Telling the EKIDEN : narrative in newspaper accounts of the 51st Around The Kyushu Ekiden

Abstract

The objective of this study was to treat media texts on sports as narratives, and then analyze their structure. In order to do so, a content analysis was performed on articles appearing in The Nishinippon Shimbun reporting the 51st Around The Kyushu Ekiden (long-distance relay race) held from November 1st to 10^<th>, 2002. It was confirmed that in these articles, various narratives appeared, such as "Competition Between Teams", "Competition Between Individuals, or Heroes' Achievements", "The Character of Kyushu", "Family Relationships", "Revival", "Revenge", "Love of Home Town", "The Relationship Between Generations", "Gratitude To One's Teammates", "The Tradition of Around The Kyushu Ekiden", and so on. The Around The Kyushu Ekiden narratives according to the media are structured so that the central story "Competition Between Teams" is connected with various sub-plots concerning competition, such as "Competition Between Individuals, or Heroes' Achievements", thus further asserting its position as part of other plots. In conclusion, it may be thought that the Around The Kyushu Ekiden narratives are structured to maximize the diversity of narration, or alternatively that a limit is placed on this diversity, or that such diversity can be added to a limited narration.