正月遊び（Shougatsu-Asobi）No. 1
Traditional games that are played often in Oshougatsu time.
In Japan, Many kids used to play traditional games in Oshougatsu time. However, because of many reasons including the advance of video games, nowadays people rarely play traditional games. Here are some of the extinguishing games:
羽根突き （Hanetsuki）
Badminton-alike game. Can play solo or 2 people. Wooden racket and Wings with a hard seed called 無患子 (Mukago).
This game was originally from China. In China, they put a coin under the wings, this has changed to the seed in Japan and played from Muromachi period. Person who lost the game were to treat sake (Japanese alcohol) to the winner.
It was believed that playing this game eliminates the bad luck therefore people used to play in the end of the year. Moreover, the seeds has the meaning of no illness for the children, so it is considered to give a great health for the kids.
Tsukibane: Solo play – count how many times you can lift the wings up without dropping.
Oibane: 2 people to play – count how many times they can keep lifting the wings up without dropping.
凧あげ （Takoage）
Kite flying game, the higher the kite flies, the more chance that wish will deliver to the gods. The rules for the games are various; One is to drop the others’ kite, the another is to cut the kite strings in order to win.
Kite was also came from China, and they used kite to fortune-telling and battle equipment. When it first arrived in Japan, it was played by nobility just for an entertainment. In the Sengoku period however, it transferred to the similar usage to China; using for battles – To check the distance toward the enemy group / To fire the distant area where the enemy group stays. Then in Edo period, kite became a celebration gift for the new born boy babies.
Kite is called ‘Tako’ (=Octopus) in Eastern area, and ‘Ika’ (Squid) in Western area, this is because when the kite goes up in the sky, it looks like those fishes.
In the next coming blog, I will introduce other Shougatsu Asobi, so stay tuned!
Little Japan Dictionary 
Okay
(Sake )
dead sure I will not forget this word even Someone call for 9 wine wine!
And Just second before I had one Toxic Pride and Believe that No other country except Nepal and India fly 凧あげTakoage. Sad how our ancestor mind was so thick for just using Kites to cut other one kite strings and scream hard to satisfy their ego where Japan used a similar object of flying kite for battles.
Whatever it is Check the Link. It’s How Flying kites is taken as a celebration in Nepal.
https://www.google.com/search?q=Nepal+kites+festivals&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwiy2b3x45rqAhUTBysKHeOVABQQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=Nepal+kites+festivals&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQA1AAWABg3BloAHAAeACAAQCIAQCSAQCYAQCqAQtnd3Mtd2l6LWltZw&sclient=img&ei=C3PzXvKnE5OOrAHjq4KgAQ
LikeLike