MATSUYAMA — A musical depicting the coaching work of Hyotaro Kondo in the 1888 -- 1966 school baseball team representing Taiwan to a national summer championship in the 1930s will begin in April in Toon, Ehime Prefecture.
The musical, Kano -- 1931 : Koshien made 2,000 Kiro Kano -- 1931 : 2,000 Kilometers to the Koshien Stadium, will be performed in the Botchan Theater.
The musical commemorates 100 years of baseball exchange history between Japan and Taiwan, and shows are scheduled to be held in Taiwan. The production is based on the true story of a baseball team from southern Taiwan's Chiayi School of Agriculture and Forestry, known as the Kano baseball team in Japan.
In 1931 when Taiwan was under Japanese rule, the team participated in Japan's national baseball championship for secondary schools at Koshien Stadium for the first time in 1931. They would be led by Kondo, who served as head coach for the baseball team at today s Matsuyama Commercial High School before moving to Taiwan where he formed a school team comprising Japanese, Han Chinese and Taiwan's indigenous people.
Daisuke Habara, a playwright who has worked on movies such as Pacchigi and Hula Girls, is a playwright. The production will be headed by Kazukiyo Nishikiori, formerly the leader of the male idol group Shonentai.