World's Largest Tug-of-War

---

This weekend was a double holiday for us - Columbus Day (which all of the federal government, including the military, celebrates) and Sports Day (a Japanese holiday). We were looking for something to do, and the giant tug-of-war going on down in Naha seemed like the perfect thing to do.

The Naha tug-of-war has been going on for the last forty years as part of the Sports Day celebrations. The tradition seems to have started in the 17th century, but it didn't make it into the Guinness Book of World Records until 1997. I doubt anyone will kick it out of the record book, either. The rope is absolutely enormous - about 90,000lbs, over 3 feet in diameter, and over 600 feet long. It takes up several blocks of highway 58 (which, rather inconveniently, is basically the ONLY main road on the island) and stands higher than many cars. There are hundreds of smaller ropes coming off the main rope to help the participants. Apparently there must be at least 15,000 tuggers in order to pull the rope. We figured it was our duty as temporary Okinawan residents to join the masses.

We arrived in Naha (the capital city) early before they shut down 58. This gave us plenty of time to explore Kokusai Street, which is my new favorite part of the island. It's a street full of little shops all basically selling the same touristy things, but they're crazy Japanese touristy things. I think I might just buy everyone purple sweet potato-flavored penis-shaped cookies for Christmas. Saturday morning, however, they had closed down the street for the Hatagashira parade. Different neighborhoods and cities bring along a whole crew, consisting of men balancing huge poles (over 20ft high) on bunched up fabric around their waists, girls dressed in blue robes blowing conch shells, and kids carrying flags, playing drums and cymbals and doing karate. After some ice cream (purple sweet potato flavor, naturally) and the obligatory Hello Kitty purchases, we pushed our way into the crowds and got ready for the tug-of-war.

They told us it would start at 3pm, but in typically Okinawan fashion, things only sort of appeared to start about 3. Everyone who wanted to pull shoved their way into the street to get as close to the rope as possible. Then the "organizers" (I'm using the term VERY loosely) then told us to move one way, then another, then both ways as the same time, so we were shoved in very tightly. Fortunately it was mostly overcast that day and everyone was in high spirits because it could have gotten very ugly (and smelly) very fast. They paraded the giant poles past us again, and several wobbled very close to us, though they managed to save them just in time. Some Japanese guys in traditional outfits climbed up on top of the rope, and we soon realized they were essentially the hall monitors of this tug of war. They yelled at us when we got too close to the rope, they yelled at us for touching the rope, etc. Finally, they doled out smaller ropes so we could all pull, made us practice the chant (it sounded sort of like "hi-ya!" and was supposed to help us pull together), and then had us drag the rope in the opposite direction. Turns out the rope had been separated in the middle to allow traffic through the intersection for the few days it was hanging out on the road. We had to drag the two halves together so they could shove a giant wooden pin through the loops. Dragging the rope those 30-odd feet was a bit tiring, but there was no resistance (other than the 20-some tons of rope).

Once the ropes were connected, two kings (one from the East, one from the West) came out wearing traditional outfits. They had a fake sword fight...not even remotely realistic, but I guess it doesn't matter because it's always a draw. Then a giant gold ball hanging above the intersection exploded and streamers and balloons went everywhere. Clearly this was the sign to start, so we started yelling "hi-ya!" and following the rope nazi's instructions. I'm sure the instructions would have been very clear if they hadn't been in Japanese. We ended up getting so squished together that it was virtually impossible to move, pull, or do anything. We held on to the rope for dear life and prayed we wouldn't get trampled.

The competition lasts thirty minutes or until one side moves the rope 15 meters. They called the competition after about three minutes, and not a moment too soon. We were all exhausted and falling all over each other. They said our side won (yay!) though we all know that could not possibly true. If the East Side wins, it means one thing, and another thing if the West Side wins. My bet is it's all a conspiracy and they just trade off who wins each year so everyone feels special.

Afterwards, people jump up on the rope and dance while others cut off pieces of the rope. It's supposed to bring good luck for the next year, so we hacked off a piece for ourselves as well.

In other news, I made Chris go on his first hike ever. I had a great time, and from the swearing and muttering under his breath, I think he had a wonderful time as well. Also, I've included some photos from last month's Air Force ball that I forget to include before.

(Ed.: The swearing and muttering under my breath wasn't a constant thing! Only when the trail turned into single-step only, plus mud, which caused me to slip and scamper around for dear life. But that wasn't the majority of the trip. And I told Kate that I'd be willing to brave Nature again, maybe in a month or two: as long as it's not a constant thing, I think I'm okay with it. Considering we were both assaulted repeatedly by mosquitoes and my running shoes are now stained a permanent brown, I think that's eminently fair. I will adjust... and it's true, I'm quite proud we managed to hike the hour it took to climb the nameless mountain/hill near Onna Village.)

The flights for our honeymoon are officially booked, so starting November 1st (19 days!) we'll be heading off to Singapore, Malaysian Borneo (orangutans!), Brunei Darussalam, and Kuala Lumpur.

---

Comments

[Karin]

Life with Kate
Oh Chris, The fun has just begun for you not that Kate is your soul mate. There will never be a dull moment.

[Karin]

Kate, remember baby steps. You don't want to scare Chris away.