Showa History Sports Heroes LaserDisc SS098-6029 NHK Japan Sumo Baseball Wrestli

Title

昭和史 スポーツ ヒーローたちの群像 / Showa History: Sports — Portrait of Heroes

Label / Publisher

NHK Service Center (NHKサービスセンター) / Laserdisc Corporation (レーザーディスク株式会社) / Distributed by Pioneer Electronic Corporation

Catalog Number

SS098-6029

Format

LaserDisc (CAV) — 12-inch, single disc, 2 sides

Region / Compatibility

NTSC — Japanese pressing. Playable on any NTSC-compatible or multi-system LaserDisc player. No region lock on LaserDisc format.

Year

1987 (©1987 NHK Service Center)

Runtime

Approximately 60 minutes (2 sides)

Audio

Multi Audio (多重音声) / Mono-bilingual color

Original Price at Publication

¥9,800

Supervised by

伊藤隆 (Ito Takashi), Professor, Tokyo University

Content

This is Volume 6 of the NHK 昭和史 (Showa History) LaserDisc documentary series — a prestigious historical archive production co-produced with the Asahi Shimbun and supervised by Tokyo University. This volume focuses on sports heroes of the Showa era (roughly 1926–1989), documenting Japan's greatest athletic figures and moments through rare NHK archival footage, photographs, and newsreel material.

The back jacket lists an extraordinary roster of featured athletes across multiple sports spanning the entire Showa era. Key figures and subjects include:

Baseball: 宮武三郎 (Miyatake Saburo), 水原茂 (Mizuhara Shigeru), 沢村栄治 (Sawamura Eiji — the legendary pitcher for whom the Sawamura Award is named), Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Lefty Grove (documenting the famous 1934 American All-Stars tour of Japan), 稲尾和久 (Inao Kazuhisa), 長嶋茂雄 (Nagashima Shigeo), 金田正一 (Kaneda Masaichi), 王貞治 (Oh Sadaharu), 落合博満 (Ochiai Hiromitsu)

Sumo: 出羽ヶ嶽 (Dewagadake), 玉錦 (Tamamishiki), 双葉山 (Futabayama — considered the greatest yokozuna in sumo history), 五ッ嶋 (Itsutushima), 安芸ノ海 (Akinoumi), 栃錦 (Tochinishiki), 若乃花 (Wakanohana), 柏戸 (Kashiwado), 大鵬 (Taiho), 北の湖 (Kitanoumi)

Track & Field / Olympics: 西田修平 (Nishida Shuhei), 南部忠平 (Nanbu Chuhei), 吉岡隆徳 (Yoshioka Takanori), Abebe Bikila (1964 Tokyo Olympics marathon), 円谷幸吉 (Tsuburaya Kokichi)

Swimming: 鶴田義行 (Tsuruta Yoshiyuki), 古橋広之進 (Furuhashi Hironoshin — "Flying Fish of Fujiyama"), 田島直人 (Tajima Naoto)

Wrestling/Judo: 力道山 (Rikidozan — the father of Japanese professional wrestling), 木村政彦 (Kimura Masahiko — legendary judoka), Anton Geesink, 神永昭夫 (Kaminaga Akio), 渡辺長武 (Watanabe Osamu)

Boxing: 白井義男 (Shirai Yoshio — Japan's first world boxing champion), Dado Marino, ファイティング原田 (Fighting Harada), Edér Jofre

Cycling/Mountaineering/Other: 堀江謙一 (Horie Kenichi — first solo Pacific crossing), マナスル登山隊 (Manaslu Expedition team), 植村直己 (Uemura Naomi — polar explorer), 瀬古利彦 (Seko Toshihiko — marathon), 青木功 (Aoki Isao — golf), 岡本綾子 (Okamoto Ayako — golf), 中野浩一 (Nakano Koichi — cycling world champion)

Gymnastics: 日本男子体操チーム (Japan Men's Gymnastics Team), 笹原正三, 遠藤幸雄 (Endo Yukio)

Volleyball: 日本女子バレーボールチーム (Japan Women's Volleyball Team — 1964 Tokyo Olympics gold medalists), 大松博文 (Daimatsu Hirobumi — coach)

Jacket photography by 桑原甲子雄 (Kuwabara Kineo). Jacket design by 平野甲賀 (Hirano Kouga).

Inserts

Two original inserts present:

昭和史 series catalog/insert sheet — double-sided, listing all 10 volumes in the Showa History series with descriptions and release dates (Showa 61–62 / 1986–87). Includes a 交換券 No. 4 (exchange coupon #4) for a special 別冊・昭和史 (supplementary Showa History index volume) awarded to collectors who complete all 10 volumes. Coupon validity noted.

ユーザーズカード (owner registration postcard) — addressed to Laserdisc Corporation 昭和史 department, 目黒区. Appears unwritten/unused.

Condition

Case/jacket is in good condition. Disc is free of major scratches or flaws.