86 GOING HEAD TO HEAD

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SUCTION CUP HEAD-TO-HEAD TUG OF WAR

The Japanese town of Tsuruta is famous for hosting a unique annual competition – a popular game of tug of war in which bald men attach suction cups to their heads and pull in opposite directions.

The Covid pandeic threw a wrench into all aspects of Japanese society, but it is fair to say that social gatherings and events were among the most impacted. Tsuruta, a town in Japan’s Aomori Prefecture, recently held its annual “Suction Cup Tug of War” tournament for the first time in three years, and it was just as much fun as people remembered. Thought up by the Tsuruta Hagemasu Association as a way of placing a positive light on baldness, suction cup tug-of-war is an enjoyable game in which two people sitting opposite from each other attach suction cups to their heads, connected with a string, and pull. The person whose suction cup detaches first loses.

Operating with the motto ‘”The light of baldness is the light of peace, illuminating the dark world brightly,” the Tsuruta Hagemasu Association has been trying to place a positive light on a condition that men have been dealing with for thousands of years.

Baldness can cause some men to lose self-esteem, go into depression, or develop anxiety, but Hagemasu wants its members to know that they can brighten the world with their baldness through a positive attitude.

Ever since the Association was founded in 1989, suction cup tug-of-war tournaments have been held annually in Tsuruta. At one point, the game became so popular that the annual event was renamed the National Sucker Tug-of-War Tournament and saw participants from all over Japan. Unfortunately, the pandemic forced the event on hiatus for three years, but in February this year, the bald men’s sport returned to Tsuruta.

A Mr. Ota won the National Sucker Tug-of-War Tournament for the third consecutive time, making him one of the most successful participants in the history of the sport. H

He does have a rather flat crown of the head, which may be his advantage. But, there are other tricks participants sometimes use, like polishing their heads or slightly altering the force with which they pull in order to force an opponent’s mistake.

Suction cup tug-of-war can be played by men and women with hair, who attach the suction cups to their foreheads, but it is obvious why baldies dominate the sport. The smoother and flatter the surface, the better the suction.

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