Kunoichi (TV series)
| Kunoichi | |
|---|---|
女 KUNOICHI
女: クノイチ On'na Kunoichi |
|
| Genre |
Sports entertainment, obstacle course |
| Narrated by | (2001–2009) (2004–2007) (October 2009) |
| Country of origin | Japan |
| Original language(s) |
Japanese; English subtitles and dubbed contestant profiles in US broadcast |
| No. of seasons | 9 |
| No. of episodes | 9 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Higuchi Tide |
| Producer(s) | |
| Location(s) | Midoriyama, Aoba-ku, Yokohama-shi, Japan |
| Running time | 30 minutes (US) 20 minutes (UK) |
| Release | |
| Original network | TBS |
| Original release | December 22, 2001 – February 12, 2017 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Sasuke |
Kunoichi (クノイチ; stylized as KUNOICHI in Japan) is a women's obstacle course competition held in Japan and broadcast on the Tokyo Broadcasting System. It is a spin-off of Sasuke, another obstacle course series. Kunoichi is different from Sasuke in that the competitors are exclusively female. It is also broadcast as Women of Ninja Warrior on the American G4 channel. KUNOICHI has been renewed for a 9th tournament after an 8-year hiatus for 2017. It was taped on January 26, 2017, and will take place at the Makuhari Messe Convention Hall, unlike past tournaments taking place at Midoriyama Studio City.
Participants compete for a prize of 2 million Yen($25,497 U.S. dollars).
Each competition starts with 100 competitors from a range of backgrounds such as actors, comedians, housewives, and athletes, amateur and Olympians alike. The competitors are mainly Japanese, but many international competitors have participated.
Ayako Miyake (三宅 綾子 Miyake Ayako?) - This three-time consecutive Kunoichi champion has earned her the nickname "Queen of Kunoichi". Weighing only 90 pounds (41 kg), Ayako is also an acrobatic dancer, who used to work for . She achieved total victory in the 4th, 5th, and 6th competitions. In the 7th Competition however, she fell on the last obstacle of the Second Stage, the last part of the Swinging Beams, which was a metal beam without a rope support like the last two. Her failure left the other competitors in visible shock because, in the words of the narrator "She was the competitor everyone was counting on!" As of 2008, she has cleared the first stage four times in a row and the second, third and final stages three times in a row. Recently Ayako and a few other Muscle Musical members including the creator and Sayaka Asami broke away and created their own group, so it is now rumored that she will no longer compete. (This seems to be confirmed as she did not compete in Kunoichi 8.)
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