When the Waseda Jitsugyo players lifted their heads confidently, singing their school song with smiles on their faces, in front of the Kurashiki Commercial players' section on the first base side, the dust swirled in the air.
Unlike the fields where the players usually train, and even unlike most professional baseball fields, the soil of Hanshin Koshien Stadium is meticulously maintained by specialized horticulturists and is a precious symbol imbued with spiritual significance.
The black soil of Koshien is a unique mixture of black soil from Okayama, Mie, and sandy soil from Fujian, China. Horticulturists adjust the sand-soil mix according to the climate to ensure the field is always in optimal condition.
Of the 49 teams that come to Koshien, only one can return home carrying the national championship flag; for those "losers," the soil of Koshien is a memento of their presence—a tradition formed over nearly a century of Koshien's history.
