What is a Kendama?

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A kendama (けん玉 or 剣玉 or 拳玉) is a Japanese toy that consists of a hammer-like object with a ball connected to it by a string. The ball (called the tama) has a hole in it, and it rests on a spike (the ken) on the top of the kendama. The hammer is called the "ken." The two extending sides of the ken are concave cups; one is smaller than the other. The larger side is called the oozara (large dish,大皿) and the other is the kozara (small dish,小皿).There is also a middle position cup at the bottom of the handle called the chuzara (smallestN1, middle position cup,中皿) and tougher to play with than the other two cups.

The basic object is to jerk the ball upwards and catch it on one of the concave cups, as well as landing the ball on the spike. More advanced techniques involve combination moves, different landing positions and balances. A Japanese nonprofit organization, the Nihon Kendama Kyokai, adminsters several levels of skill certification for players and authorizes the manufacture of an official kendama design used for certification and in competitions.