2. - mechanical game originating in Japan and is used as both a form of
recreational arcade game and much more frequently as a gambling device
- were originally strictly mechanical,
but modern ones have incorporated
extensive electronics, becoming similar
to video slot machines.
- to capture as many balls as possible
- Pachinko parlors are widespread in Japan
(pachislo or pachislots)
PACHINKO
3. The players sit in a circle and follow the leader, who
taps his or her nose and says, "hana, hana, hana,
kuchi", meaning, "nose, nose, nose, mouth."
The leader continues to repeat the words but taps
another part of his or her body, such as an eye. The
players must do what the leader says and not what he
or she does. If a player fails to do this, she must be the
leader or allow her cheek to be daubed with flour and
water. The names of the features are: me--eye; mimi-
ear; hana-nose; kuchi-mouth.
The games may also be played in teams, with each
side trying to make the opposite team follow their
captain's words and not his or her actions.
Hana, Hana, Hana, Kuchi
4. The one who is chosen to be "Oni", or"It", tries
to tag a player. However, the tagged player
must put one hand on the spot where "It"
touched him or her, whether the back, the
shoulder, the elbow, the knee, or other part of
the body. With his or her hand on this spot, he
or she must chase the other players. He or she
is relieved of his position only when another
player is tagged.
When there are a large number of children,
you may use more than one tagger.
Japanese Tag
5. Daruma is similar the game Red Light in the United States.
Players line up about 30 feet from a wall and try to reach the wall.
The player who is it faces the wall and says "Daruma falls down"
and turns around. If he sees someone moving that person is
captured and has to come to wall. The process is repeated. If one
player touches the captured player the captured play is free. The
game ends when all the players are captured and the first
captured is it the next round.
The Japanese version of kick-the-can is called Kankai. Kids are
divided into kickers and runners. One runner kicks the can out of
the circle. After a tagger places the can back in the circle the
tagger tries to catch the runners. If a runner is tagged he stand in
the circle. If a runner can kick the can without being touched, he
releases all the runners.
Playground Games in Japan
6. Dodge ball is very popular among children, The regional and
national tournaments in the sport for primary school students. The
player on one champion team from Kagoshima told the Yomiuri
Shimbun, “I feel so good when I hit someone with the ball.”
-- Some attention was focused on the safety of playgrounds in the
early 2000s after some children died playing a group swing.
Afterwards a study showed that 75 percent of playgrounds have
defects that could potentially cause accidents.
7. At one point Japan had approximately 100 commercial mazes,
more than any country. Most Japanese mazes were made with 6½-
foot wooden walls not hedges. They generally have about 2,000
yards of pathways and maze runners have to find four checkpoint,
and get their cards stamped, before emerging from the end. The
route of the maze can easily be changed by moving the walls and
many maze owners change the walls once a week or so to lure
back repeat customers.
Japanese mazes are much more difficult than their counterparts
elsewhere in the world. It typically takes about 50 minutes to get
out, but some people get lost for hours. A common joke describes
a honeymooning couple that enters a maze and came out with
two children.
"Most of the time, people in our society are deprived of the
chance to make our own decisions...In a maze you can make your
Mazes in Japan
8. - Japanese companies such as Sega, Taito, Namco and
Nintendo were producers of electro-mechanical arcade
games. Soon after the video game industry began in the
early 1970s, many of these companies turned their attention
to producing arcade video games.
- Japan eventually became a major exporter of video
games during the golden age of arcade video games, an
era that began with the release of Taito's Space Invaders in
1978 and ended around the mid-1980s.
Video Gaming
9. PlayStation 2 – 21,833,215
(note: total Nintendo DS sales not provided)
Wii – 12,638,836
PSP – 19,453,023
Nintendo 3DS – 7,689,512
Nintendo 3DS XL – 2,090,372
PlayStation 3 – 8,860,082
PlayStation Vita – 1,130,820
Xbox 360 – 1,613,832
TOTAL Hardware sales to date
(lifetime):
