<figure id="attachment_477540" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-477540" style="width: 3174px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="7695c8a0"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/08/1b4d77564229017dcebcde2e1b845755.jpeg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-477540" class="wp-caption-text">On August 12, Kanna Hashimoto threw out the ceremonial first pitch wearing the costume of He Liao-diao from the movie *Kingdom: Battle of Souls*</figcaption></figure>
<h2><span class="strongInContent"> “It’s so frustrating…”</span></h2>
<p> With her big eyes wide open—even more so than usual—Kanna Hashimoto (27) responded to the deafening cheers.</p>
<p> On August 12, a top-of-the-table showdown between the Yomiuri Giants and the Hanshin Tigers took place at Tokyo Dome. It was a “Kingdom Night” event in collaboration with the movie *Kingdom: Battle of Souls*, and Hashimoto, who stars in the film, took the mound to throw the first pitch.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> “*Battle of Souls*, the fifth installment in the series, surpassed 3.35 million admissions in just 26 days since its July 17 release. Box office revenue has exceeded 5.16 billion yen (as of August 12), marking</span><span class="strongInContent"> achieved the historic feat of having five consecutive films in the series each gross over 5 billion yen.”</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Kento Yamazaki (31) plays Shin, a military commander of the State of Qin who aspires to become the Great General, while Hashimoto plays Karōten, the military strategist of the “Hishin Corps” led by Shin.“Just before the first pitch, Hashimoto was practicing her pitching under the guidance of the Giants’ pitcher Eito Tanaka (27),” said a sports reporter.</span></p>
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<p> As soon as Hashimoto appeared in front of the first-base dugout, the Tokyo Dome erupted in cheers. Overwhelmed by the outpouring of support, Hashimoto’s eyes widened and he flashed a shy smile. Shouts of “Cute!” and “Unbelievable!” rang out from the stands.</p>
<p> Ryo Yoshizawa (32), who plays Ying Zheng, the king of the Qin state aiming to unify China, and Yamazaki appeared on the stadium screens.After receiving video messages of encouragement from the two, Hashimoto—dressed in a uniform bearing the “KINGDUM” name and the number “5,” and wearing He Liao Diao’s trademark straw raincoat—took the mound.</p>
<p> Undeterred by a minor mishap—the fluffy fabric of the raincoat covering her entire face the moment she wound up—Hashimoto threw the pitch. Her all-out pitch bounced once before landing in the catcher’s mitt, prompting another huge cheer from the stands.</p>
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<p> When asked about his impressions of the ceremonial first pitch, Hashimoto said,</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> “I really wanted to throw it without a bounce, so it’s frustrating that it fell just short…” (From Oricon News)</span></p>
<p> she said, expressing her disappointment, but</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> “But since I took the mound today wearing the straw raincoat from *Kingdom*, I’d like to give myself a perfect score of 100 for the performance,” (from Oricon News)</span></p>
<p> and gave it a perfect score. The photographers saw true professional spirit in Hashimoto, who finished the pitch with a smile despite the mishap.</p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Just as she took a big wind-up, a mishap occurred..."></div>
<figure id="attachment_477546" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-477546" style="width: 3025px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="11f6ea54"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/08/a377cfae05e9e41b7c52befe54224ca6.jpeg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-477546" class="wp-caption-text">Hashimoto heads toward the mound with a shy smile</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_477547" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-477547" style="width: 2948px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="5d045c3c"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/08/850656f81ab58a27e32987349666570b.jpeg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-477547" class="wp-caption-text"> Just as he took a big wind-up, the raincoat hit Hashimoto in the face…</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_477548" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-477548" style="width: 2757px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="840b40dd"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/08/a08b1b57f664db69176ccd6f329e91ef.jpeg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-477548" class="wp-caption-text"> Hashimoto’s pitching form was highly praised even by the Giants players</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_477549" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-477549" style="width: 3370px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="7164f260"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/08/67aa9c3587b258f5a7026249ae596d1a.jpeg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-477549" class="wp-caption-text"> Hashimoto pitched with a smile on his face right until the very end</figcaption></figure>


 Kumatarō Arai

 On August 12, at the Tokyo Dome during a game against the Giants, Kanna Hashimoto—who played the military strategist He Liao Diao in the movie *Kingdom: Battle of Souls*—performed the ceremonial first pitch.Wearing the straw raincoat from the movie, just as she took a big swing to throw the first pitch, a little mishap occurred...

Kanna Hashimoto Throws the First Pitch in Her “Kingdom” Costume—Even the Mishap Where the Fluffy Straw Raincoat Covered Her Face Was Adorably Cute

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