A Study on Koshien as a Ritual : Youth on the Ground Managing the Memory of Defeat

This paper analyzes the National High School Baseball Championship, commonly known as “Koshien,” not merely as a student sports event but as a national ritual that mourns the memory of defeat under the oppression of the Cold War. Baseball holds a special significance in Japan, and Koshien stands at its core. Why do so many Japanese people passionately follow high school baseball, despite it being an amateur-level competition? Previous studies have pointed to factors such as the emphasis on youth discourse, ideological indoctrination by the state, and media propaganda. However, these explanations alone do not fully account for the exceptional popularity of high school baseball.<br/>This paper hypothesizes that the incomprehensible experience of war and the trauma of defeat have been deeply etched into the Japanese psyche, and that the annual summer Koshien tournament serves as a means of soothing and mourning this collective memory. Several elements support this perspective, including the excessive physical strain on players, the tradition of shaving heads, the exclusion of female participation, the custom of collecting dirt from the field, the tears of defeated teams, and the scheduling of the tournament to always include August 15, the anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II. Additionally, the paper examines the case of the highly popular manga Touch to illustrate Koshien’s unique cultural position in Japan.