甲子園
Meanings
Koshien Stadium
Refers to the baseball stadium in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, home of the Hanshin Tigers and venue for the national high school baseball tournaments.
Koshien is the home stadium of the Hanshin Tigers.
Summer Koshien; National High School Baseball Championship
The annual national high school baseball tournament held in August at Koshien Stadium. Often simply called 夏の甲子園.
See also: 全国高等学校野球選手権大会
His dream is to win the Summer Koshien tournament.
Spring Koshien; National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament
The invitational high school baseball tournament held in March at Koshien Stadium. Often called 春の甲子園 or センバツ.
See also: 選抜高等学校野球大会
The Spring Koshien is also called the Invitational Tournament.
Usage patterns
- 〈人〉が甲子園に出場するfor someone/a team to compete at Koshien
His team made it to Koshien for the first time this year.
- 甲子園を目指すto aim for (a spot in) Koshien
The baseball team practices every day aiming for Koshien.
- 甲子園で優勝するto win the championship at Koshien
That high school won Koshien and became known nationwide.
- 甲子園に行くto go to Koshien (Stadium)
During summer vacation, my family went to Koshien to watch a game.