The ‘Sakuhin’ Battery: A work within a work.
Definition of Sakuhin, from Denshi Jisho
Most translations (including, sometimes, mine) render the word ‘sakuhin’ as ‘work of art’, as it is pithy, easy to remember and it rolls nicely off the tongue.
But deep down, it’s really the interpretation ringed in red that strikes me as more fitting.
Works of art take hard work and dedication. And yes, Miyuki did say that he believed that a game could be almost perfectly called. But there’s a sense of ‘completion’ about a work of art - something finished and static and to be admired. Even a one off.
For me the idea of a sakuhin runs much deeper. The battery between Eijun and Miyuki is full of trials, ups, downs, triumphs. Their battery is honed and polished from constant work...for which there is no final end goal of ‘perfection’.
Like a novel is drafted, revised, restructured, so their battery undergoes changes, evolves, rises, falls and recovers its momentum. Their battery tells a story - in a way maybe it tells the story of Daiya overall, as the manga more or less began with Miyuki’s comments about a battery as a ‘sakuhin’, and those words impressed Eijun deeply enough for him to still articulate them deep into Act II.
The battery and the story thus run side by side. A work within a work.
Throughout Daiya, whenever a character is described as raw, imperfect, inexperienced, etc, it is often couched with the idea that imperfection implies room for further growth and development.
The ‘sakuhin’ battery isn’t really a finished ‘work of art’ and never has been. Nor do I really think it’s meant to be. It’s always been an ongoing production between the two of them, as they continue to push their boundaries forward...and build their trust in each other as catcher and pitcher.
That’s why I call this - and only this - the sakuhin battery. And that is why I believe that this is the battery that should take the team to Koushien.
