We are conscious of Japanese traditions during the New Year holidays. We often enjoy New Year's special pleasures such as flying kites, playing Japanese badminton, Japanese card games. This time, I introduce some Japanese traditional games that children often play in the New Year holidays.

Tako-a-ge(fling kites);

This was a popular game for children in the old days in winter. There is very little space and there are many electric wires in the sky in Tokyo now, so it's difficult to find a place for flying kites and manychildren don't know how to fly them now.

Hane-tsuki(Japanese badminton);

We use wooden rackets called Hagoita and a shuttlecock called Hane. When you played Hanetsuki and you missed the shuttlecock, your opponent dabbed Indian ink on your face as a penalty. Nowadays, we play it only in the New Year holidays and we don't use Indian ink.

Koma(string top);

Boys love to spin a top with a string. They compete to see how long they can spin or who is the strongest when they hit the tops. Teachersin some schools want students to know about traditional games and show them how to spin a top and recommend them to play with Koma.

Ken-dama(wood spoons and ball);

This is a wooden hammer-shaped toy with a ball which is connected by a string. The place where part of the hammer which would ordinary hit nails is shaped like a egg cup and you compete to catch the ball on it. The end of the shaft is also shaped like a egg cap and catch the ball on this. The top 2 or 3 cm of the shaft is pointed and the ball has a hole, so you can also catch the ball on the top of the shaft. This is the most difficult place to catch. It is said that this game is good for concentration and good for excise of the knees, and some kindergartens include this game in their curriculum.

Otedama( hand ball);

Otedama is the mane of a small bag of cloth and the name of a game played with these bags. The contents of this bag are red beans or seeds of a special grass. I love the sound of this bag. It is a play for girls. They toss and catch these bags in a special way while singing a special Otedama song. They compete in their juggling techniques. My grandmother made Otedama with the rest over cloth of beautiful Kimono for me, so this game remains me of many good memories of my grandmother.

Irohagaruta(card game);

Irohagaruta consists of two packs of 48 cards each. One pack is written proverbs, the other pack is picture cards with correspond to each proverb with the first letter of the proverb. Picture cards are spread on a floor, a reader reads a proverb and the players look forthe corresponding card. I-Ro-Ha is the first three letters of Japanese old alphabet and the name iroha-garuta is from this. The first proverb witch begins with the letter "i" is "Inu mo arukeba bou ni ataru". Meaning is "when a dog wanders, it touches a stick". This proverb means when you are nosy, you meet bad things or when you go out often, you meet good things. The proverb of the card "ro" is "Ron yori syouko". It means the proof is better than the theory. "ha" 's proverb is "Hana yori dango". It means dumplings are better than flowers.
(First wrote on November 1994)