Kendama

Uncommon card · No. 163897

The kendama (けん玉; lit. 'sword and ball'; Japanese pronunciation: [kè̞ń.dä́.mä́, ké̞ń.-]) is a traditional Japanese skill toy; nowadays, it is considered a skill sport or competitive discipline. It consists of a handle (ken), a pair of cups (sarado), and a ball (tama) that are all connected together by a string. On one end of the ken is a cup, while the other end of ken is narrowed down, forming a spike (kensaki) that fits into the hole (ana) of the tama. The kendama is the Japanese version of the classic cup-and-ball game, and is also a variant of the French cup-and-ball game bilboquet. Kendama can be held in different grips, and many tricks and combinations can be performed. The game is played by tossing the ball into the air and attempting to catch it on the stick point. The origins of kendama are disputed, but it is generally believed to have originated during the 17th or 18th century. Kendama started to evolve when it came to Japan during the Edo period, and since then the use of the...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Gallaz63, CC BY-SA 4.0