SHIZUOKA - Pillow fighting, once a familiar pastime on Japanese school trips, has evolved into a competitive team sport, with players dressed in traditional yukata competing on tatami mats under unusual rules that include a call of "The teacher is coming!" to freeze opponents for 10 seconds.
The sport has grown steadily since the first All-Japan Pillow Fighting Championship was held in Ito, Shizuoka Prefecture, in 2013. Television variety shows have helped raise its profile, while regional qualifying tournaments have expanded across the country, attracting participants ranging from university students to working adults.
At the Osaka qualifying tournament held at Higashiosaka Arena in Higashiosaka, Osaka Prefecture, on October 18, around 150 men and women wearing yukata competed in a series of matches, hurling pillows across tatami-covered courts with expressions of intense concentration.
The event attracted 21 teams from across Japan, with participants representing a wide range of ages, although university students and other younger competitors accounted for much of the field. Many were experiencing competitive pillow fighting for the first time.
Among them was Mikumo Takeguchi, 22, a member of Vixcy Pillow Fighting Club, a team formed by members of a dance club at Kindai University.
"My favorite idol was doing pillow fighting, and I had always dreamed of entering a tournament," Takeguchi said.
However, some members had only checked the rules on the day of the competition, and the team was eliminated in the first round of the knockout stage. "Next time, I want us to prepare properly and do our best," Takeguchi said with a laugh.
Competitive pillow fighting was originally developed by high school and university students in Ito as a way to promote their local community. What began as a regional revitalization initiative has gradually become an organized sport with an estimated 1,500 participants nationwide.
Its appeal has also spread beyond competitive tournaments. Companies have incorporated pillow fighting into employee trips as a team-building activity, while some high schools have introduced it into classes. A tournament has even been held in Hong Kong, demonstrating how Japan's pillow fighting culture has begun attracting international interest.
Despite its playful appearance, the sport operates under a carefully structured set of rules that emphasize teamwork, strategy and quick reactions.
Each team fields six to eight players, with the objective of hitting the opposing team's captain, known as the "taisho," with a pillow. Successfully striking the captain puts that player to "sleep" and wins the set. The first team to win two sets takes the match.
Players celebrate particularly skillful moves by shouting "Nice pillow!"
Alongside the captain, each team has three attackers responsible for throwing pillows, one defensive player known as the libero who uses a comforter to block incoming attacks, and between one and three support players who retrieve pillows and supply teammates.
Matches begin with the captain and attackers lying on their backs on futon bedding, recreating the atmosphere of a school trip dormitory. At the referee's whistle, they spring to their feet and race toward the pillows scattered across the playing area.
Catching an incoming pillow is prohibited, making the ability to dodge attacks while launching accurate throws an essential skill.
One of the sport's most distinctive features is the "The teacher is coming!" call, a reference to the warning traditionally shouted during school trip pillow fights when teachers approached students' rooms.
Each team can use the call once during a match, forcing all members of the opposing team to remain motionless for 10 seconds. During that period, the calling team's captain can retrieve pillows from the opponents' territory.
Used at the right moment, the tactic can dramatically alter the balance of a match, giving teams an opportunity to replenish their supply of pillows or disrupt an opponent's strategy.
The combination of positioning, timing, defensive coordination and tactical decision-making has led organizers to describe pillow fighting as a sport that requires considerable mental skill.
Makoto Otsuka, 35, who organizes and manages the All-Japan Pillow Fighting Championship and is widely known as "Mr. Pillow Fighting," believes the sport's popularity comes from its connection to a shared Japanese childhood experience.
"Pillow fighting is a staple of school trips and is practically engraved in Japanese DNA," Otsuka said. "The appeal is the exhilarating feeling of being able to throw pillows as hard as you like and hit someone without getting scolded."
He added that the activity helps break down social barriers, particularly in workplaces where hierarchical relationships can make informal communication difficult.
"Whether someone is a boss or a subordinate doesn't matter. Everyone can throw pillows at each other on equal terms and become closer," he said.
Safety is another important part of the sport's design. Unlike dodgeball, where a hit to the face generally does not count as an elimination, pillow fighting provides no such exemption.
Instead, organizers use specially designed pillows without zippers and filled with sponge material to prevent injuries and minimize pain when players are struck.
The distinctive combination of soft equipment, traditional Japanese clothing and competitive tactics has helped establish the sport as an accessible activity for participants of different ages and physical abilities.
Qualifying tournaments are currently held in the Tokyo metropolitan area, Osaka, Aichi and other locations. Organizers hope to expand the network further, using competitions to attract visitors and support regional economies.
The Osaka qualifier was won by Max Factor, a team from the Kanto region that has previously claimed consecutive national championships.
The victory secured the team a place in the national championship scheduled for February 2027 in Ito.
Max Factor's captain, Tomohiro Kono, 42, an office worker from Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, said the team was determined to regain the national title after finishing second in the previous championship.
"We don't need any more bitter memories," Kono said. "We're going to work hard with our sights set only on the top."
Teams hoping to compete in the national championship do not necessarily have to win a regional qualifier. Organizers also offer places through a lottery system, with applications accepted from November 1 to November 30.
Source: ABCTVnews
