Читать книгу Tales of Okinawa's Great Masters онлайн

33 страница из 66

The shitaku (costume) for the east was designed after the historical boy samurai Ushiwakamaru (actually Minamoto Yoshitsune’s childhood name), while the shitaku worn by the west represented Benkei (a subordinate of Yoshitsune’s who dressed like a monk). With a first swing of the flag, the tug of war commenced and the ringing of the bells and drums became intense. After a superb kanuchibo demonstration, the participants gathered around the rope to engage each other. The grunts and shouts of physical exertion filtered through the music and commotion as an excited throng of spectators swarmed the venue. Yet, in the end, the game belonged to the east. Makabe’s team had emerged victorious.

The tug of war as shown in the Ryukyu Ihoshi.

As was the custom, the first and second flagsmen led the winner’s side around while the champions rang the bells, beat the drums, screamed feverishly in triumph, and danced around in high spirits. Regulation demanded that the losing team should quietly place the head of their flag on the ground and retreat in defeat.