Japan History and Culture

Lucky Laugh or Funny Face Game (Fukuwarai)

Fukuwarai is a Japanese traditional game which is usually played during New Year holiday  in Japan. The game can help you to learn directions and parts of the face.

Fukuwarai means “happy laugh.” Fuku means fortune, and warai means laughing, which is also a popular indoor game on the New Years. The game is usually played by children, but adults may sometimes play also. The game is similar to that of Pin the Tail on the Donkey.

How to play
 
1. Draw two same pictures of a person’s face.
2. Cut the eyes, eyebrows, nose, ears, and mouth out of one picture.
3. Then one player is blindfolded with a handkerchief or some other type of cloth.
4. The blindfolded player tries to place cutouts of the eyes, eyebrows, mouth, and nose on the face, while the other players shout instructions–for example, “Higher!” “To the left!” “There!”
5. After the player places the pieces, the blindfold is removed so the player can view his or her handiwork.
6. Most of the time, the face comes out looking ridiculous, and the players can’t keep from laughing and let the next player take a turn.

Originally, only one style of face was used for the game - a comical, round face of Otafuku. Otafuku is a homely looking woman. Nowadays, other faces are sometimes used, such as those of popular actors and comic book characters or popular anime characters.

Japanese badminton (Hanetsuki)

Hanetsuki is a Japanese traditional game, similar to badminton, played without a net, and is played with a wooden paddle called hagoita and a shuttlecock called hane and is made from colorful feathers. This game is a young girls game that is played at New Years.

The game can be played in two fashions, by one person attempting to keep the shuttlecock aloft as long as possible, or by the two people batting it back and forth. Girls who fail to hit the shuttlecock get marked on the face with India Ink by a stroke of a brush. While the game’s popularity has declined in recent times, beautifully ornamented hagoita are still a popular collection item, it has since become a custom to give a hagoita as a gift to celebrate the birth of a girl.

 The first calligraphic of the New Year (KAKIZOME)             

Kakizome, literally “first writing” is an event for New Year to writefor the first time using a traditional writing brush. This date is traditionally set on January 2nd. Therefore often called “Kitsusho Hajime” (First fortune writing).Elementary schools and junior high schools have kakizome competitions annually.

The Kakizome of writing tools is using black writing ink,special paper called gasenshi (画仙紙) which, at almost 28×85cm, is much larger than the normal monthly works. The standard works are written on hanshi (半紙) which vary in size, but our official size is almost 26×36cm, scrolls, and decorative plaques.

The traditional procedure of Kakizome is making black writing ink with Wakamizu (first laved water of the year) by facing Ehou (the fortunate direction of the year from Oriental Zodiac teachings) then writing auspicious words or poetries such as long life, spring, or perennial youth.

 
Every year on January 5th, it is broadcasted nationwide about 4000 people gather for Kakizome as one of the calligraphy enterprises hosted at Nihon Budo-kan in Tokyo by Nihon Budo-kan Foundation.

Japanese Beckoning Cat (Maneki Neko)

 An old Japanese tradition, the Maneki Neko has become a popular collector’s item all over the globe.

The Maneki Neko (literally “Beckoning Cat”; also known as Welcoming Cat, Lucky Cat, Money cat or Fortune Cat) is a Japanese sculpture often made of ceramic believed to give good luck to the owner. Often used in businesses– A raised left paw attracts customers while a raised right paw supposedly attracts money. The sculpture depicts a cat beckoning with an upright paw, and is usually displayed in restaurants and shops. The sculpture is based on the Japanese Bobtail cat breed.

Maneki Neko come in different colors, styles, and degrees of ornateness. In addition to sculptures, Maneki Neko can be found as keychai s, piggy banks, air fresheners, and miscellaneous ornaments. 

The Many Varities Of The Maneki Neko. 

Each color of the Maneki Neko  has a different meaning.
 

Tricolor Maneki Neko: The background is white with random black spots ringed with orange. This coloring is considered especially lucky and is the most popular color.

White Maneki Neko: White cats indicate purity and are the second most popular type.

Black Maneki Neko: Black Maneki Neko are believed to keep away evil and are especially popular with women.

 Pink Maneki Neko: A newly popular color, pink Maneki Neko cats are associated with attracting love.

Red Maneki Neko: Red is a protective color and is believed to ward off evil spirits and illness.

 
Gold Maneki Neko: Associated with wealth.

Purple Maneki Neko: Sweet Dreams and is believed to Brings artistic strength.

 

Green Maneki Neko: Believed to bring academic achievement.