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The story
Outfielder Takumi Kuriyama, who spent 25 years with the Seibu Lions and only the Lions, played his final game on August 30 against Rakuten at Belluna Dome. Word spread that a hugely famous female singer had come out to watch, and on 5ch’s entertainment/sports board (Geinou Supo Sokuhou+), speculation ran wild over who she might be. Names of celebrities long associated with Seibu kept coming up — Sayuri Yoshinaga, a fixture at the ballpark for years, enka singer Ayako Fuji, and even Yasuko Sawaguchi and Misato Watanabe — but the thread never pinned down exactly who this "Seibu fan" was, and the speculation just kept growing.
Shockwaves spread over her “divine appearance.” Seibu legend and outfielder Takumi Kuriyama played his retirement game on August 30 against Rakuten at Belluna Dome.
It was a legendary game that brought fans to tears. And apparently, a hugely famous female singer was there in person. Fans were stunned: “Wait, what?!” “She actually came to watch in person?”
Kuriyama, who spent all 25 years of his career with Seibu alone, has his name etched into numerous team records. He started the retirement game batting sixth as designated hitter.
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
Coach Torigoe said the thing that surprised him most when he joined Seibu was that Sayuri Yoshinaga sends the team gifts.
She was watching from the infield seats during that Kiyohara-Hiranuma brawl too.
I happened to be watching the broadcast so I remember it.
Not the "song of grudges" kind (怨歌) — it was the "sultry ballad" kind (艶歌). (Both are wordplay on 'enka'/演歌.)
Search "Giants Ayako Fuji" and tons of results come up, but for Seibu there's nothing except this article.
So she's basically the enka world's version of "Shokotan" (idol/otaku-fan celebrity Shoko Nakagawa)?
Still a Seibu fan even after Yoshiaki Tsutsumi and Kiyohara are both gone?
That's real loyalty.
Just recently she was even griping that today's young players are "too friendly with each other, that's no good" — that's how much of a Lions fan she is.
Now that Tsutsumi's gone, Sawaguchi's Seibu ties are thinner — she's with Toho Geino, so she was probably also a Hankyu fan lol
Never heard of this guy at all lmaooooo
Same, I only know the name from articles, otherwise I barely know him.
Probably because he was never picked for the national team.
Wonder why he was never selected even once?
There's Sandayu Dokumamushi, for one.
Some idol from one of those "-zaka" groups openly declared herself a Giants fan while working as a sportscaster on TV Tokyo's sports news.
She did so many Giants features it was basically mixing personal fandom with the job.
Masatoshi Hamada was a Giants fan (past tense).
Apparently she sent fruit as a gift before a game again this year — still a fan as ever, it seems.
The Dave Okubo era?
Even now the good-looking players have been increasing a fair bit — lots of female fans when you go to the stadium.
2008, that's the one.
That year was insane.
Kataoka, Kuriyama, Nakaji, Kishi, Wakui — all of them were among the best-looking guys in the league.
Oh, I see.
That's kind of a relief for some reason lol
Thanks.
I think I saw an article about her taking an interest in Imai too.
No doubt she's a genuine fan, present tense lol
Probably his character.
There have been players who reached 2000 hits after leaving the Lions, but Kuriyama is the first homegrown player to hit 2000 with the Lions themselves. He's a truly great contributor — even Nishiguchi never got 200 wins.
If it's Machiko Watanabe, wouldn't she be tied to Lotte because of "Kamome ga Tonda Hi" (her hit song)? lol
That's not exactly a big-name celebrity though, is it.
Alright then, how about Oru Kyojin? (a comedian whose stage name literally means "All Giants")
He's shown up in front of the media at camps and events plenty before, though.
Seems that way. Doesn't look like she's a "whole-team" fan (supporting the whole roster rather than one player).
Misato Watanabe hasn't even sung the team song, and for some reason the cheer song is by Koumi Hirose instead — she's surprisingly given the cold shoulder by the team.
Background and Key Points
The Seibu Lions have long had close ties to the entertainment world dating back to the Kokudo/Seibu Group era under Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, and in the thread, names like Sayuri Yoshinaga and Yasuko Sawaguchi came up as part of that shared history. Takumi Kuriyama didn’t post standout batting numbers, but as a homegrown player he became the first in franchise history to reach 2,000 career hits, putting him alongside Fumiya Nishiguchi’s 200 wins as one of the team’s great contributors. It’s worth noting that neither the original article nor the thread ever revealed the actual identity of the “hugely famous female singer” — who she is remains unconfirmed. The names floated, including Sayuri Yoshinaga, Ayako Fuji, and Misato Watanabe, were simply fan guesses based on celebrities with known Seibu connections, not information directly tied to whoever actually showed up.
*This article is compiled as an excerpt/summary of the 5ch (Geinou Supo Sokuhou+) thread “[Baseball/Entertainment] A Huge Female Singer Shows Up at Seibu’s Kuriyama’s Retirement Game! Her Newly Revealed ‘Seibu Fan’ Status Draws Cheers — “I Never Knew That”.”
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