February 12, 2025
TOKYO – A superhero team that pioneered the genre of masked heroes promoting the local community is celebrating its 25th year of production.
The three-member team Rito Shentai (Island Soldiers) Tanegashiman was formed in 1999 to promote Tanegashima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture. They have made over 300 appearances on the island and elsewhere to showcase the area’s attractiveness.
The members enthusiastically said they wanted to keep working so more people could become interested in the island.
‘Let’s create our own heroes’
“I never forgive you for messing with the sugar cane festival,” Tanega Red shouted while protecting the spectators from the enemies led by Suwaburin, whose name uses the island’s local dialect and means to lick or suck.
It was late November last year, and a Tanegashiman show was taking place at an event for a sugar production company in Nakatane, Kagoshima Prefecture.
Red asked the other two members, Blue and Yellow, to help him fight, but they declined, explaining that they were busy with preparing to harvest sugar cane, a local specialty on the island.
Red was in a tough spot, but the children in the audience cheered him on. Through their encouragement, the hero succeeded in defeating the villains.
Tanegashiman shows are stage-managed by about 20 members of the Tanegashima Action Club (TAC), a local organization focused on revitalizing the community. TAC was established in 1995 to create entertaining things for the island residents.
When the members discussed what would be best in creating more fun things for the events geared toward children, one member who moved from outside the island proposed superhero shows.
At the time, superhero TV shows, such as the Kamen Rider and Super Sentai series were popular among children on the island.
That year, TAC asked a promotion service company in Nishinoomote, a city on the island, to help hold an event. It turned out to be very successful.
The success of the show pushed the members to think, “Let’s create our own original heroes.”
An enthusiast of the superhero genre who lived outside the island taught them how to make helmet masks, while TAC members who had experience in performing in plays and action scenes at local events wore the costumes.
Rito Shentai Tanegashiman debuted at a summer festival in August 1999. Since then, most of the core TAC members have not changed as they continue their work.
Power comes from cheering
The Tanegashiman superheroes each represent a different city or town on the island: Nishinoomote, Nakatane and Minamitane. They fight against a mysterious evil organization called the Jaasuro Teikoku (Jaasuro Empire), which aims to conquer the island.
Because the evil organization handles everything with violence, the name comes from a word in the local dialect that means to beat or bully.
“Initially, we acted half-jokingly,” said Takahiro Inago, 52, who plays the Red Tanegashiman. “People rooted more for the villains than us,” he added, recalling the early years.
A national TV program featured the project in March 2000, and the cheers for Tanegashiman became louder.
“Immediately after putting on the outfit, my acquaintances cheered me on as a hero,” Inago said “To this day, it’s still a strange sensation.”
Show includes famous spots
TAC members put a lot of efforts to create various characters and scenarios for the shows. They never forget to include tourist spots and other famous locations on the island in the shows so that as many people as possible will visit Tanegashima.
Some spots include Otatsumetatsu no Iwa, a giant rock that juts out of a beach, and Sendan no Mine no Taki falls, which is the largest waterfall on the island.
TAC has also posted clips of its members’ work on the video-sharing site YouTube.
The villains speak in the local dialect so children can become familiar with it. For example, “sa,” “su” and “so” are pronounced “sha,” “shu” “sho,” respectively.
Perhaps because of that familiarity, the villains are more popular among adult spectators and are especially warmly welcomed in elderly care facilities.
“After we perform in places such as kindergartens, we receive letters from the children, saying, ‘Thank you,’” said Takuya Kamada, 54, who oversees the show’s acoustics. “We can continue [making the show] because everybody feels happy.”
The show has gone on for over 25 years. Those who were children when the superheroes debuted now watch as parents with their children.
“They are heroes who protect our home island in the past and the present,” said Yuta Kukihara, a 29-year-old company employee in Nishinoomote who watched a show with his 3-year-old daughter. He elaborated on the appeal of Tanegashiman, saying, “I can learn about industries on this island that I wasn’t aware of before.”
TAC members said that the source of power for Tanegashiman is the islanders’ love for their home communities.
“Our next goal is to let three generations of people see and enjoy our shows,” said Katsutoshi Takaiso, 57, head of TAC.
The local superheroes will continue to harness their fighting spirit to showcase Tanegashima Island.