The is an event at the annual festival held in

Naha, Okinawa is the capital city of Okinawa Prefecture, the southernmost prefecture of Japan. As of 1 June 2019, the city has an estimated population of 317,405 and a population density of 7,939 persons per km2 (20,562 persons per sq. mi.). The total area is ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. Its roots may be traced back to the 17th century. Held on

Route 58 The following highways are numbered 58: International * European route E58 Australia * Riverina Highway Canada * Alberta Highway 58 * Highway 58 (Ontario) * Saskatchewan Highway 58 Finland * Finnish national road 58 India * National Highway ...

, it is a battle between the East and West teams. The event draws some 275,000 attendees annually, and is preceded on the prior day with a parade celebration on Kokusai Street (also in Naha). In 1997 the event was first logged in the

Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

as being the largest

tug-of-war Tug of war (also known as tug o' war, tug war, rope war, rope pulling, or tugging war) is a sport that pits two teams against each other in a test of strength: teams pull on opposite ends of a rope, with the goal being to bring the rope a certa ...

event in the world. The rope weighs about 40

metric tons The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United States ...

. The event was discontinued in 1935, and disrupted by the

Battle of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by United States Army (USA) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) forces against the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). The initial invasion of ...

, but was revived in its traditional form in 1971 to celebrate the recovery from the war and to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the organization of Naha. The festival begins with men dressed in traditional Okinawan dress standing on the rope facing in opposite directions to symbolize the battle between East and West. A myriad of performances take place along the rope's length, from martial artists of varying ages, to older women performing a sort of fan-dance. It is an international event with Japanese nationals, American military, and tourists in attendance. Just before the start of the match a man dressed in the dress of the Ryūkyūan kings stands on a wooden platform hoisted in the air on the shoulders of men standing on opposite sides of the rope. The "king" is carried on this platform down the length of the rope, before the festival starts, and the two kings perform a ritual sword contest. The main rope, over in diameter, has many smaller diameter, but very long ropes extending from it, and the participants pull these during the contest. The contest lasts 30 minutes and the challenge is to pull the other team a total of 5 meters. If neither side pulls the other the 5 meters, whichever side has pulled the other the furthest wins. After the 30-minute time limit expires, one side is declared the victors, and they are allowed to climb on top of their rope to celebrate. It is customary for participants to cut apart the rope, and take a length of it as a token, and so throngs of people using tools ranging from their pocket knives, scissors and hacksaws set on the rope, cutting lengths of it to commemorate the festival. File:Naha tug o war Ryuku Royalty.JPG File:Naha Rope 001.jpg File:Naha Rope 002.jpg File:Naha Matsuri Giant tug rope.jpg

External links

Naha Giant Tug-Of-War Display - History and Pictures
{{DEFAULTSORT:Naha Tug-Of-War Festivals in Japan Festivals in Okinawa Prefecture

Further reading

External links