全国高等学校野球選手権大会 | 日本の歳時記　The Year at a Glance

(8月)
Zenkoku Koto-gakko Yakyu-senshuken-taikai
The National High School Baseball Tournament
(August)

●全国高等学校野球選手権大会
（夏の高校野球） Zenkoku Koto-gakko Yakyu-senshuken-taikai;
the National High School Baseball Tournament;
the All-Japan High School Baseball Tournament;
the Summer High School Baseball Tournament
●選抜高等学校野球大会
（春の高校野球） Senbatsu Koto-gakko Yakyu-taikai;
the Invitational High School Baseball Tournament;
the Spring High School Baseball Tournament
●日本高等学校野球連盟
（高野連） Nihon Koto-gakko Yakyu-renmei;
Japan High School Baseball Federation
●地区予選大会 preliminary regional tournament
●野球部 baseball club
●野球選手 baseball player
●プロ野球 professional baseball
●社会人野球 company baseball team
●球場 stadium; ballpark
●ドーム球場 domed stadium; covered stadium
●甲子園球場 the Koshien Baseball Stadium
●試合 game
●デーゲーム day game
●ナイター night game
●応援団 cheer group

◆日本では野球をするのも観戦するのもとても人気があり、12のプロ野球チームがあります。
Both playing and watching baseball are very popular in Japan and there are twelve professional baseball teams.

◆アマチュア野球も盛んで、特に高校野球は注目されます。
Amateur baseball is also active, and high school baseball especially attracts a lot of people.

◆年2回、春と夏に甲子園で開催される全国高校野球大会にとても興味を持ちます。
Japanese have a great interest in the National High School Baseball Tournament held twice annually in the spring and summer at the Koshien Baseball Stadium.

◆夏の大会の正式名称は全国高等学校野球選手権大会です。
The official name of the Summer Tournament is Zenkoku Koto-gakko Yakyu-senshuken-taikai, the National High School Baseball Tournament.

◆夏の大会は朝日新聞社と高野連によって主催されます。
The Asahi Shimbun Company (the Asahi Newspaper Company) and Japan High School Federation host the Summer Tournament.

◆夏の大会では地方大会を勝ち抜いた学校がその地方の代表校になれます。
In the Summer Tournament, the preliminary regional tournament champions become the representative schools of the region.

◆地方大会は各都道府県で毎年6月下旬から7月下旬にかけて行われます。
The preliminary regional tournament is held in each prefecture from the end of June to the end of July every year.

◆合計49の代表校が甲子園の土を踏み、8月の始めから約2週間戦います。
The 49 representative schools in total play baseball at the Koshien Baseball Stadium for about 2 weeks from the beginning of August.

◆東京と北海道が2代表制になり、他の府県では代表は1校ずつです。
Tokyo and Hokkaido are represented by two high schools each, and other prefectures are represented by one school each.

◆優勝校は米国やブラジルなど海外に遠征します。
The champions go to foreign countries such as the USA and Brazil to play baseball.

◆卒業後、前途有望な選手はプロや社会人の野球チームにスカウトされます。
After graduation from high school, promising players are singled out and recruited as professional baseball players or company baseball team players.

◆プロ野球で活躍する有名選手の多くが甲子園出場経験者です。
Many famous baseball players have played baseball at Koshien.

◆最初の高校野球は1915年（大正4年）大阪の豊中球場で開催されました。
The first High School Baseball Tournament was held at the Toyonaka Ballpark in Osaka, in 1915 (Taisho 4th yr).

◆東北、東海、京津、関東、兵庫、山陽、山陰、四国、九州のそれぞれの地域で１校ずつ代表校を決めました。
One representative high school came from each region: Tohoku, Tokai, Kyotsu, Kanto, Hyogo, Sanyo, Sanin, Shikoku, and Kyushu.

◆これらの9校と早稲田実業の合計10校が最初の全国野球大会に参加しました。
These 9 high schools plus Waseda Jitsugyo High School, 10 high schools in total, participated in the first High School Baseball National Tournament.

◆早稲田実業はその年の春の東京都の大会で優勝しました。
Waseda Jitsugyo High School was the champion of the Tokyo High School Baseball Tournament in the spring of that year.

◆1924年（大正13年）に甲子園球場が完成して、それ以来、高校野球大会は甲子園球場で開催されるようになりました。
The Koshien Baseball Stadium was completed in 1924 (Taisho 13th yr), and the High School Baseball Tournaments have been held there since.

◆戦前は日本の各県だけでなく、朝鮮、満州、台湾でも地方大会が行われました。
Before World War ll, preliminary regional tournaments were held in Korea, Manchuria, and Taiwan as well as prefectures in Japan.

◆1941年（昭和16年）に戦争が激化して、地方大会半ばで文部省は中止を決定しました。
As the war situation became serious, the Ministry of Education decided to discontinue the preliminary tournaments in 1941 (Showa 16th yr).

◆1942年（昭和17年）から1945年（昭和20年）まで第二次世界大戦の為高校野球大会は中止になりました。
Because of World War ll, the High School Baseball Tournaments were suspended from 1942 (Showa 17th yr) to 1945 (Showa 20th yr).

◆最初73校だけだった参加校は、その後劇的に増えていきました。
At first only 73 high schools participated in the Tournaments, but the number of participating schools has increased dramatically since then.

◆2004年（平成16年）の第86回大会では4146校が参加しました。
4146 high schools participated in the 86th tournament in 2004 (Heisei 16th yr).

◆その年、最北端の北海道の高校が大会の歴史上初めて優勝して、真紅の優勝旗を故郷へ持って帰りました。
A high school in Hokkaido, the northernmost prefecture, won the championship for the first time in the history of the competition, and it brought back the scarlet pennant to its hometown in this year.

◆このことは北海道の人だけでなく日本中の多くの人に深い感動を与えました。
Not only people in Hokkaido but also a lot of people in the rest of Japan were deeply impressed.

(より詳しい情報は「選抜高等学校野球大会」、「第82回全国高校野球選手権大会決勝と閉会式」、「第85回全国高校野球選手権大会開会式と第一試合」をご覧下さい。)

(Please see ‘The Invitational High School Baseball Tournament ’, ‘The 82nd National High School Baseball Tournament Finals And The Closing Ceremony’, and ‘The 85th National High School Baseball Tournament Opening Ceremony And The First Game’ for further information.)