#4 games
Overview
The theme is “Asobi: Game”. Japan, which has become the superpower of producing games in the world, also has a variety of traditional games such as Kendama, Takeuma (stilts), Sugoroku, Otedama and Takoage (kite flying). In any age, the games existed and have given us happiness from the ancient to modern times. These games have a very high level of design innovation, and the design reflects the characteris- tics of each period in history. This time, four visual arts were created based on these games.
Hagoita
Hagoita (羽子板) is played with a battledore, or paddle and a shuttlecock, or birdie. It is a game played at New Year's and while it is enjoyed as a game, it is also traditionally thought to be a talisman against evil. In the past people enjoyed decorating plain Hagoitapaddles with paper, cloth or artwork. Recently these rackets are decorated on one side with a picture of a kabuki actor. These are now popular in Japan, and beautiful.
Fukuwarai
Fukuwarai(福笑い), or in English, "funny face game", is a Japanese game played around new years . The game is similar to that of Pin theTail on the Donkey, whereby the players pin different parts of the
face (such as the eyes, eyebrows, nose and mouth) onto a blank face and laugh at the humorous results.
Created by
Junichi Takahashi ( photographer ) Ryo Iwanaga & Yui Morishita ( web ) Hitoshi Sagaseki ( creative direction )
Hanafuda
Hanafuda (花札) are playing cards of Japanese origin, used to play a number of games. The name literally translates as 'flower cards'. A Hanafuda deck consists of 48 different cards. There are 12 suits within it and 4 per suit. Each suit represents a different month of the year as well as the particular flower at bloom during that time of year.
Created by
Seiji Fujimori ( photographer ) Ryo Iwanaga & Yui Morishita ( web ) Hitoshi Sagaseki ( creative direction )
Monkiri
Mongiri(紋切り) were paper patterns from a popular paper cutting game in the Edo era. In this game, paper is folded and then insignia shapes are created by cutting out along the paper pattern. In the Edo era, it was necessary to dye or embroider family insignia on kimonos and noren (short door curtains). It’s said that the technique that was developed for making those paper patterns became a game.
Created by
Junichi Ito ( photographer ) Mayuko Hari ( designer ) Ryo Iwanaga & Yui Morishita ( web ) Hitoshi Sagaseki ( creative direction )
TOYS
Kendama(けん玉) is a deep game with more than 1,000 different techniques for players to try to master. Fukuwarai(福笑い), or in English, "funny face game", is a Japanese game played around new years . The game is similar to that of Pin the Tail on the Donkey, whereby the players pin different parts of the face (such as the eyes, eyebrows, nose and mouth) onto a blank face and laugh at the humorous results. Darumaotoshi(ダルマおとし) is a game where a daruma figure is poised on top of a stack of blocks. Koma(独楽) is a plaything introduced from China about 1,000 years ago. In addition to many Japanese koma of various shapes and sizes.
Created by
Akihiko Tagayasu ( photographer ) Akihiko Tagayasu ( web ) Hitoshi Sagaseki ( creative direction )
