httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5gkj_XcBmI

Traditionally in Japan, oshogatsu is when families gather and celebrate the passage of the old year into the new one. Various customs are honored without fail, but when all is said and done and eaten, one of the biggest recent-day traditions involves the clan coming together in front of the TV.

A large chunk of this tube-watching is focused on the cult of celebrity, from the spangled jamboree of  "Kōhaku Uta Gassen (Red and White Song Battle)" on New Year's Eve to the dozens of shows featuring comedians and starlets answering quizes, running marathons, visiting exotic places and so on. For this reason alone, "Kinchan & Katori Shingo no Zen-nihon Kasō Taishō" stands out from the crowd as a tribute to the common man. Broadcast on Nippon Television since 1979 (at its peak, three times a year; now only around New Year's and in spring), the contest salutes the passion of amateurs.