Koshien

Upskirt photos lead Japanese high school to redesign cheerleader uniforms

Ahead of Japan’s national baseball tournament, one school’s strategy sessions includes a plan to prevent peeping photography.

Read More

Japanese TV issues heatstroke alert, says to avoid exercise, keeps showing high school baseball game

Baffling mixed messages during this year’s coverage of the Koshien tournament.

Read More

Can five middle-aged guys who graduated high school years ago still sing their school songs?

Mr. Sato forces his fellow ossan to step up to the plate in the name of baseball and school spirit.

Read More

82-0 shellacking kicks off Japan’s National High School Baseball Championship

But who really won?

Read More

The only woman managing a high school baseball team in Osaka does things a little differently

And she’s making a big difference for her players.

Read More

Baseball star Ichiro Suzuki to coach champion high school baseball team in Japan

The beloved Japanese player is transitioning from pro to coach before the end of the year.

Read More

Japanese student athletes facing criticism for selling pro baseball team’s gifts of dirt online

Recent events dig up the question: is it alright to sell a gift from your heroes?

Read More

119-year-old Japanese high school stops forcing baseball players to shave their heads

“Whether your head is shaved doesn’t matter” says team captain.

Read More

With baseball tournament cancelation, former announcer steps in with a kind offer to players

Net users praise a touching gesture of humanity in difficult times.

Read More

Japanese baseball teen refuses walk after getting hit by pitch, follows up with home run【Video】

Blames self for bean ball in Japan’s most competitive high school sports tournament.

Read More

Female high school students continue to be banned on baseball field at Koshien Stadium in Japan

Baseball tournament officials defend the ban on female students as a necessary measure to help protect their safety.

Read More

Losing high school baseball team’s manners continue to impress, this time at a hotel

We’ve seen impeccable displays of manners from Japanese high school baseball teams on many occasions before, from the respectful bowing of Yamagata Chuo High School to the classy stadium-cleaning deed of Kyukoku just the other day. It seems like the annual Koshien high school baseball tournament in Hyogo Prefecture really does bring out the best in the promising young players, as another team from Akita Prefecture has proven after being eliminated from this year’s tournament with their grand display of thanks in a regional hotel. 

Read More

Baseball players like Frozen too: “Let It Go” chosen for Spring Koshien baseball tournament

That’s it, we’ve seen it all now! The lead song, “Let It Go!” from Disney’s Frozen has really taken over Japan now (in case you weren’t already 100 percent positive that it had)! We already knew that it was the only song to breach the top 20 karaoke list for all age groups in 2014, it was translated into regional Japanese dialects, and even an NPO used it to advertise a serious cause. But the latest news about Japan’s beloved “Let It Go~ Arino mamade” might surprise you; the song was chosen for the opening ceremony of the 87th annual “Spring Koshien” high school baseball tournament. 

Read More

Yamagata high school baseball team becomes Twitter sensation with their impeccable manners

The 96th National High School Baseball Championship, better known as Summer Koshien, is now underway in Hyogo Prefecture. In other words, Japan is once again swept up by baseball fever.

The championship takes the form of a single elimination tournament between the regional champions from each of Japan’s 47 prefectures (Hokkaido and Tokyo are both allowed two teams each). One of the teams this year, which hails from northern Japan’s Yamagata Prefecture, has become an especially hot topic online, even though they were recently knocked out in the third round. The reason for their popularity is not only because of their skill, but also for their unbelievably well-mannered conduct off of the field. Introducing the team that has now become known as the most polite high school baseball team in all of Japan.

Read More