Hishouchu (飛翔柱) was a First Stage obstacle introduced in KUNOICHI 6.
Similar to the earlier Dakitsuki Slider in the first two KUNOICHI competitions, and essentially adapted from it, the obstacle's base concept consisted of a large yellow pillar that was stationed on a tower above the main course. To attempt it, competitors had to press a button to force the pillar downward (similar to the Shot-Gun Touch, which was a notable Sportsman event) so that it would slide down a long wire, about six meters in length. Competitors then had to jump on a springboard to grab onto the pillar before letting go to land on a floating mat in the water at which the track ended at.
First Version[]
In the obstacle's debut appearance, the button and the pillar were placed right before the obstacle, so competitors just needed to time their jump correctly after completing the run-up then get to the pillar. This was a decently tricky obstacle, as several competitors either mistimed their jump, or mistimed their landing onto the landing mat.
Due to Miyake Ayako's kanzenseiha in this competition, the obstacle would undergo a modification in the next tournament.
Second Version[]
For the new version of Hishouchu, the button and the pillar were placed significantly earlier, now being before the newly-installed Danchigaibou, which immediately preceded Hishouchu. Competitors now not only had to complete Danchigaibou but also have to do it fast, in order to match the pace of the pillar. These changes made the previous obstacle extremely dangerous, as it's estimated upwards of fifty people failed due to losing the balance as they were trying to rush..
With the Hishouchu itself, those who completed Danchigaibou too slow would ultimately be unable to catch-up to the pillar and would be either forced to jump into the water or disqualified. In addition, even if competitors reached the obstacle fast enough, the previous errors committed by some competitors in KUNOICHI 6 has remained, as some still failed it by not grabbing the pillar correctly, or by touching the water by releasing too early or too late.
Despite it's difficulty, it was removed for the next tournament, due to the new format.
Outside KUNOICHI[]
While the obstacle never appeared anywhere outside KUNOICHI, the concept of having competitors to chase an obstacle by attempting the preceding obstacle has been adopted on American Ninja Warrior 13 with the appearance of the Dipping Birds and The High Road in Stage One.
Later, the concept of having competitors press a button to trigger the mechanism of the obstacle has been adopted on SASUKE 42 with the appearance of the Screwdriver.
Competitors' Success Rate[]
| KUNIOCHI | Clears | Attempts | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 63 | 77 | 81.81% |
| 7 | 25 | 32 | 78.12% |
| Total | 88 | 109 | 80.73% |