The Great Tug-of-War!

On Sunday afternoon, I went with some friends down to Naha for the Tug-of-War Festival! And although it's a very interesting event, I'm just going to copy and paste the local news story about it to avoid messing up the actual facts :)

Take a 44-ton rope and wrap 25,000 pair of hands around it, and what happens? Answer: A tug-of-war Sunday afternoon that will attract tens of thousands of spectators wanting to see if the Guinness Book of World Records feat can be topped. The event takes place at Kumoji Crossing in downtown Naha, the centerpiece of the 38th annual Ryukyu Kingdom Festival Tsunahiki. For many who make the annual trek to the tug-of-war, the event is simply the Naha Festival tug-of-war.

This tug-of-war has been ongoing since 1600, when the Ryukyu Kingdom was in its prime, a festival for farmers in the countryside to give thanks for plentiful harvests, and for city dwellers to do likewise for successful international trade. After nearly four centuries of festivities, the tug-of-war was stopped in 1935, then revived by Naha City in 1971 to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Since then, it’s never stopped.

The great tug-of-war grew each year, with the city in 1995 putting together a huge rope that qualified for the Guinness Book of World Records. Festival organizers made it bigger in 1997, and the record jumped. This weekend, they hope to do it again, as eight teams representing Okinawa’s east and another eight standing for the west will lead the tug-of-war. The war pits the east against the west, the two 300-foot-long sections of rope being brought together and pinned with a massive 10-foot wooden peg. Kings symbolizing the supremacy of the two dynasties in Naha centuries ago approach each other atop the rope, each with their royal courts, and issue challenges to one another.

Cries of ‘yoishi’, ‘O Shoi’ and ‘Hai-ya’, meaning heave ho or pull harder, fill the air, motivating stronger efforts from participants. Once the tug-of-war is ended, with or without a winner, it’s all friendship. The best record was in 2004, when the west, in a lightning fast move, hauled the rope the five meters in only six minutes-26 seconds, a new record. Knives come out as everybody begins to relax, cutting away pieces of the tug ropes for souvenirs (to bring good luck for the year).

In the above picture of Cindi and me standing on the rope, I obviously forgot that making the peace sign in photos is the "cool thing" to do here in Okinawa, haha. I was just happy that I got my piece of the rope! And below is a video I took of the "actual" tug-of-war. Our side won!

For more photos of the tug-of war, go to....
http://www.flickr.com/photos/27905094@N06/sets/72157607956112706/