Spider Fighting Tournament in Japan! And I Participated! Explore Make Art. #くも合戦大会

Spider Fighting Tournament in Japan! And I Participated! Explore Make Art. #くも合戦大会

Welcome to the spider fighting tournament in Aira City, Kagoshima, Japan. Origin of spider fighting dates back to the 16th century, feudal Japan, with this event marking the 111th anniversary of this tournament. Spider fighting tournaments are kind of rare in Japan with only a few cities doing it. Here you have people lining up and bringing in their prized spiders to take part in this occasion. Only the female Kogane spiders are allowed to take part in this tournament. Visitors and tourists can also take part in this event by borrowing one of their spiders, but it will be on a different event in not the main tournament. The spider I chose was tagged a number two, so good luck. number two don’t end up being a number two. The spider fighting tournament consists of the following, first, It’s the superior spider competition. It’s kind of like a beauty contest. And then it’s the spider fighting division and then on to the championship division. Each person must have three female Kogane spiders. If a spider wins three matches in a row, it moves on to the championship division. If a spider even loses one match, it’s out of the tournament. Determining the winning spider of a match are based on a few factors. First, if a spider wraps the opponent’s rare end with its web, that’s considered a win. Next, if a spider bites the opponent’s rare end, that’s also considered a win. And finally, the spider that cuts off the web of the hanging opponent, that’s considered a win. If a spider is not willing to fight, the match will end in a draw. The standards for judging a superior spider are based on how well proportioned the spider is, the slender figure, the luster and good color, how long the legs are, well formed, beautiful shape, a lot of different factors. Judges take their time to compare and scrutinize each spider. The first spider placed on our right at the end of this stick is called Kamae. And the spider that’s placed on the opposing side is called Shikake. You hear these words thrown out here and there announcing who the winner of the match is. And then it was time for the visitor and tourist division. Come on, my number two… And… I lost. For folks who collect the spiders specifically for this event and they don’t know what to do with it after or how to release it, you can actually deposit it in this area here and they’ll properly take care of it. I assume they’re going to release it back in a while. I hope you enjoy some of the matches in this event. This is somewhat of an art channel after all and now it’s time to make an art piece inspired by this event. Alright, with just a few more details and touch-up and that should be it. Thank you guys for watching. I hope you enjoyed this event and the quick art piece inspired by it. It means a lot if you guys can support this channel. Take care. Thank you. Bye-bye.

This is the 111th anniversary of the Spider Fighting Tournament held in Kajiki Town, Aira City, Kagoshima, Japan on June 2025. The origin of spider fighting dates back to the late 16th century, when Yoshihiroko Shimazu, feudal lord of Satsuma, took many soldiers from Kajiki to enter the Bunroku – Keicho War in the Korea Peninsula. Kajiki Spider Wrestling is said to have started when Yoshihiroko pitted Kogane spiders (female) against each other to boost the morale of his soldiers on the front line. This cultural asset has been passed down from the time when Kajiki was the castle town of Yoshihiroko’s to the present.

姶良市加治木町で毎年6月の第3日曜日に行われる伝統行事です。コガネグモのメス同士を戦わせる昆虫相撲で、約400年前の文禄・慶長の役で島津義弘公が兵士を元気づけるために始めたと伝えられています。

この伝統的な行事は、子供たちに自然を愛する心を育み、地域の文化を継承する上で重要な役割を果たしているそうです。

The event is divided into three divisions:
1) The Superior Spider Competition (Beauty Contest)
2) Spider Fighting Division (Youth and Adult Divisions)
3) Championship Division

But there is also a visitor’s division where I borrowed of of their spiders and participated in the battle!
Spider fighting tournaments are rare in Japan with only a few cities doing it. I hope you can enjoy this video / documentary and the art piece that’s inspired by this experience!

Timestamp:
00:00 – Preview
00:07 – Intro
02:08 – Rules of the Tournament
03:06 – Superior Spider Competition
04:14 – Spider Fighting Division
05:59 – Spider Fighting Youth Stage
08:02 – My Battle As A Visitor!
08:37 – How to Release Spiders
08:50 – More Spider Battles!
14:47 – Youth Championship Rounds
15:14 – Youth Grand Finals!
15:43 – Main Stage Championship Rounds
17:33 – Main Stage Grand Finals!
19:34 – Art Session
23:39 – Finished Art Piece / Outro

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Music – YouTube Studio:
War Dance – Erza Lipp
Frolic – E’s Jammy Jams
Hannah’s Song – Chris Haugen
Black Thorns – Jimena Contreras
Keep Climbing – The Soundings
Can’t Be Beat – The Soundings
Beast Mode – The Soundings
Final Boss – Myuu
Anywhere You Say – Cheel
Blue Dream – Cheel
Lazy Walk – Cheel

Equipment used:
Sony FX3
Sony A7IV
Sigma 24-70
Sony 16-35 PZ F4
Sony 200-600 5.6-6.3

#コガネグモ #wrestling #japaneseculture #姶良市 #tournament