"Rokko Oroshi" is the official "fight song" of the Hanshin Tigers baseball team.

The song was written a long time ago, but only recently in the past twenty-five years or so has it become traditional to be sung at ballgames.

During the seventh-inning stretch, fans at Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya (between Osaka and Kobe) stand up to sing this song. At the end of the song, fans release thousands of slender "condomu fusen," or condom-shaped balloons, into the air.

Fans of the Tigers are well-known throughout Japan for their undying loyalty, even when the team is terrible (as is generally the case). Fans have been known to spontaneously burst into song at the bar, at the restaurant, in the beer garden atop the department store, at home watching TV, waiting for trains at the platform...pretty much anywhere during the baseball season, actually.

Parents in the Kansai region of Japan (Kyoto, Nara, Wakayama, Osaka, Kobe) teach their children the words for Rokko Oroshi from a young age. And, in fact, you can often see families bringing small children to Koshien Stadium, dressed up from head to toe in Hanshin Tigers uniforms and other apparel.

There has never been an English version of this song recorded, but there have been two translations from Japanese into English.

Check out:

http://www2.gol.com/users/michaelo/Fight.html

for more information on one of the English translations of the lyrics.

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