Two Tokyo Wards Will Move Their Border by Tug-of-War on 15 November

Taito and Sumida, the two Tokyo wards on either side of the Sumida River, are settling their border with a rope again. The third Sumida River Tsunashiki takes place on Sakura Bridge on Sunday 15 November, and whoever wins gets to shift the line a metre towards the other side.

It's unofficial, of course. The local news site Sumida Keizai Shimbun reports that the tournament started in 2024 to bring residents of the two wards together, and the rule about moving the border is part of the fun. Taito has won both previous years, so the tournament's version of the border already sits two metres into Sumida. The organisers' own map shows the official line and the two lines Taito has pushed it to since.

The name is a bit of local wordplay. Tug-of-war is tsunahiki in Japanese, but in old Edo speech an h sound often turns into an sh, so it becomes tsunashiki.

There are 13 matches planned, according to the report, with two children's bouts, ten adult matches and an all-star game picked from every team. Each match is best of three. Students from Iwakura High School's broadcasting club in Taito are commentating for the first time this year, and some teams were recruited from the public.

Watching is free. The opening ceremony is at 10:30, with matches running from 11:00 to 13:15, and afterwards there's a get-together on the Sumida side of the bridge that spectators can join too. If it rains, the whole thing moves to Koume Elementary School's gym.

Sumida at least gets to host the after-party, which is something.