is a Japanese traditional game, similar to racket games like

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...

but without a net, played with a rectangular wooden

paddle A paddle is a handheld tool with an elongated handle and a flat, widened distal end (i.e. the ''blade''), used as a lever to apply force onto the bladed end. It most commonly describes a completely handheld tool used to propel a human-powered wa ...

called a ''

hagoita Hagoita (羽子板｢はごいた｣) are the wooden paddles used to hit shuttlecocks (羽子 pronounced hago ｢はご｣ or hane ｢はね｣), traditionally made of soapberry seeds and bird feathers, that are used to play the traditional Japan ...

'' and a brightly coloured shuttlecock, called a ''hane''. Often played by girls at the

New Year New Year is the time or day currently at which a new calendar year begins and the calendar's year count increments by one. Many cultures celebrate the event in some manner. In the Gregorian calendar, the most widely used calendar system to ...

, the game can be played by any gender in two fashions: by one person attempting to keep the shuttlecock aloft as long as possible, or by two people batting it back and forth. Players who fail to hit the shuttlecock get marked on the face with India Ink. Traditionally, the longer the shuttlecock remains in the air, the greater protection from

mosquito Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ...

es the players will receive during the coming year. Although ''hanetsuki'' is not as popular as it used to be, decorative ''hagoita ''are commonly sold throughout Japan. The game is also known as . ''Hagoita'' often have pictures of

kabuki is a classical form of Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. Kabuki is thought to ...

theatre performers or celebrities on them. At the beginning of the game's development, soapberry nuts were often used as shuttlecocks.

References

Japanese games {{game-stub

See also

References