Kendama

So you’re here because you want to know what is Kendama?  Well, a Kendama is a traditional Japanese toy that is skyrocketing in popularity across the globe as people continue to master this simple yet dynamic wooden toy with tricks getting increasingly more advanced and technical every day.

This simple toy is constructed with two main parts.  The first has a handle that leads to a spiked end with two cups on either side of it, the second part is a ball with a hole in it.  Both parts are connected to one another by a short string.

The handle or main body of it is called a “Ken” and the Ball is called a “Tama”.

The culture surrounding this craft is very familiar to the culture that surrounds all those who practice yoyo, with competitions across the globe where people can express themselves and display their perfected skillset.

The Kendama is traditionally made out of wood but has recently seen an increase in a variety of different types of materials used in its make up.  For the most part you will find this toy with a wooden or plastic build.  People tend to not like plastic as much because of the synthetic plastic on plastic sound and feel while playing with it.  Although this is not always the case it can often give a sense of it being unauthentic.  One of the main benefits to having a plastic kendama is that the toy can be weighted exactly to the specifications of how it is supposed to be constructed, with the tama and the ken being of identical weights.  It is important that these two sections be as exact in weight as possible which allows certain tricks to be performed with better precision.

Overall, people tend to go with different types of wood for their kendama.  The most popular types tend to include Beech, Ash, Mahogany, Oak, Cherry, Maple, and Walnut as these have the weight and feel that people enjoy most.  The main issue when dealing with wood is that it is difficult to get the weight to be exact to specifications, but most look past this small detail as it is close enough.

Typically the ball or tama has a coating of paint on it which gives it a longer life span as it is constantly spiked by the handle and dropped on the ground when performing tricks.  The type of paint is also important because it can add grip which can assist in landing those super difficult moves.  Lastly, the huge spectrum of  paint colors and varieties gives a uniqueness in identity to every toy which can be important to setting you apart.

There are endless ways that a Kendama gets used, but at the most basic level the ball can either be landed on either of the cups or spiked by the handle.

I hope that now after reading this quick kendama wiki you will no longer be asking the question what is kendama, but rather how to learn kendama!