Imagine you have just gotten onto the Chuo line at Nakano station in Tokyo. There are no free seats so you take up a space in the isle and mindlessly slip your hand into the hanging ring above you. You may not know it yet but the unassuming object you’re holding is a symbol of rebellion. Come again?
SHAPES AND COLORS
Let’s start at the beginning what is a tsurikawa? Tsurikawa literally means “hang” (tsuri吊) and “leather” (kawa革). But people also call them “tsuriwa” (wa meaning ring) or sometimes “tsurite” (te means hand). Basically a hanging thing to hold onto.
A staple of Japanese transportation tsurikawas come in all types of shapes and colors. The most common feature a strap and handle usually round, triangular and sometimes pentagonal (which is very rare).
Starting out triangle handles were apparently the most comfortable tsurikawas to grab. And were pretty common in JR trains and Tokyo Metro until the mid-seventies.
But the round handle tsurikawa slowly took over to become the mainstream handle today. This shape allows you to slide your wrist into it and also casually hang from it when you had one Kirin too many. And - which I find somehow very cute - you can rotate the ring to make sure you don’t grab the part someone put their grubby hands on before you.
Until recently most tsurikawa were simple white rings with either grey, white or light brown straps. But in the 80’s flashy Shikeisei Electric Railroad started to use yellow rings to highlight their priority seats. It’s now common to see different color combos near special seats.
And of course Japan wouldn’t be Japan if it didn’t do themed tsurikawa like hearts and sakura shapes and Mickey Mouse shaped ones on the Disney Land Resort line.
But let’s get back to rebellion! Tell me more about that!
RACERS AND REBELLION
So big chance you have seen Akira, the classic Japanese anime about bikergangs in a dystopian Tokyo. In the 50’s these bikergangs were called bosozoku in Japan. And whilst they are now almost non existent there was a time they flourished.
Peaking in popularity in the 80’s these gangs would decorate their bikes in the same way Dekotora deck out their trucks. To show their individuality but also as an act of rebellion members would steal tsurikawa from trains and hang them from their bikes. Going on group drift rides they would escape the police whilst flaunting their illegally obtained charms in the breeze. Turning the safe tsurikawa into a symbol of rebellion and individuality in the process.
Similarly Japanese drift car racers took up the custom of hanging tsurikawa in their cars. And if they were really badass would hang them from their rear bumper. Making the sight of a low hanging tsurikawa barely skidding the streets of downtown Tokyo the sign of true rebellion.
Today the tsurikawa has transcended the subculture and has become a symbol of Japanese racing culture in itself. It still retains it’s outsider element but you can now simply buy a tsurikawa to fit your style and personal identity.
So next time you hang onto one of these on a crowded train think about how this unassuming object once led a life of danger and rebellion. You wouldn’t think that to begin with right?
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