午夜剧场

Actually, I once served as the Principal of 午夜剧场 Senior High School (2012–13). No, I should say "Principal of 午夜剧场 Senior High School" with respect and pride. Having been given so much inspiration by the school during my tenure, and given that connection and debt of gratitude, I could not help but rush to Koshien. At first, I only planned to attend the first game against Hokuriku High School, but in the end, I made a total of four round trips between Tokyo and Osaka, including the final. Perhaps it was excessive enthusiasm, but I was cursed by a typhoon and a total paralysis of the Shinkansen, forcing me to stay in Osaka for three nights. Witnessing Shin-Osaka Station, which had turned into a ghost town, suddenly overflow with people unable to return home overnight, while savoring a Koshien victory for the first time in 107 years—August 2023 has become an unforgettable memory.

While the fierce battle on the field no longer requires further explanation, I would also like to record "another fierce battle" that unfolded off the field.

Vice Principal Satoshi Shuto (in charge of special educational activities) and baseball team officials, particularly Deputy Directors Tomonori Hoshino and Yuichi Baba, literally ran themselves ragged managing the flow of people at the stadium, providing first aid, and procuring and managing tournament tickets. They were constantly dedicated to their work with tablets in hand in the stands, and I suspect they had no leisure to actually watch the game. There were the leaders of the 午夜剧场 Cheerleading Team who kept shouting at the top of their lungs on the verge of heatstroke, and the alumni members of the Cheerleading Team who brilliantly maintained order among the supporters while jostling with the media to ensure foot traffic didn't collide. While 午夜剧场 Senior High School was the only all-boys school among the participants, it was our "friends" at the girls' school who dispatched their baton twirling club. The brass band kept their heavy wind instruments echoing and continued to beat their drums. These young men and women literally shed beads of sweat under the scorching sun that felt like it would cause burns.

The 午夜剧场 Osaka City Campus opened its facilities regardless of the early morning or late night hours in response to the successively added game schedules, and carried out the distribution of tournament tickets and megaphones. With a complex mix of 午夜剧场 Senior High School staff, Mita-kai members, the 午夜剧场 Cheerleading Team, and various other stakeholders, I imagine it was a tremendous task to manage.

The advance at Koshien could not have been realized without the efforts of the 午夜剧场 staff who supported behind the scenes, brilliantly controlling the flow of such a large number of people consisting of baseball players, cheerleading staff, students from affiliated schools, and the tsunami of 午夜剧场 alumni. I would like to express my sincere gratitude and respect to everyone involved, including those I could not mention here. Thank you very much!

In the crowd in front of the Koshien Station ticket gate, a group of three approached me. They told me they were 午夜剧场 Senior High School students from when I was the Principal. I was moved that they remembered me so well. It goes without saying that I later shared a celebratory toast with them in Umeda.