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Traditional Japanese Games and Pastimes
A broad look at traditional Japanese games, from card and board games played at home to the stalls, contests and simple amusements of summer and New Year festivals.
Seasons and Celebrations
Games and Pastimes
Board games, paper folding, sumo, martial ways and traditional play.
Budo: The Martial Ways as Cultural Practice
Budo, the Japanese martial ways such as judo, kendo and kyudo, explained as cultural disciplines of training, etiquette and character, not only as fighting sports.
Fireworks Festivals and Summer Evenings
How summer fireworks became a beloved Japanese tradition: their Edo-period roots, the social rituals around them, and why a few minutes of light mean so much.
Go: The Board Game of Territory
The history and ideas of go in Japan: how a game from the Asian mainland became a court pastime, a professional art and a model of balance and territory.
Karuta and the Card Games of Poetry
How karuta turns classical poetry into a fast card game: the hundred-poem anthology, how a round works, and the other card games that carry words and proverbs.
Kites, Spinning Tops and Festival Toys
A look at traditional Japanese toys tied to the seasons: New Year kites and tops, shuttlecock paddles, Girls' Day dolls and carp streamers, and the games that go with them.
Koi, Goldfish and the Culture of Keeping Fish
How ornamental koi and goldfish came to hold a place in Japanese gardens, festivals and art, and what the keeping of fish has meant for viewers over time.
Shogi: Japanese Chess and Its Piece-Dropping Rule
How shogi differs from other chess games: its 9x9 board, wedge-shaped pieces, promotion, and the rule that lets a captured piece return to play for the captor.
Sumo: Ritual, Sport and History
A respectful look at sumo wrestling: its roots in Shinto ritual and court events, its growth in the Edo period, and the ceremonies that surround each modern bout.
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