The All-Japan Pillow Fight Championship Is Seriously a Sport

Last Updated on 2026-03-08 by a-indie

This is a series where BELONG Media staff chat about their everyday experiences and adventures.

This time, the topic is nothing less than the “All-Japan Pillow Fight Championship in Ito Onsen” — which Maririn actually entered and competed in!

Pillow fighting: once the secret highlight of school trip nights.

But did you know it has now evolved into a full-on competitive sport with its own official rulebook?

Held once a year in Ito City, Shizuoka Prefecture, the “All-Japan Pillow Fight Championship in Ito Onsen” is a passionate, high-energy event where participants dress in yukata and compete in dead earnest on a 40-tatami-mat floor.

This time, we focus on Maririn’s firsthand account of fighting her way through the qualifying rounds, joined by yabori and Takita as they dig into the surprisingly deep rules and the excitement behind the competition.

Wakiki, who was arguably the most eager to hear about pillow fighting, unfortunately had to sit this one out due to working on a day off.

Welcome to the world of pillow fighting — where it’s anything but child’s play.

Participants: Maririn, Takita, yabori　Original illustration: Furidashi Taro

Maririn Battles Her Way Through the Intense Pillow Fight Championship

yabori

Maririn, I’ve been dying to hear about that pillow fight championship you mentioned before (lol). How was it?

It was SO much fun!!!!

Maririn

yabori

I got curious and looked it up — there are quite a lot of rules, right?

That’s right. But the basic idea is: your team wins if your general is still standing.

Maririn

yabori

So you pick one person as the general? And both sides know who that is?

Exactly. The general wears a bib, so everyone can see who it is.

Maririn

yabori

Got it! So there are people throwing pillows and people blocking with futons?

Right, there’s a libero whose job is to block with a futon.

Maririn

The Deadly “Teacher’s Coming!” Call

yabori

So they’re called a libero? All the roles have actual names?

Yes. The team is made up of a general, a libero, attackers, and supporters.

Maririn

yabori

What do the attacker and supporter do? In dodgeball you’d catch the ball when it’s thrown at you.

In pillow fighting, catching is not allowed — you have to dodge everything. Even the slightest touch to your body and you’re out. The supporter’s job is to retrieve pillows that go out of bounds and bring them back in.

Maririn

yabori

I see. I also read something in the rules about a “Teacher’s coming!” call — I found that hilarious. What’s that all about? (lol)

That one is actually really important. When your team shouts “Teacher’s coming!”, everyone on the opposing team — except their general — has to sit in formal seiza posture on the spot for ten seconds (lol). Meanwhile, your general can run into the enemy zone, grab pillows, and bring them back to your side. There are ten pillows total, and if you collect all of them, the other side has zero ammunition while you have all ten ready to go. Then if you throw all ten at the enemy general at once, it’s almost impossible for them to dodge.

Maririn

yabori

Ahh, I see. The rules are way more solid than I expected. I thought it would be much more casual.

Because the rules are so thorough, everyone was dead serious. We literally talked about nothing but pillows for two days straight (lol).

Maririn

yabori

Seriously! Were you completely exhausted by the end?

Completely wiped out. The muscle soreness was no joke, honestly.

Maririn

yabori

What position did you play, and what did you actually do?

The general role is really tough unless you have exceptional athletic ability. And the libero needs to hold up a futon the entire time, so height is an advantage there. So I played supporter and attacker.

Maririn

yabori

So supporter and attacker — do you alternate between those?

Yes. Each match is three rounds, so you can switch positions within a match, and since there are multiple matches you can change roles across them too.

Maririn

yabori

So it’s basically like a dodgeball version of pillow fighting?

Yeah, dodgeball is probably the closest comparison. Dodgeball where you’re not allowed to catch.

Maririn

yabori

I was terrible at dodgeball (lol). Takita, how were you at dodgeball?

I was good at dodging, so I was always one of the last ones standing.

Takita

yabori

Oh, there’s always one of those!

Then you’d probably be a natural at pillow fighting!

Maririn

yabori

I was a dodger too. What about you, Maririn — what was your position in dodgeball? Back in elementary school?

My athletic ability isn’t great, so I’d either get hit right away and go to the outfield, or just start in the outfield from the beginning (lol).

Maririn

yabori

So the supporter position suits you perfectly (lol). What did you do between matches?

There was about an hour between matches, and we spent the whole time devising strategies and scouting other teams.

Maririn

yabori

So how many matches did you play in the qualifiers? Did you make it all the way to the finals?

We played three matches in the qualifiers, won two and lost one, then got beaten in the main round on day two. We lost in straight sets on day two — it was like getting knocked out in the group stage of the championship round. With 48 teams in total, we ended up somewhere in the upper half but right at the bottom of that group.

Maririn

The Aura Gap Between Us and the Champions

yabori

Got it. Was the winning team incredibly strong?

Incredibly strong. The demonstration at the start was done by the previous year’s champion team, and the intensity they radiated was just on a completely different level.

Maririn

yabori

Like, their killer instinct was just different? (lol)

Their battle cries were sharp, and the pillows they threw were on another level — just flat-out fast. No matter how hard I threw, mine always ended up kind of looping and slow, but theirs came at you in a dead straight line.

Maririn

yabori

Wow (lol). That’s a pretty rare experience.

It really is. But I think once you enter, pretty much everyone wants to come back. I highly recommend it.

Maririn

yabori

Takita, would you want to enter?

Yeah, it sounds like a lot of fun!

Takita

yabori

Then why don’t the three of you — Takita, Maririn, and Wakiki — go together next time? Wakiki was saying they really wanted to talk about this too (lol).

Actually, the most surprising thing happened. About two days before the pillow fight event, I was at a live venue called BASEMENT BAR, and when I mentioned I was entering the pillow fight championship that weekend, someone said, “Oh, so-and-so was posting about pillow fighting on their stories too.”

Maririn

yabori

It’s actually buzzing in the Tokyo live music scene?!

Just in a certain corner of it (lol). I didn’t know the person directly, but we had tons of mutual connections, so I assumed they’d be there as a fellow competitor. Turns out they were deeply involved on the organizing side. Apparently quite a few people from the live music scene are core members of the pillow fight organizing committee. This person runs a DJ bar near Meidaimae Station and also helps run the event — and they mentioned they were planning to hold a pillow fight practice session somewhere in Tokyo.

Maririn

yabori

Huh, interesting (lol). So who actually runs it at the top level?

The official host is Ito City. But there’s a kind of godfather of competitive pillow fighting, someone everyone calls “Mr. Pillow Fight.” The live music scene people seem to be part of his crew, and they’ve apparently been at it for quite a while.

Maririn

yabori

This is its 14th edition — that’s pretty impressive longevity!

Right. Apparently Mr. Pillow Fight appears fairly often as an instructor on TV variety shows and in YouTube projects where idol groups hold their own pillow fight tournaments.

Maririn

yabori

You know, this is actually a brilliant way to revitalize a local area, isn’t it?

I really think so. Even the mayor of Ito City came to the opening ceremony. Apparently the year before, the previous mayor was almost apologetic toward local residents about it, but locals were saying the new mayor’s backing has made the whole event much better supported. It’s a real shift.

Maririn

yabori

So overall it was a great memory, right?

Absolutely. Honestly, I want to throw a pillow right now. I’ve been feeling that way ever since. And I’m already thinking about how to build a stronger team over the next year.

Maririn

yabori

Wow, the pillow fighting fever is real. Are you still in touch with the people you competed with?

Not super frequently, but we’re still connected, and everyone says they want to enter again next year. Practice is tricky though — you’d need to rent a gym or something. Plus you have to get ten pillows together (lol).

Maririn

yabori

There’s really no casual way to practice, is there. And apparently regular sleeping pillows aren’t allowed either (lol).

We actually got a pillow as a participation prize (lol). Since I have one now, if everyone brought theirs we could technically do it. You can sleep on it, but at this point it’s basically a throwing pillow.

Maririn

Editor’s Note: At the End of the Pillow Fight

It’s genuinely surprising to discover that pillow fighting — something we once thought of as a harmless bit of fun on school trips — has evolved into a sport this meticulously structured and strategically deep.

With ten pillows and the “Teacher’s coming!” power call capable of turning the tide in an instant, this competition seems to cast a spell on anyone who enters.

The layered positions, the tactical complexity, the unexpected overlap with the Tokyo live music scene — there is far more going on here than meets the eye.

The fact that Maririn was saying “I want to throw a pillow right now” the moment the event was over says everything about the kind of fever this championship ignites.

Next time, we’d love to send the full BELONG Media team — Takita, Wakiki, and all — and bring back a proper frontline battle report (lol).

BELONG Media Editorial Team
A music media outlet covering indie rock and beyond, from Japan to the West and across Asia. Publisher of 26 issues of “BELONG Magazine,” a music publication themed around roots rock.

In 2021, the team appeared as guests on J-WAVE’s SONAR MUSIC. In 2022, the English-language sister site A-indie was launched.

The editorial team’s primary source of nourishment is shoegaze and dream pop.