A guide book for Tsunotsuki

1What is Tsunotsuki?
Tsunotsuki in Ojiya is different from bullfighting elsewhere. Bullfighting
overseas is often "matador-versus-bull" and what springs to mind for most people
is the kind of bull fighting in Spain. With matador, bull, cape and sword.
Tsunotsuki is "bull-versus-bull", and different in that we will not decide a winneror loser. Tsunotsuki avoids long and thorough/exhausting fights between bulls.
The bulls are drawn by handlers at an appropriate time. Usually after 5 or sominutes. Quite a different philosophy and approach to bullfighting from othercountries.

2Customs and history
Tsunotsuki in Ojiya had its beginnings in the Shinto religion, the thinking
guided more by worshiping at the shrine. It is said that a dreadful battle wasavoided because it was not a suitable dedication to the God who protects theland.
Ending Tsunotsuki in a draw also takes into account the thoughts of those whoraise and carefully handle the bulls. The bulls are their irreplaceable assets andviewed more as living companions and part of the family. The state of this draw
was written in the literature of the late Edo period, and its description andappearance is the same as it is now. The draw is one of the most important
traditions that people involved in Tsunotsuki have kept unchanged to the presentday. They say, "We are not bullfighting, but Tsunotsuki."
In addition, only Tsunotsuki is designated as an important, intangible folk
cultural asset of Japan. The remnants of ancient animal competitions arerecognized in various ways, as is seen in the manner in which a draw is given inTsunotsuki.

From Nansō Satomi Hakkenden written by Bakin Takizawa in 1842

3Tsunotsuki-Ushi
Many of the Tsunotsuki-Ushi (bulls) in Ojiya are male off-spring of the Nambubull (Japanese Shorthorn).Originally bred in Kuji city (formerly Yamagatavillage) in Iwate Prefecture. Their colors are red, roan or black. Weight ofTsunotsuki-Ushi is about 700 to 1100kg. Qualification for fighting is from 3 yearsof age.

Tsunotsuki-ushi bred from Nanbubulls (Japanese Shorthorn)

Selecting a Nanbu bull to be
Tsunotsuki-ushi

They are then transported from IwatePrefecture.

There is a custom to hold Umaya-ire
to celebrate the introduction of aTsunotsuki-ushi.

4Life with Tsunotsuki-Ushi
Ushi-mochi is the owner and raiser of a bull. Although they keep bulls, they are
not engaged in the livestock industry. Ushi-mochi are the same as ordinary
people, who keep and raise bulls as "part of the family", not as a business. Theyare quite different from most people in that they very much like looking after andraising bulls carefully and lovingly. Caring for bulls involves not only feeding in
the morning and the evening, but also walking and exercising, hair brushing,
nail care, mowing and so on. A person who is willing to do such work and is readyto devote his life to a bull is Ushi-mochi. Their life translates to "Bulls first".

Ushi-mochi take Tsunotsuki-Ushi for awalk.

Tsunotsuki-ushi are brought up by
eating hay.

Ushi-mochi washes their
Tsunotsuki-ushi.

5Deliberations and decisions of thematches
Matches are reviewed by representatives of each district before about five days of
the Tsunotsuki. Taking into account age, skill, physical condition, status, past
fighting, and needs of owners, matches are deliberated carefully and determined.
Matches are confirmed along with the applause from Tsunotsuki seko on
Tsunotsuki day.

Matches are always deliberated
seriously.

Representatives decide matches
using the wooden tags that havethe names of bulls.

Matches are officially confirmed
on Tsunotsuki day.

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Welcome audiences
On the day of Tsunotsuki, Tsunotsuki-ushi come together one after another to thebullring in the morning. At the same time, people in the local region work
together to prepare for spectators - such as stadium cleaning, checking seats, etc.

Local children help prepare thestadium.

Staff welcome you at the entrance
reception

Tsunotsuki bullring is purified
before matches with salt andsacred sake - a ritual handed
down from a Shinto ritual.

Local children can’t wait for
Tsunotsuki!

7Preparation before fightBefore a match, owners of the bull and supporters gather around the bull. Thebull must be purified by sacred sake. Then they will proudly enter the bullring.

Bull and beaters purify
themselves in the sacred sake.

The bull heads for the bullring
led by the owner.

They enter the bullring alongwith the shout of "Yoshita!"

Bull and Seko who enter earlier
wait for the opponent to enter.

8The start of Tsunotsuki
Once both bulls enter the bullring, they walk around in a clockwise direction.
Both seko cue each other to start. After confirming the cues, the seko start tounwind the Hanagi (halter) and Tsunotsuki will start!

Both bulls walk around in aclockwise direction after
entering the bullring.

After the seko cue each other,
Tsunotsuki will start.

It is a custom that the seko leadthe bull from the right side by
the Hanagi (halter).

Some bulls can run into thebullring from outside. It is
referred to as "Yamanugi".

9Technique and character
The bulls poke and hit the opponent’s face or head with their horns. Some bulls
are aggressive. They launch swift attacks as “victory goes to the one who makes
the first move”. Others are defensive. They wait for the opponent to get tired
paring blows with their neck, then fight back in the second half.

Attacking and defending by tilting
the body

Hooking - Hooking a placing onehorn under the opponent's horn

Pushing the nose up under theface of the opponent, and thenattacking quickly

Browbeating - threatening eachother before battle※There are a variety of techniques in addition to the above.

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Roles of seko
Both bulls exert their strength and it is said that the state that they are
equalized is the best. Therefore, if one bull is going to attack a little more and islikely to make the battle equal, the Seko will watch over the situation. On thecontrary, if both bulls continue fighting and the state of equality is likely tocollapse, then the Seko will draw them apart as soon as possible. Even if thedifference in strength of the bulls is clear, Seko will create a state of equality andsmoothly draw both bulls without missing that moment. Making an equal stateis the most important role of Seko.

With arms spread, the beaters
cheer the bulls up with the shoutof "Yoshita!”

The beater makes the bullwell-energized in a timely fashion.

A leader of the beaters instructs
the decision to draw. Then twobeaters give cue to each other,and hook ropes to the bulls’ legs.

The beaters of the owners grasp thebull’s noses and pull them away.

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After Tsunotsuki
After seko pull the bulls apart, they put a halter on them and put a ring, called
an Omozuna, on their face. They will exit walking around the bullring.

Even after the fight is finished, somebulls look daggers at an opponent.

Tsunotsuki ends successfully
and the owner feels relieved.

After the Tsunotsuki, the owners
give appreciation to their bulls.

They leave walking around in aclockwise direction.

Play-by-play and commentary to
liven up Tsunotsuki!

Tsunotsuki is fun once a monthfor local people.

12You can see our unique attractive treasure!
Mimamori-iwa (rock)
It is a symbol of the bullring. It
looks like Tsunotsuki-ushi! Feelhow big it is!

Joint barn
There is a joint barn for the owners
who cannot have Tsunotsuki-ushi athome. The Higashiyama
Elementary School has kept White
Gyutaro there.

Mokujiki Kannondo (prefecture
designated cultural asset)
Mokujiki Kannondo is work bywandering monk “monkjiki-shonin”
who lived in the late Edo era. Youcan see its gentle face.

Mt.Kanagurayama (the highest
peak at 581m near Ojiya city)
It also appeared in "Nansō Satomi
Hakkenden" by Bakin Takizawa,
who wrote in the late Edo era. We
can overlook the Echigo plain fromthere. Great view!

13Stalls and information - come and visit us!

Higashiyama mini omozuna

Kagura Nanban (hot pepper)

Selling Higashiyama traditional mini

Selling creative dishes and snacks ofomozuna (ring) and Tsunotsuki fork
art made from wood. They’re goodluck charms!

Kagura Nanban.

Hira-Chu

Kanagura Soba dojo

Selling Tsunotsuki goods such as
T-shirts and towels.

Try Soba (buckwheat noodles) madefrom local buckwheat!

Suehiro-ya

Sun Plaza shop

Liquor store in Higashiyama

You can buy original souvenirs fromOjiya.
14History of Tsunotsuki
A.D.

Japanese Eventcalendar
Around Anei 4
A monk “Ryokan” watched Tsunotsuki in Mushigame and read1775
the poem.
1820
Bunsei 3 An essayist “Bokushi Suzuki” watched Tsunotsuki inMushigame (March)
1852
Kaei 5Tsunotsuki was held in July in Edo
1888
Meiji 21 Tsunotsuki was held at Asakusa park in May in Tokyo
1893
Meiji 26 Niigata Governor temporarily permitted Tsunotsuki forcombat motivation exaltation at the Sino-Japanese War
1903
Meiji 36 By the issue of "Niigata Prefecture Ordinance No. 9 “Togyuregulation", Tsunotsuki is permitted to be held in February.
1936
Showa
Tsunotsuki was held in Koguriyama sponsored by Newspaper
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company “Hokuetsu Shinpo-sha” in July.
1945
Showa
Tsunotsuki was prohibited by the occupation policy from GQH.
20
1951
Showa
Yamakoshi Togyu Association was formed again in June.
26
Tsunotsuki was permitted to be held.
1954
ShowaHigashiyama village were merged with the Ojiya City in May
29
11.
1967
Showa
The number of Tsunotsuki-ushi in Higashiyama district was42
reduced down to 40. Tsunotsuki got paused after held in
Shiodani in May.
1970
Showa
Tsuneichi Miyamoto visited Yamakoshi village first time,
45
giving a guidance for revival of Tsunotsuki in September.
1973
Showa
Introduction 20 2-year-old bulls from the southern region in48
Iwate Prefecture.
1974
Showa
Tsunotsuki training meetings was held by owners in Ojiya and49
Yamakoshi in June.
1975
Showa
20 bulls in Yamakoshi and 10 bulls in Higashiyama were50
gathered, and Tsunotsuki was restated in Koguriyama
bullring in November.
1976
Showa
The Echigo Togyu Association was launched in April Ojiya
51
Togyu development promotion committee was formed and thedevelopment of Koguriyama bullring was started in August.
1977
Showa
The development of Koguriyama bullring was completed in52
August.
1978
Showa
Establishment of Tsunotsuki folkways Preservation Society in53
February. Because Koguriyama bullring should be managed
by local region, Ojiya Togyu Promotion Council was15

established in March. Tsunotsuki has been designated as theimportant intangible folk cultural asset as “Tsunotsuki
folkways" in May.
The number of bulls got the same level as Tsunotsuki
restarted.
Chuetsu earthquake happened in October.

1997

Heisei 92004

Heisei16
Heisei
Tsunotsuki were held at Hakusan Sports Park in Ojiya city
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and at Higashiyama Family Land in Nagaoka City in May.
Heisei 18 After the earthquake, Tsunotsuki was held at Koguriyama
bullring in June in Ojiya city.
Heisei 20 Ojiya Togyu Promotion Council won the Chairman's Awardand the Special Jury Prize in November.
Heisei 22 Ojiya Togyu Promotion Council established a joint barn inAugust.
Heisei 25 Echigo Togyu Association re-launched in March.

2005
2006
20082010
2013

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Access to bullring in Ojiya
It’s 20-minute drive from Ojiya IC on Kanettsu expressway.

3. Turn right at
Yokowatashi
crossroad.
Ojiya bullring

1. Get off

2．Turn left at

Ojiya IC.

1．
2．
3．

Ojiya station.

Turn right after you get off Ojiya IC, and head for Ojiya Station.
When you see Ojiya Station, turn left.
Turn right at Yokowatashi crossroad.

Ojiya bullring

4 ． Turn left after
exiting the tunnel.
4．

Turn left after exiting the tunnel.

Issued by Ojiya Togyu Promotion Council and Ojiya Togyu Hokuto Board
For the up-to-date information, visit our website.
http://www.tsunotsuki.com

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