[JO1] Hochi Kokoyakyu 211005

Direct questions from the readers
Asking Kawanishi Takumi 11 things

5th part of the series
We collected questions from our readers on the internet about what they want to know from Kawanishi Takumi (22) who is nowadays a member of the global boy group JO1 and used to be a highschool baseball player.
Kawanishi-san who had been an outfielder in the baseball club of his public highschool in the prefecture Hyogo answered 11 questions, just like his group, JO1, has 11 members.

Profile
Born on 23rd June 1999 in Hyogo prefecture. Started to play baseball at the Japanese style baseball club during his first year of elementary school as a pitcher, shortstop and catcher. Belonged to the Japanese style baseball club in middle school as a shortstop and pitcher. In the fall of his first year of Highschool he was on the bench as center fielder. 170cm tall. Throws with the right hand and bats left. During Highschool he had 8 home runs all together. He was chosen as one 11 of members of JO1 in an audition program and made his major debut last year. The newest single “STRANGER” is the 4th single in a row that places 1st in the Oricon weekly ranking. From November 19th to November 21st, the first live concerts with an audience will take place at the Makuhari Messe.
TN: the difference between “Japanese style” baseball 軟式(野球) and “western” baseball 野球 is that the japanese style is played with a hard rubber ball. Since the original interview distinguishes those two terms, I do the same.

Q1: Please tell us about your best play in your highschool days!
There are too many for me (laughs) I was guarding the center and jumped to the position between the right and center fielders to catch a flying ball. My glove got stuck on the ground and my left wrist swelled in no time. Including this injury it’s the most clear memory I have. In the case of hitting, it was in the fall of my 2nd year, it was the hit to the left field that I made as the first batter. I hit a liner right of the 3rd baseman in the first pitch after the start of the match and when the siren sounded I was already on the 1st base. I felt like Ichiro (formerly of the Seattle Mariners).
TN: In the batting order, being the first one is reserved for the rather good players.
A liner is a ball that flies straight with no bounce.
Ichiro: Ichiro Suzuki is one of the stars in the Japanese baseball scene who used to play for a long time in the US and was also considered to be one of the stars there. He finished with 4,367 hits in his professional career.

Q2: When the sign (from the coach) came, was there something you weren’t good at?
Stealing bases and bunting. I was good at stealing bases on my own initiative, but I was told to “run as you like”. However, once the sign came, I got nervous. I was the only one who had to practise bunting a lot. I was fast, but I didn’t do safety (bunting).Because I rather wanted to hit a homerun.
TN: A bunt is a batted ball not swung at, but intentionally met with the bat and tapped slowly within the infield. It is done to force the defenders to make a difficult play to record an out (Definition by Wikipedia).

Q3: Speaking of baseball clubs, did you eat your lunch box before lunch time?
After the training in the morning, I ate before the class started. At home in the morning, I ate bread and my lunch box was white rice with seasoning. When I had training in the morning, I was hungry afterwards. The time when I changed into my school uniform and ate with my friends was fun.

Q4: Did you have something like a good luck charm on your back? And I would also like to know your style on off days.
I had one. The managers made them for us. I had a buzz cut the whole time since my second or third year of elementary school, so when I went out, I liked to wear a hat, and I didn’t have just caps but various kinds like knitted ones. There was also a time in middle school when I wore a straw hat.

Q5: Did you have the reputation of being handsome during high school?
Absolutely not. I had a buzz cut and I was quite tanned from the sun. I looked like everyone else.

Q6: In Highschool there are sport classes. Was there any sport other than baseball you were interested in?
Lifetime sports. Golf was especially fun. During the 5th or 6th period there was the class and during the lunch break I would ride my bicycle to a golf driving range in town. My dad who also used to play baseball likes golf. It is said that he made the ball fly 300 yards (about 274m). I also liked Volleyball. About half of the girls from my class were in the volleyball club. They often taught me.
TN: As the name might suggest, those are sports that you are supposed to be able to do at any point in your life. Other than golf, swimming, darts, tennis and various other sports are considered to be “lifetime sports”.

Q7: Did you train on your own at home, too?
Takumi: When I was in elementary school my dad made 4 bases out of rubber and at an open space he practiced batting with me. Together with my (two years) older brother.The base was also used for playing around like playing baseball by hitting badminton shuttlecocks.

Q8: Watching high school baseball, please tell us about the match you remember the most. Nihon Bunri High School vs Chukyodai Chukyo. It was the final of the Summer Koshien 2009. Nihon Bunri’s catch up in the 9th inning was amazing. I remember the last third liner. I watched it on TV. Another one was Maa-kun (Komazawa University Tomakomai High School's Tanaka Masahiro) and Yuki-chan (Waseda Jitsugyo’s Saito Yuki) in the rematch* of the final of the Summer Koshien in 2006. Back then I put a handkerchief into my uniform just like Saito. I also bought the book and read it.
TN: Nihon Bunri High School is from Niigata. They were the first team from Niigata in 25 years to reach the Top 8 of the summer Koshien.
Chukyodai Chukyo is from Nagoya. Participated in the Koshien 28 times - which is a lot.
Koshien is the Japanese High School Baseball Championship, taking place in summer and the largest scale amateur sport event in Japan, it takes place in Nishinomiya, Hyogo. Koshien is also the name of the district of Nishinomiya where the stadium (Hanshin Koshien Stadium) is located. What is interesting is that the magazine refers to THE Koshien as Summer Koshien and the Senbatsu, the slightly less important tournament in spring, as Spring Koshien. They both take place at the same place however.
He talked about those two players and the match already in the first issue in which he appeared. They were the respective ace pitchers of their teams and the stars of their generation. For the first time in 37 years, there was a rematch needed in the final that Waseda won thanks to Saito.

Q9: Is there something you imitated from professional baseball players?
I like the Giants and like Abe Shinnosuke, I found it easier to get the timing right when I slid the bat down a bit (towards the direction of the pitcher). My form was changed by the coach a lot of times in High School. Thanks to the guidance of my coach I was able to hit. At the end of my 3rd year, I raised my right leg very high. But I wasn’t able to hit (laughs) I believed in it.
TN: Giants = Yomiuri Giants, the baseball team from Tokyo, Abe Shinnosuke is one of their players.

Q10: If the gods granted you one baseball talent, what would you wish for?
Maybe (another) body. The height. After all, there is an advantage in being as tall as Ootani Shouhei. I think no matter how much you train, there is a limit (in how big a body can become). It might be that Ootani is a god. My ideal size that I would like to become? 184cm tall and 95 kilos… that’s quite good.
TN: Ootani Shouhei is 193 cm and 95 kg. Currently he plays for the Los Angeles Angels and used to play for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters.

Q11: Which JO1 song would fit to the cheering at Koshien?
“REAL”. Our new song. It gives you a feeling of moving forward. Everyone from my former school, please. Try it out!