The kendama is a Japanese skill game that has been around for centuries.
The kendama is made up of two parts: the ball and the handle. The ball is called tama and has a hole in the middle. The ball is connected to the handle( s ) with a string. The ken is composed of 2 parts: the basic handle and the part called the sara . The ken has cups in three sizes. A large, a small cup on the sara and an even larger cup at the base of the ken. These can all be used to catch the tama.
The blunt striker, the kensaki , can also be used to catch the ball. Although the kendama looks simple, the possibilities are limitless.
The kendama has been around for hundreds of years and is said to have its origins as an aid to improve hand-eye coordination to achieve better results during hunting.
