Gary's Boring Blog

Sasuke

Last night Sasuke was on TV. For the uninitiated, Sasuke is a kind of 'Japan's Fittest Man' contest, held 2 or 3 times a year and shown on TV. When I was a kid, they used to show 'The World's Strongest Man' on TV in England, and it was a source of much national pride that British shotput thrower (and world budgie-breeding champion) Geoff Capes won now and then.
Sasuke is nothing like 'The World's Strongest Man'.

I first got interested in this show when I saw a documentary about a guy called Yamada, who entered the contest, did pretty well, then basically got addicted to it. He spent all his spare time and money building obstacles similar to the ones used in the show, and practising on them. His wife despaired at this obsession, and eventually she ran out of patience, giving him the ultimatum of choosing between his family and Sasuke. Of course Yamada chose his family, but when he starting training again in secret, his wife walked out on him, taking the kids with her. It was quite tragic.

Anyway, I think Yamada and his wife got back together, and the new hero of Sasuke is almost-man Nagano. He has got to the final stage (quite a feat) twice, but always just failed to complete the last task. Last night, he got the furthest of all the contestants, but again, the final stage beat him.

Not quite sure what it is I like about this show, but it is fairly dramatic. The contestants include Olympic athletes, from volleyball players to gymnasts to swimmers, as well as a few celebrities and a collection of random men and women from a variety of occupations. The successful entrants are incredibly strong, but also have great agility and balance. Just like Geoff Capes, really.

(Geoff Capes is now a motivational business speaker on the 'after-dinner' tour. Sasuke hero Yamada's current occupation is unknown.)

Posted by Gary at April 7, 2004 10:34 AM