In Japan, there is one high school baseball championship considered even more exciting than professional baseball. It involves 49 winning teams from 49 districts—the result of competitions among 3,486 teams nationwide. Excitement and emotions escalate annually as they represent their hometown; the stress is palpable. Pressure from not only classmates, but from fans all over Japan, is intense. Yet these athletes are only high school students, and many of them are seniors who will undoubtedly retire from baseball if their team loses. The challenge was to create an atmosphere of friendly support, rather than undue pressure, at the stadium during the championship, allowing the players to do their best within these intensely sensitive circumstances.

In Japan, content on X (formerly Twitter) is followed quite intensely, making it the ultimate forum for lively discussions on all hot topics. Since this championship is a major event in Japan, sensational online debates begin to mount as soon as regional playoffs get underway. This year, in particular, there was a flurry of posts featuring accusations of bad calls and intimidating comments. Since the athletes are often privy to this content, efforts had to be made to alter the mood. We knew that those who make aggressive statements on social media generally back off in live situations. To lighten the mood on game days, we put up posters at the station closest to the stadium, reminding fans and spectators of the stadium’s “sacred dirt,” the very symbol of this high school baseball championship, spinning the atmosphere to generate positive support.

We created posters using the “sacred dirt” from the stadium where the championship takes place. The posters were placed in the stadium’s closest station used by athletes and spectators on their way to the games. When a game ends, the athletes, often with tears in their eyes, grab a bit of dirt to take home as proof of their effort, explaining why posters created from that soil pull the heartstrings of both players and fans. Posters incorporating the dirt embody 105 years of history—the tears of defeat and sweat of hard work. They cheer on the athletes and remind the 600,000+ spectators of their supporting role.

Using dirt from the stadium, lovingly called a “sacred ground” for this longstanding championship, the posters illustrate the athletes in action, focusing on their passion for the game. Factors related to the dirt, such as how drying methods impacted color density, how shading altered the 3D effect, and the level of viscosity required of a poster, were investigated through trial and error over about a 2-month period. Soil and water—the two elements literally supporting the athletes—were the only materials used in creating the posters. The project required over 10kg of dirt. Some 100 posters were created to yield the final three selections. The process was exclusively done by hand to reflect the athletes’ vigor and power.

Many visitors paused to gaze at the posters. Each artistically portrayed athlete carries the memories and expectations of rivals they had beaten, teammates who didn’t make the bench, classmates, teachers, family members, and hometown neighbors. Knowing the event’s 105-year history, fans understand how precious it is to be in that stadium, competing in the finals. This feeling of awe and appreciation was reinforced by the posters created in the symbolic dirt, and the positivity spread on social media sites. Tickets sold out completely for all 49 games. All the players were cheered on at the stadium regardless of their hometown or whether they won or lost.