Shiratori Bunpei

Shiratori Bunpei
Shiratori, SASUKE 30
Biographical Info
Born	September 13, 1967 (1967-09-13)
Home	Inba, Chiba Prefecture, Japan
Job	Health & Services civil employee
Height	176 cm
Weight	65 kg
SASUKE Competitions
First	SASUKE 9
Last	SASUKE 30
Total	12 Competitions
Best	SASUKE 12, Final Stage, Tsuna Nobori
Website	Facebook

Shiratori Bunpei (白鳥 文平) is a civic employee in his home village of Inba, Chiba Prefecture in the Health and Services department. He is a SASUKE All-Star and former triple jumper. He is also known for building over 14 replica SASUKE obstacles in his backyard. Competitors have visited his home to train on what is sometimes called the 'Shiratori Shrine'.

Debut and Early Success

In the 9th tournament, his debut, Shiratori impressed many by clearing the Jump Hang by using only one foot on the trampoline. Though he ultimately timed out on the Soritatsu Kabe, he left a strong impression. Shiratori did not compete in the 10th tournament, but in his next attempt, the 11th tournament, he cleared the First Stage. He would time out at the Wall Lifting in the Second Stage.

Shiratori's potential was not truly shown until SASUKE 12, where he advanced to the Third Stage without any problem whatsoever. Though at one point, his grip slipped on the Lamp Grasper, he recovered and made his way through the Cliffhanger and Pipe Slider at an incredible speed. Landing the Pipe Slider jump perfectly as well, he cleared the Third Stage on his first attempt, a feat only achieved since then by Urushihara Yuuji in SASUKE 22, Hashimoto Koji in SASUKE 24, Matachi Ryo in SASUKE 27, and Kawaguchi Tomohiro in SASUKE 30. Ultimately, he timed out on the Tsuna Nobori in the Final Stage.

His success was recognized in SASUKE 13, where he was given #99. Shiratori once again made his way to the Pipe Slider in the Third Stage, but mistimed his jump/dismount, and fell into the water below. However, this did prove that his performance in the previous tournament was not a fluke, and after this tournament he was named as an All-Star.

As an All-Star

In SASUKE 14, though he cleared the First Stage with time to spare, he fell painfully on the Balance Tank in the Second Stage. Afterward, in an interview, Shiratori speculated that his fall was due to the fact that he had gotten too used to the obstacles, and was not paying enough attention.

In SASUKE 15, due to temperatures upward of 34 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit), Shiratori fell prey to heat exhaustion. For a while, it was uncertain whether he would be able to compete. As his number approached, he was still being treated, and Yamamoto Shingo, who was next in line, went before him. After the other 99 competitors went, Shiratori was ready to compete and managed to clear not only the First Stage, but the Second Stage as well. He advanced all the way to the Climbing Bars in the Third Stage before falling, apparently too exhausted to continue. His result in this tournament was second only to Takeda Toshihiro's, who advanced to the Devil Balanço.

In SASUKE 16, he once again made it to the Third Stage, where he was the first to use the one-handed approach on the Devil Balanço, building up momentum on the green resting bar before transferring to the first orange bar and easily making it to the pipe. Though he was once again unable to clear the Pipe Slider jump, his approach to the Devil Balanço paved the way for an 100% success rate on the obstacle in the next tournament. However, he fell early on the Body Prop in the Third Stage in SASUKE 17.

Shin-Sasuke

In SASUKE 18, after the renewal, though Shiratori was viewed as one of the most likely to do well on the course, he slipped on the Spider Walk portion of the Jumping Spider and fell into the water. This was his first First Stage failure since his debut. SASUKE 19 was to be a battle with stamina; he failed the Soritatsu Kabe (now 20 cm higher) multiple times, and though he finally cleared it, he timed out on the Flying Chute.

In SASUKE 21, though he still suffered from back pains, he was able to clear the First Stage (though afterward he seemed exhausted). However, he lost his balance on the Downhill Jump in the Second Stage, and fell into the water below.

Shiratori missed SASUKE 20 with a back injury and SASUKE 22 with a knee injury; however, before SASUKE 22, he helped train Satô Hiromichi on his version of the Soritatsu Kabe, which Satô passed in the tournament. He was present during SASUKE 24 and stood on the sidelines with other All-Stars, but did not compete due to his injuries from which he was still recovering. He is still said to suffer from chronic back and knee pains. In early May 2014, it was announced that Shiratori would return for SASUKE 30 after a 9-tournament absence. Wearing #2997, he failed the Jump Hang Kai due to mis-hitting the trampoline. He used his one-foot leap technique on the trampoline, but it proved to not be enough. On the replay, it was also shown that his foot tripped over the trampoline while jumping.

After SASUKE 30, he officially retired due to aging and injuries; however, it is possible that he may return for later tournaments.

He and Akiyama Kazuhiko were present during SASUKE 32 to watch and support their fellow All-Stars, especially Nagano Makoto in his last run.

Trivia

• He and Akiyama Kazuhiko are the only All-Stars never to have failed the Cliffhanger obstacle.
• Shiratori is the only competitor to fail the Climbing Bars.
• Counting Akiyama Kazuhiko's kanzenseiha as a Last Man Standing performance, Shiratori is the only All-Star to have never been Last Man Standing.
• While he is the only All-Star to never fail the original version of the Jump Hang, He is the only All-Star to fail the Jump Hang Kai
• He is the only All-Star to have only ever attempted one version of the Cliffhanger (Version 3).
• Shiratori is the only person to wear #'s 81, 82 and 83.
• After SASUKE 21, Shiratori was the oldest man to have competed in the Final Stage (age 36) and Third Stage (age 39). Both are now held by Okuyama Yoshiyuki, reaching the Final Stage at 39 in SASUKE 24 and the Third Stage at 41 in SASUKE 27.
• Shiratori is the second-oldest All-Star.
• Shiratori holds the highest clear ratio for the First Stage out of the All-Stars, at an estimated 67% (8 out of 12 attempts) and just behind him Takeda Toshihiro who has 63% (19 out of 30 attempts).
• He is only of the All-Stars to never attempt Gorren Hammer, Arm Bike or Rolling Escargot.
• He and Nagano Makoto are the only All-Stars to never attempt the Propeller Untei.
• He and Nagano Makoto are the only competitors to fail the Downhill Jump.
• He, Takeda Toshihiro and Nagano Makoto are the only All-Stars to clear stage 1 and attempt stage 2 in their 40s, Shiratori at SASUKE 21 (41 years old), Takeda at SASUKE 33 (41 years old) and Nagano at SASUKE 30 (42 years old)
• He and Takeda Toshihiro has lowest string of first stage fail with 2.

Gallery

Shiratori attempting the Pipe Slider.

Shiratori attempting the Jumping Spider, Sasuke 21

Results

SASUKE	#	Result	Notes
9	79	Failed Soritatsu Kabe (First Stage)	Time Out. Digest.
11	66	Failed Wall Lifting (Second Stage)	Time Out. Second Wall.
12	77	Failed Tsuna Nobori (Final Stage)	Time Out. About 21m up.
13	99	Failed Pipe Slider (Third Stage)	Failed Jump.
14	96	Failed Balance Tank (Second Stage)
15	94	Failed Climbing Bars (Third Stage)	Went last in the First Stage due to heat exhaustion.
16	96	Failed Pipe Slider (Third Stage)	Failed Jump.
17	81	Failed Body Prop (Third Stage)
18	95	Failed Jumping Spider (First Stage)	Failed Spider Walking Portion.
19	82	Failed Flying Chute (First Stage)	Time Out.
21	83	Failed Downhill Jump (Second Stage)	Lost Balance.
30	2997	Failed Jump Hang Kai (First Stage)	Missed the trampoline.