Places to visit in Hyogo 7: 甲子園球場 (こうしえんきゅうじょう - koshien kyuujou - Koshien Baseball Stadium)

甲子園球場 - often known simply as 甲子園 (Koshien) - lies between 大阪 (おおさか - Osaka) and 神戸 (こうべ - Kobe), in a smaller city called 西宮 (にしのみや - Nishinomiya). It's one of the most famous stops on the 阪神 (はんしん - Hanshin) train line and perhaps best known as the home of the 阪神タイガーズ (Hanshin Tigers), who were originally the official team of 大阪 but are now embraced region-wide as the charming underdogs of professional 野球 (yakyuu - baseball). Despite a hit-and-miss track record and what could be a full-blown curse from beyond the grave, the 阪神タイガーズ have some of the most outrageously dedicated fans in the country. It's time to have a bit of a look at the colourful history of 甲子園, starting with yellow and black.

The history of 野球 goes back almost 150 years in Japan which may explain why it's written with 漢字 (かんじ - kanji) and not treated as an imported word. At the professional level, 野球 has two leagues - the Pacific League and the Central League - and the winner of each competes at the Japan Series, the Grand Final of the 野球 world. The タイガーズ are part of the Central League and have called 甲子園 their home since they started 76 years ago. Surprisingly little has changed in the interim; apart from some necessary repairs as a result of the 阪神淡路大震災 (Hanshin-Awaji Great Earthquake) and some fancy lighting and monitors, this is baseball how your grandparents would have enjoyed it. Some of them are probably still there - I spotted a few particularly dedicated fans who seemed older than the scoreboard. 

タイガーズ fans are notoriously devoted to their team, sticking with them through thick and thin despite a history of being pipped at the post. The particularly outrageous fans are known as "torakichi" which roughly translates to "tiger crazy" - people who throw away everything else in their fanatical support. Torakichi or not, most fans show their support with endless clothing and merchandise that can be bought at the stadium, from team jerseys to noisy cheer sticks to tiger-ear headbands. Local shops and コンビニ (konbini - convenience stores) in the area get in on the fun as well, with food decorated in タイガーズ colours, special discounts offered when they win and the team's theme song piped endlessly through PA systems on game days.

All this pales in comparison to the ruckus once you actually get inside 甲子園, of course; from the first pitch the flags start waving and people don't stop singing and cheering until home time. Many of the stands are fronted by an 応援団 (おうえんだん - oendan - cheer squad) who bang drums, play trumpets and cue everyone to start singing any of dozens of cheers and songs the fans seem to have for every situation. Games against their fellow Central League team and eternal rivals the 読売ジャイアンツ (Yomiuri Giants) from 東京 (Tokyo) are particularly spirited; the ジャイアンツ have prevented the タイガーズ from reaching the Japan Series no less than 13 times and any chances at revenge are relished.

Perhaps the most famous 甲子園 tradition is the 7th Innings celebration, where every タイガーズ fan in the stadium excitedly blows up a long "jet balloon", usually featuring the team logo or stripes. There's a moment of anticipation as 48000 balloons sway above the crowd, then they're released in a cacophony of party whistle sounds, cheers and spiralling colour. If they win, the process is repeated with even more enthusiasm at the end of the game.

Once the fun is over, the field ends up carpeted with them and I'm told that many intrepid jet balloons even manage to make it over the walls of 甲子園 - the shrine next door can probably tell the result of last night's game based on how much cleanup they have to do. As if the タイガーズ fans had anything else to hate the ジャイアンツ for, the former are specifically banned from doing this at the latter's home games in 東京; I imagine they just have to sit dejected and balloonless during the 7th.

If the タイガーズ do win, it's customary for the fans to make a brief stop on their victory march at a particular underpass near the station. Here the flag waving, theme-song singing and boisterous cheering reaches boiling point before the celebrations spread as far as 大阪 and 神戸. Recently the タイガーズ have been on a winning streak but the glory has been a long time coming; they've had a string of bad luck since clinching their first and last Japan Series win in 1985. Some say there's a reason they've never repeated the performance - カーネルの呪い (kaaneru no noroi - The Curse of the Colonel).

As you can probably imagine, the タイガーズ fans were over the moon after their victory in 1985 and the celebrations got even more out of hand than usual. They ended up in 道頓堀 (どうとんぼり - Dotonbori) in 大阪 and decided to stage a mass-jump off the bridge into the river. They did a "roll call" of each player in the winning team and a fan in the corresponding jersey jumped, until they found themselves left without a double for the team's one American player. In what obviously seemed like a good solution at the time, they pinched a Colonel Sanders statue from a local KFC and pitched him into the river.

カーネルの呪い was swift and terrible - the タイガーズ were struck down by a 20 year losing streak that left fans hoping the Colonel could be recovered to break the hex. In 2009, he was finally found and dredged from the bottom of the river missing his feet, his glasses and one hand; he was returned safely to the KFC next to 甲子園 where he sits in a glass case with a cheery "おかえり！カーネル" ("okaeri! kaaneru" - "Welcome back! Colonel") written on it. I've heard that the other Colonel statues have been bolted down to prevent any possible resurgence of カーネルの呪い.

甲子園 is not just the home of the タイガーズ - it also hosts the yearly high school 野球 championships that fans tune in for with similar zeal. 甲子園 is seen as the ultimate goal for school 野球 clubs and something to train hard for; not surprisingly, it features heavily in sports アニメ (anime), 漫画 (まんが - manga), TV shows and movies as both an inspiring symbol and an integral part of Japan's 野球 history. Whether you're headed to 甲子園 to scout the new talent in the school tournament or to catch a big タイガーズ game, it's a unique experience you won't forget. Grab your cheer sticks, get swept up with the other fans and let's hear that roar!