“We brought all our pillows from home and trained in a community hall,” explains the 23-year-old economics student and dedicated pillow fighter.
Sugimoto and his friends from Osaka are competing as the “Fearless Pillow Squad.” Their battlefield is a sports hall in Ito, a coastal resort that’s about 90 minutes by train to the south from Tokyo.
To boost tourism, the local government has promoted the clashes with fluffy cushions as a full-fledged sports tournament, with trained referees and its own formidable set of rules governing the game.
While the rest of the world in February watched the final weekend of the Winter Olympics in neighbouring South Korea, around 500 people converged on Ito for the sixth national pillow fight competition.
Teams of six to eight members square off on tatami rush mats measuring 4.5 by 7.2 metres, as stipulated in the six-page rulebook.
Despite low winter temperatures, the players wear thin yukata gowns, the cotton summer version of the kimono.
Dressed equally well for battle or the bathhouse, the pillow fighters, led by their taisho, or general, lie on soft futons with fluffy duvets and await their matches. The referee’s voice booms through the loudspeaker, and everyone jumps to their feet.
“It’s all about hitting the opponents with the pillows,” says Sugimoto. “You have to think tactically, positioning is important.”
Each match consists of three two-minute rounds, and a player is out if he or she gets hit. Defensively minded players use duvets to ward off incoming pillows. The team with the most players still in the game at the end has won. A draw is decided by teams taking turns to throw pillows, similar to a penalty shoot-out in football.
Without more ado, pillows start flying through the hall, accompanied by the roaring of spectators and other teams.
“For us, this is not just a fun way to reduce stress. There is also some nostalgia about it, because it reminds us of the sports events that we had at school,” says Sugimoto.
The idea for the competition first came from a local high school student. “Interest has grown steadily since then,” says Tomonobu Ida of the local tourism administration.
Around 900 men, women and children registered for this year’s event, of whom 500 were selected by lottery.
Some travelled to Ito from Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido, others came from the southern city of Nagasaki.
According to a press release for the 2018 tournament, the number of teams competing has grown over the last five years, from 18 in 2013, to 48 general teams and 9 children’s teams in the sixth tournament.
The 2018 tournament was won by a team from Tokyo’s neighbouring Chiba province, scooping up both glory and prize money of 100,000 yen (950 dollars).
Sugimoto’s Fearless Pillow Squad didn’t triumph this year. But just being there is everything for the team members – kind of like the Olympics, only possibly more fun. And they’ll be back in 2019. – DPA

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