Sunday, March 16, 2008
Shinshu Pro-Wrestling
A couple of weeks ago I went with a couple of friends to see a Japanese pro-wrestling event in nearby Bessho onsen. It was shown on national Japanese TV and we were seen in the audience and interviewed briefly after (presumably they were interested in us because we were foreigners). It was quite ridiculous and of course all pre-rehearsed but very entertaining. Despite the fact they called it pro-wrestling I'm sure all of the participants are strictly amateur and have boring office jobs during the week. The commentators spoke in Japanese but occasionally used borrowed English terms like "Jumping Elbow". A small child near us spent most of the 90 minute show screaming "Ganbare!" at the wrestlers. The strange humour and costume choice made it a very Japanese affair. Here are some photos. Enjoy!
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2 comments:
nice post gaijin san!
buddy of mine from canada came to Japan to wrestle, he was huge! he came over 6 month before he was set to start wrestling to learn some of the language. Problem was, he had no money, fell in love with soba and lost 15-20kgs, when time came to wrestle, they said he was too thin and cancelled his contract!
I just watched a TV documntary on Shinshu pro-wrestling. While it is obviously not WWE, it is not supposed to be, offering entertainment, comedy and a good moral message, and not the WWE message of muscles and money.
I would love to see a Shinshu event 'live'
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