Hisao Ito -- Eikan wa Kimi ni Kagayaku（栄冠は君に輝く ）

 

With the broadcast of the current NHK morning serial "Yell"（エール）, a fictionalized account of the life and times of composer Yuuji Koseki（古関裕而）, there has been a running series of 10-minute vignettes on the national broadcaster highlighting famous songs by Koseki. One song that the composer created was for the annual Japanese High School Baseball Championships in the summer held at Koshien Stadium in Hyogo Prefecture and that was the song that was featured in one of those vignettes.

Unfortunately with COVID-19, the championships have been cancelled this year, a turn of events that probably had baseball fans all over the nation shocked and saddened since in my estimation, this has been a summer event that has had even more prestige than the professional Japan Series, Japanese baseball's equivalent of the World Series in the Major Leagues. I remember when I was teaching in Gunma Prefecture, I was asked to teach some summer school English to kids but one day, the children were acting a little more antsier than usual and when I asked them what was up with them, one of them sheepishly requested if they could watch the high school championships on TV. Being a softie (which did me good and bad over the years), I acquiesced and got them in front of the community centre TV where we watched one of the games. But make no mistake. These championships are a big deal in Japan.

According to Wikipedia, the championships first began in 1915 and were held annually until for a few years between 1942 and 1945, they were cancelled due to World War II. The games were back in business from 1946 and in 1948, Koseki with lyricist Daisuke Kaga's（加賀大介）help created a theme song for the Koshien championships which matched their pomp and glory.

Titled "Eikan wa Kimi ni Kagayaku" (The Laurels of Victory Shine on You), the theme was first performed by popular singer Hisao Ito（伊藤久男）, who was first introduced onto KKP by enka expert Noelle over a year ago. Having listened to it many times over the years since the competition was often shown in the sports highlight reels daily, I swear that Koseki created something that could have even fit as a national anthem for any country. The song has been used in the opening and closing ceremonies, and I believe in the opening ceremonies, it's been the song that the competing teams march to as they enter the stadium. I can only imagine the swell of pride that the players feel when they do come in and hear the strains of "Eikan wa Kimi ni Kagayaku".

Up until 1996, "Eikan wa Kimi ni Kagayaku" had been performed by local high school chorus groups but afterwards, singers and bands such as BORO and Ryoko Moriyama（森山良子）have performed the song from time to time. In NHK's "Yell", there was even a scene at the stadium in which the genesis of the song was depicted, and in the above video, one of the actors in the show, Ikusaburo Yamazaki（山崎育三郎）, does his rendition on a music program. Hopefully, it will be performed again at the championships as early as next year. Incidentally, this wasn't the only famous baseball-themed anthem that composer Koseki had created.