Otedama

Have you ever wondered why traditions die out? With the rise of technological advances, it would seem that traditional games are becoming less of a commodity and slowly fading away as they seem less exciting and attractive in comparison. Are they really, though?

“Otedama” (which is somewhat similar to the traditional “Five Stones” from our local culture) is a children’s juggling game that has an interesting history. Considered a game played mostly by females, it peaked in popularity during the period of World War II because of its contents. Played using beanbags, known as “ojami”, they became a source for additional food during wartime because ojami are made with scraps of cloth, with beans sewn inside. Parents were able to smuggle excess food for their children in these little pouches made with drawstrings for easy access to the contents inside.

Ojami in various colours! Image from www.activityvillage.co.uk.

Pretty cool, isn’t it? So why not keep the tradition alive and have a go at learning to juggle!
How to play:
• Scatter the five beanbags on the floor.
• Pick up one and toss it into the air.
• With the same hand, pick up another bag and catch the falling one.
Repeat until all the beanbags are picked up.
• Start again, but this time pick up two bags at each toss
(then three bags, then four bags)
• Finally, toss five beanbags into the air and catch as many as you can on the back of the same hand.
• Flip the bags that you caught into the air again and catch as many as you can in the palm of same hand.

These instructions, and more difficult variations can also be found here:
http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/otedama-games

Written by Jie R
Edited by Jessel