Players whose teams lose at the national high school baseball tournament at Kōshien often scoop up dirt from the field to take home. No official record shows who began the custom.
One account credits Kawakami Tetsuharu, whose school was runner-up in 1937, although he reportedly denied it later. Another credits Fukushima Kazuo of Kokura, who lost a quarterfinal in 1949. He found dirt in his uniform pocket and had no memory of taking it.