The National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament (選抜高等学校野球大会 ''senbatsu kōtō gakkō yakyū taikai'') of
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, commonly known as "Spring Kōshien" (春の甲子園 ''haru no kōshien'') or "Senbatsu" (センバツ), is an annual
high school baseball
High may refer to:
Science and technology
* Height
* High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area
* High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory
* High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift to ...
tournament.
Background
The tournament, organized by the
Japan High School Baseball Federation and
Mainichi Shimbun
The is one of the major newspapers in Japan, published by
In addition to the ''Mainichi Shimbun'', which is printed twice a day in several local editions, Mainichi also operates an English language news website called ''The Mainichi'' (previ ...
, takes place each year in March at
Hanshin Koshien Stadium
, commonly referred to as simply Koshien Stadium, is a baseball park located near Kobe in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. The stadium was built to host the national high school baseball tournaments, and opened on August 1, 1924. It ...
in the Koshien district of
Nishinomiya, Hyōgo
270px, Nishinomiya City Hall
270px, Aerial view of Nishinomiya city center
270px, Hirota Shrine
is a city located in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 484,368 in 218948 households and a population density of 48 ...
, Japan.
Teams qualify for the tournament by participating in the regional fall tournaments held throughout the country. While finishing in the top teams generally guarantees an invitation, it is up to the
Japan High School Baseball Federation to determine invitees. For instance, in the 2008 Fall Tournament in the Tōhoku region, Ichinoseki Gakuin was the runner-up. However, they were passed over for 3rd place Hanamaki Higashi for the 2009 invitation tournament.
Of the 32 bids, 26 are automatically awarded as follows to the following regions:
*
Hokkaido
is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel.
The la ...
- 1
*
Tōhoku - 2
*
Kantō - 4
*
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
- 1
*
Tōkai
Tōkai ( 東海, literally ''East Sea'') in Japanese may refer to:
* Tōkai region, a subregion of Chūbu
* Tōkai, Ibaraki, a village, also known as "Tokaimura" (Tokai-village)
* Tōkai, Aichi, a city
* Tōkai University, a private university in T ...
- 2
*
Hoku
Hoku Ho Clements (born June 10, 1981) is an American singer and actress. She is known for her 2000 hit single " Another Dumb Blonde" from the soundtrack and film '' Snow Day'' and the song "Perfect Day" from the soundtrack and film ''Legally Blo ...
-
shin'etsu - 2
*
Kansai - 6
*
Chūgoku - 2.5
*
Shikoku
is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), '' ...
- 2.5
*
Kyushu
is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...
including
Okinawa
is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi).
Naha is the capital and largest city ...
- 4
In addition, one additional bid is awarded to a team in the Kanto/Tokyo region, and another to a team in the Chugoku/Shikoku region.
The region of the winning team in the Meiji Jingu Fall Tournament (which consists of all fall regional champions) also receives a bid.
The final 3 bids are what are considered "21st Century Teams".
21st century teams are a way to give teams who either may not get close to qualifying or who have served as a model school in some way a chance to compete. A team from each prefecture is nominated around November–December. The teams must have advanced to the round of 16 play, but not gotten past the quarterfinals of their prefecture's tournament. Then each region nominates one of those nominees to the selection committee by December 15. Finally, the committee selects the three 21st century teams.
Finals
List of champions
See also
*
High school baseball in Japan
High may refer to:
Science and technology
* Height
* High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area
* High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory
* High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift to ...
*
Japan High School Baseball Federation
*
Japanese High School Baseball Championship
The of Japan, commonly known as , is an annual nationwide high school baseball tournament. It is the largest scale amateur sport event in Japan.
The tournament, organized by the Japan High School Baseball Federation and ''Asahi Shimbun'', ta ...
("Summer Koshien")
*
Hanshin Koshien Stadium
, commonly referred to as simply Koshien Stadium, is a baseball park located near Kobe in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. The stadium was built to host the national high school baseball tournaments, and opened on August 1, 1924. It ...
High school baseball in Japan
Baseball competitions in Japan
Tourist attractions in Hyōgo Prefecture
Sport in Hyōgo Prefecture
Recurring sporting events established in 1924
1924 establishments in Japan
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