In Japan there are many traditonal high schools all across the country. They have long history and often the times so competitive to enter. And those high schools are deeply loved by the locals. In Fukuoka prefecture Munakata city where I live, we have Munakata high school.
日本中どこに行っても、その街の人々に誇りと愛着を持って長い歴史とともに愛されている高校があるものですが、我が福岡県宗像市ではやはり宗高（むなこう）こと宗像高校（むなかたこうこう）が挙げられます。
I’m not from Munakata high school, but all the siblings of my mother and herself graduated from Munakata high school. Therefore, I have some kind of nepotism toward the high school.
私は宗高出身ではないのですが、母の兄弟姉妹は５人とも全員宗高出身で、何だか私もずっと身内びいき的な感情を抱いています。
Munakata high school used to have an agricultural department and they used to possess rice fields. And the rice fileds turned out to be spacious ground of the high school. They have 2 grounds and Japanese archery field and tennis courts. I visited there in an afternoon of a lazy Saturday and hundreds of students were playing sports. There is a running course for the students around the presmises and I found some banana trees. The atmosphere is a bit like South East Asia!
宗高には以前農業科があり、大きな田んぼを持っていました。その田んぼ跡が今ではグラウンドとなっています。広いグラウンドが２つと弓道場やテニスコートがあり、写真を撮りに行ったのは土曜の昼下がりでしたが、数百名の生徒たちがスポーツに勤しんでいました。宗高の周りは生徒たちのランニングコースで、東南アジアみたいな雰囲気が乙です。
In Japanes there is a term “bunbu-ryodou”, which means both studying and playing sports are equally important. I personally believe the cultural level of the people are judged by the education they had. It’s a basic truth that if you work hard when young and if you gain and learn something precious through it, the experience will influence you for the rest of your life.
日本には文武両道という言葉があって、勉強もスポーツも一生懸命取り組んでこそだ、というような精神性を尊びます。その国の民度みたいなものは教育が指標となると私は考えますが、若い季節に一生懸命物事に取り組んだ経験がその後の人生を切り開く糧になることは、誰もが認める真実だと思います。
I belonged to tennis club in junior high school and English Speaking Club in high school. When I saw the students playing sports that day, I remembered a very funny memory of my tennis club practice. We used to practice tennis under the scorching heat in mid summer, and my team mate made a tanka poem dreaming of wheat tee. It goes….
Oh I do miss
The taste of the wheat tea
Come on Come on
Break time Come on
私自身は中学時代はテニス部、高校では英会話部に所属していました。部活に勤しむ高校生たちを見て、その昔私のテニス部の仲間が真夏の炎天下での練習中に詠んだ短歌を思い出しました。
懐かしや
麦茶の味を
思い出し
早く来い来い
休憩よ
Being young is wonderful. Haha!
