Photo/Illutration Children are happy and anxious in turns about the course of a spider fighting contest at Futtsu Yasakajinja shrine in Futtsu, Chiba Prefecture, on May 4, 2024. (Kyota Tsutsumi)

FUTTSU, Chiba Prefecture--Fights to the death still occur in this city close to Tokyo although the combatants are spiders.

Spider fighting originated in feudal times, and now it has been inscribed on a “Heritage for the Future” list maintained by an organization that adheres to the principles of UNESCO in preserving cultural traditions.

The nongovernmental National Federation of UNESCO Associations in Japan (NFUAJ), which is active both in Japan and overseas, awarded a certificate of inscription to organizers of the spider fighting events during a ceremony held at the Futtsu community center on March 23.

The “sport” of spider fighting started in the Edo Period (1603-1867).

The inscription, in Japanese, roughly translates as: “Community ties spun by spiders! The yokozuna-deciding match, one of the three famed spider fighting events of Japan.”

The spider fighting match is held each May 4 at Futtsu Yasakajinja shrine in Futtsu, Chiba Prefecture. This year’s event will be the 24th in the series.

The fights involve males of Carrhotus xanthogramma, a jumping spider species about 1 centimeter in length that becomes aggressive when hunting for partners during breeding season.

The spider species is called “funchi” in Futtsu.

The game spread among fishermen betting on the outcome of matches. Spider fighting evidently was popular during the Kyoho Era (1716-1736).

INAUGURAL EVENT HELD UNDER EAVES OF HOUSE

But the practice fell into decline around 1990 as tastes in entertainment diversified.

Thirty or so spider fans got together to organize the inaugural “yokozuna-deciding match” in 1998. The eaves of a private house served as the venue.

When the venue moved to Futtsu Yasakajinja in 2009, an amateurs’ association called Futtsu Funchi Aikokai that organizes the annual event began advertising the match under the stated goal of keeping the tradition alive a further 100 years.

Around 100 adults and 50 children participated in last year’s match.

Futtsu’s mayor also joined in the event with a spider he had caught. There were about 1,000 spectators.

The association also sought, at the same time, to win recognition for the spider fights as a cultural property.

That, however, turned out to be difficult as few documents and materials existed on a form of entertainment associated with common people. All the organization could do was to set up a dedicated section at a museum.

In the meantime, the association learned about the Heritage for the Future project and decided to apply for inscription.

When asked, during the screening process, about the “three famed spider fighting events of Japan,” officials owned up to the fact they had cooked it up.

At the same time, they expressed a readiness to work with other regional communities to promote this cultural tradition, a sentiment that impressed the judges, said the Aikokai members who also mentioned the warm reception they had received for spider fighting classes they gave at elementary schools.

Spider fighting was one of the four entries picked for new inscription on the Heritage list.

“We sensed their eagerness to work with young people to liven up this regional community,” Makoto Tsuchiya, professor emeritus of ecology with the University of the Ryukyus who was involved in the screening, said by way of a review during the inscription certificate award ceremony.

“Futtsu’s population has fallen below 40,000, and we have fewer and fewer children,” said Toyo Suzuki, who heads the association. “We have to work with enthusiasm, as we are the ones to pass down this tradition.”

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The NFUAJ’s “Heritage for the Future” project is about inscribing civil activities that are working, for example, to keep traditional festivals alive or preserve woodland areas. The Heritage for the Future list currently has 87 entries on it.

Spider fighting is the second entry from Chiba Prefecture to be inscribed on the list after the “Konbukuro-ike Pond natural history park: Project on a 100-year forest to be grown by citizens” from the city of Kashiwa.

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