The Peruvian donkey from Hokkaido

Aaron Gerow gerow at ynu.ac.jp
Thu Mar 4 20:44:23 EST 1999


In another incident that poses questions concerning not only television 
ethics, but also the relationship between fiction and documentary in 
contemporary Japanese media, one of the weekly magazines revealed that 
Roshinante (I'm using just the direct romanization of the Japanese), the 
donkey made popular through the TV show _Denpa shonen_, was in fact born 
and bred in Hokkaido, not in Peru, as the TV show emphasized in dozens of 
episodes.  

This would not be much a problem were it not for the fact that _Denpa 
shonen_, like other shows such as _Urinari_ (by the same producer), has 
gained its tremendous popularity through a kind of "reality TV" (though a 
different one than the US brand) in which talento are made to endure 
difficult "real-life" assignments.  In Roshinante's case, the comedy team 
Doronzu, after completing their hitchhike trek from the southern tip of 
South America to Alaska with no money, were made to travel from the 
northernmost tip of Hokkaido to southern Kyushu with, again, no money and 
a donkey to boot.  Much was made during the several month trek that 
Roshinante was from Peru and that the donkey would be returned once it 
was over.  The Peruvian "owner" even appeared at the end to try to take 
her back, after, of course, Doronzu and the audience had developed a deep 
affection for her.  Roshinante has been so successful that her "hair 
nude" photo book has sold 200,000 copies.

Much of the success of the series lies in its borrowings from 
documentary.  The treks are usually shot in 8mm video or with a small 
digi-cam, mostly by a single cameraman or sometimes by the talento 
themselves.  You thus get the requisite hand-held camera shots, poor 
sound, grainy images, etc.  It also relies a lot on the phenomenological 
perception of reality: that the hardships and the situations are real.  
Elements of entertainment style are mixed in, such as comedic voice-over 
narration and titling of dialogue, but it is clear that those who watch 
the series latch on because they perceive "real" emotions and situations. 
 Much of this is fueled by supplementary texts like the diaries of the 
talento which are published as the treks go on (all of which are 
best-sellers).  These peripheral goods should be mentioned, because it is 
in part this reality effect which has led to the successful sales of 
these goods (another _Denpa shonen_ creation, the down-and-out band 
Something Else, recently hit number one on the charts).

The formula has bred such huge hits as Saruganseki's trek across Asia.  
But even with that case, there were charges of fakery, as it was found 
out that the comedy team was flown across danger areas (war zones, etc.) 
and thus did not make it across by themselves with no help.

Nihon TV's response then and with this case is that the program is an 
entertainment show, not a documentary, and thus that they have the 
liberty to fiddle with things.  But clearly, as is evident from 
complaints from viewers, that is not how much of the audience sees this.  
Since this is not the first incident, the Ministry of Posts and 
Communications (do I have that right?), has said it will investigate.

The incident poses a lot of issues: What is the place of "reality" or 
documentary in contemporary Japanese TV?  How does entertainment 
programming connect to "reality" programming and is there an ethical 
line?  Why are contemporary viewers seeking reality in TV not in 
old-style documentary, but in precisely controlled entertainment shows?  
What are we to make of the clearly calculated multi-market 
commodification of TV shows and of the "reality" within them?  

Any comments?



Aaron Gerow
Yokohama National University
KineJapan list owner
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