many had been there several times as spectators or fans, this was the first time as participating players.

Getting off the train at the Koshien station, Waseda Jitsugyo’s players playfully made their way towards the stadium — soon, the ivy-covered walls they had seen countless times in photos appeared in front of them, with a green sign above reading "Hanshin Koshien Stadium" in large white letters.

"Ah, this is Koshien!" Lin Guanglai, also visiting as a player for the first time, felt his emotions surging, a mix of excitement, passion, and sentiment threatening to overflow.

Koshien Stadium, covering over 39,000 square meters and capable of holding over 50,000 fans, was completed and opened in 1924, during a year with a Heavenly Stem and Earthly Branch both being "甲" and "子", hence its name.

It’s the home ground of one of Japan’s two pro baseball giants, the Hanshin Tigers, and the Holy Land in the heart of all high school baseball players in Japan — for over ninety years, countless young players have succeeded, failed, gained renown, and wept here — 98% of high school athletes are defeated here but then dry their tears and grow stronger.

The group took a group photo against Koshien’s outer wall with the help of passersby; then, they entered the stadium’s history museum — a new feature that opened earlier this year, none of the players had been there before.

Upon walking through the entrance to the Koshien history museum, a baseball wall immediately came into view, stunning Waseda Jitsugyo’s players.

The gigantic wall displayed 4,253 baseballs printed with the names of every participating high school in Koshien’s history:

PL Academy, Osaka’s strongest powerhouse, once trained notable talents such as Kiyohara Kazuhiko, Sugiyama Masumi, Risouka Wakiyama, and Furumoto Takakazu;

Sakushin Gakuin from Tochigi, which achieved the first ever Spring-Summer Koshien victory;

Chiayi Agriculture and Forestry, a team from Taiwan Province of China composed of Japanese, Chinese, and Indigenous players, once reached the Koshien finals and remains a bastion of belief in Taiwan’s baseball world;

And then there’s Kumamoto University, which consecutively won the Summer甲 Championship and reached the finals in the third year, nearly achieving a triple championship feat; their ace pitcher Tanaka Masahiro is now making waves with Rakuten Golden Eagles — while it was Waseda Industries, led by the handkerchief prince, who shattered their triple dream.

As they moved forward, they encountered several individual exhibit cases displaying gear once used by famous Koshien players:

A Hoshizaki High School jersey, identical to the one worn by Matsui Hideki, currently with the Los Angeles Angels and formerly an MLB World Series FMVP with the New York Yankees — in the 74th Summer Koshien, Meitoku Gijuku walked Matsui Hideki five times to elicit a massive societal backlash at the time;

Another case contained a jersey with "YOKOHAMA" emblazoned on it — once worn by the "Heisei Monster" Matsuzaka Daisuke.

In 1998, the Heisei Monster threw a no-hitter in the Summer甲 finals, almost single-handedly leading Yokohama High School to victory; as a professional player, Matsuzaka Daisuke is currently with the MLB’s prestigious Boston Red Sox and has twice led the Japan National Team to the World Baseball Classic Championship, retaining the event’s MVP title both times.

"Speaking of which, Matsuzaka-san has quite a story with us Waseda Jitsugyo too!" Looking at the jersey in the exhibit, Lin Guanglai commented with interest.

The seniors beside him, intrigued, eagerly questioned, "How so, how so?"

"Apparently, Matsuzaka Daisuke-san’s mother was a Takayama fan, and her favorite player was our Waseda Jitsugyo’s Arima Daisuke. After watching the 1980 Summer甲, she gave birth to Matsuzaka-san and named the newborn ’Daisuke’."

"And the most interesting part is that when Matsuzaka-san was drafted into pro baseball, Arima Daisuke happened to be the pitching coach for Matsuzaka-san’s Seibu Lions team. Isn’t that an incredible coincidence?"

"Hahahahahahaha——" The players of Waseda Jitsugyo burst into laughter upon hearing the little-known anecdotes of famous players.

As the exploration of the history museum continued, the team gradually split:

A group of players, led by Tsuchiya Ryouta, insisted on checking out the baseball manga exhibition area in the museum — his exact words were:

"Isn’t the original intention for every baseball boy to play ball to find their Asakura Nan? Now that we’re here, if I’m not allowed to check out Nan-chan, there’s no point in coming to this history museum!"

Meanwhile, Lin Guanglai, along with Suzuki Kensuke and his group, arrived at a special exhibit — inside this case was the earliest Koshien Championship Flag:

The flag bore a bright red surface with a purple border, featuring a golden crow painted in gold alongside large victory characters.

Among the Waseda Jitsugyo team members present, not a single gaze was able to turn away from this exquisite flag — for everyone there, lifting this flag by hand before a national audience was the goal they pursued their entire lives.

Leaving the history museum, they went to the nearby Suizanmyo Shrine, which is said to enshrine the God of Baseball, so players from all over always visit here to pray whenever they come to Koshien.

Standing in front of the God of Baseball, Lin Guanglai also paid respects, secretly praying that his team could go further this summer.

After performing the wishing ritual, players wrote their wishes on the ema, hanging them one by one on the wishing wall.

"Please, God of Baseball, if you truly exist, let us go a little further!"