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ハンカチ王子こと斎藤佑樹投手。その後、早稲田大学進学の希望を公表したため、ドラフトにはかからなかった。（画像提供：共同通信社）
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Trendy Japanese #16:
Hankachi Ohji (Prince Handkerchief) |
* 2006/9/6 配信 ALC Newsletter No.43(ALC
International Marketing 発行)より
* クリックできる語句には、語注がついています
"Hankachi Ohji (Prince
Handkerchief)" is the nickname of Yuki Saito, ace pitcher
of Waseda Jitsugyo--the winner of the National High School
Baseball Tournament this summer. Unlike other high school
baseball players who usually wipe
off their sweat with their own hands or uniforms, Saito
wiped off the sweat with a blue handkerchief during the
games. This gentlemanly
behavior soon attracted the fans, and gave him the nickname
"Prince Handkerchief."
Every summer, high
school baseball teams throughout Japan compete against each
other to win the National
High School Baseball Tournament. During the tournament
season, many baseball fans watch the games on TV and cheer
for their favorite teams, usually their local high schools.
They are always impressed by the players' pure and strong
desires to win, and also by the bitter
tears of the players when they lose. And this season's
tournament was especially exciting; Saito's Waseda Jitsugyo
played the final
game twice against their rival, Komadai Tomakomai High
school, because these two tied
in the first game after playing 15 innings!
Their second game
was held the following
day. After being neck
and neck, Waseda Jitsugyo beat
Komadai Tomakomai 4-3 and finally became the champion. When
the game ended, the crowd applauded
both teams for playing such fair and outstanding games.
Since that day, the winning
pitcher Saito has been considered to be a "future pro-baseball
pitcher" or even a "future MLB pitcher." His handsome figure
and gentle manner have also been attracting not only baseball
fans, but also young women.
Since Saito became
famous, the blue handkerchief he used during the game has
also become famous. The supermarket in his hometown ran
a campaign giving their customers a blue handkerchief,
which was exactly the same kind as the one Saito used. If
you type in "Hankachi Ohji (Prince Handkerchief)" and search
the Internet auction site,
you can find more than 250 results showing a blue handkerchief
that's exactly--or almost--the same. Saito himself seems
a little perplexed by the intense
media
coverage of him, and said that he would never use the
blue handkerchief again. But there's the pro-baseball entry
draft coming up later this month, and it is likely to
be another big
moment for Saito. It will be a little while yet before
Prince Handkerchief can rest and relax.
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