This past Sunday was the Naha Tug of War. Naha is a city just south of our base, and every year in October, they host a huge parade and tug of war with the biggest rope I ever hope to see. The rope is probably three feet high and has several cords that are loosened on all sides, for people to grab as they pull. It has set records for the largest tug-of-war, with tens of thousands participating.
Matt and I were anxious to go, but as is *sometimes* the case, we had a few protesters along.
Exhibits A and B.
We were limited on time, as Matt had a service at the chapel in the late afternoon, but we ventured out anyway, hoping to enjoy Kokosai Street, the parade, and a view of the rope.
We tackled the ever-challenging parking issue and found a great place at the north end of Kokosai street, where we hoped we could get out a back street in time to get to church. We were told that many of the parking lots get extremely expensive during the weekend of the tug-of-war, so we were pleasantly surprised when our parking total was only ¥300- around $4 for a couple hours. We unloaded and began walking down Kokosai Street, where the parade entrants were all lining up, a marching band was practicing, and some martial arts groups were stretching out pre-parade.
Kokosai Street is a busy area in southern Okinawa with tons of stores, restaurants, and markets—a sight to see even without the parade. The parade added a host of drumming, gonging, whistling, and firecracker popping. We wandered up and down the street, ducking into shops that looked promising (Hello Kitty for the girls, snake displays for the boys). I would like to go back when we have more time to wander through the shops and try some of the food.
Here is a short video of the experience—if you play it extremely loud and hit repeat forty-nine times, you’ll get a good idea of the sounds of the parade. [youtube=http://youtu.be/WKdXucsoDz0]
(Side note for Paysonites: Do you remember when Ms. Gonzales was the elementary band director, and she ALWAYS had that one percussion piece, the “Drums of Hiawatha,” which sounded like a drum dirge? She would have wept with joy at this parade—it was “Hiawatha” on repeat for more than an hour).
The highlight for me was watching the firecracker men and the flag pole in each group. One man carried a firecracker popping torch thing that was loaded with pop-cap-like crackers. He would light them and then hold the torch to the ground while we all covered our ears. Most of the participants were very somber and restrained in their expressions, but I could tell the firecracker guys were having fun. (In the pic they are reloading the box– notice they are wearing ear plugs?)
The flag poles had elaborate decorations on the top, and usually one man carried the pole at a time, dancing and bobbing with the drums and gongs. Then, the other men with sticks would help as they passed the pole to the next carrier. I only saw one drop, and it was caught so quickly with the other sticks that the bottom of the pole barely touched the ground before it was aloft again. In these pictures, they are lowering the poles on purpose to clear power lines.
It was a great afternoon—I was sad we missed the tug-of-war, but since I don’t do well in crushing crowds, it is probably for the best that we had to duck out early.