There are always interesting things in the school’s student center, whether it’s a poster for an event, and ad for a contest or something else of the sort.
A few days I went to ask for a print out of something I needed for class, and they had these on the table.
A stack of traditional Japanese kids toys for everyone to try.
The poster shows the name of each game.
So, time to explain that stuff:
遊んでみよう (Asonde Miyou) = Let’s try to play (Mostly means Try them out)
日本の昔のあそび (Nihon no mukashi no asobi) The old toys of Japan
Games from left to right (All definitions from Wikipedia):
だるま尾落とし (Daruma Otoshi)
Daruma Otoshi is a traditional game played with a daruma doll in five pieces, usually in the colors of the rainbow, from top to bottom: head – a man’s face, blue, green, yellow, red. The game is played by using a small hammer to hit each of the colored pieces, from bottom to the top, without letting the pieces fall during the game.
けん玉 (Kendama)
A kendama is a traditional Japanese toy which consists of two wooden cups of different sizes placed on the center of a wooden spike, with a smaller cup at the spike’s base and a ball connected by a string to the center piece. To play with a kendama, one holds the toy, and pulls the ball upward so that it may either be caught in one of the cups or land with the hole on the spike. More advanced tricks include sequential balances, juggles, and catches.
こま (Koma) Is the Japanese name for spinning top, so it’s just a spinning top
羽子板 (Hakoita)
Is the name of the paddle used for the game of (羽子突き = Hanetsuki) which is a Japanese traditional game, similar to badminton without a net, played with a rectangular wooden paddle called a hagoita and a brightly coloured shuttlecock.
わなげ (wanage) Is the Japanese name for ring toss, which consists of tossing rings a wooden peg.
お手玉 (Otedama)
Otedama is a traditional Japanese children’s game. Small bean bags are tossed and juggled in a game similar to jacks. Although it is generally a social game, Otedama can also be played alone. It is rarely competitive and often accompanied by singing. (They felt like cute stress balls to me. I wanted to take one home)
Have an extra photo of the kendama since one of my classmates decided to try it (I am really tempted to buy one).
Mochi-chan discovers Japan 