焦らず、慌てず、諦めず (aserazu, awatezu, akiramezu): 

“Never rush, Never panic, Never give up.” - Japan Kendama Association Slogan

Most people relate kendama to Cup and Ball or Ball and Cup type toys, and for good reason. In fact, many civilizations throughout history had some form of hand eye coordination training toy or tool that was a ball attached by a string to a handle / cup that was meant to catch the ball on. In Spanish speaking countries, Boilche, Balero, Perinola, Coca, and Emboque.  In France, the Bilboquet. It is believed that Kendama is an advancement from the Bilboquet, which likely made its way to Japan via the Nagasaki port prior to 1800. 

The Predecessor of the modern day kendama is the “Nichi-getsu Ball” or "Sun and Moon Ball", invented in Hiroshima in 1919.. Kendama is different from its predecessors because of the addition of the sarado, or cross piece. Some tricks still performed to this day are from the early days of Kendama. In the beginning, Kendama was mostly a drinking game for adults in Japan, before work done by the Tokyo Kendama Club and the Japan Kendama Association (JKA)

The JKA was founded in 1975 by Issei Fujiwara, a children's book writer with a unique story.  He used kendama to escape the reality of a troubled childhood, the result of his mother passing away and his father disappearing at an early age. After being taken in by a church, he found passion in writing books for children, eventually penning the story that led to the Disney movie “Eight Below.”

Kendama became his life’s passion when he passed a child on the street swinging a kendama around aimlessly.  He decided to stop and teach the child how to play, and soon was surrounded by children. Had he not decided to stop and teach kendama, the JKA would never have been formed, and kendama may have never become well known outside of Japan and become the sport it is today. 

He was worried that kids were isolating themselves due to strict school examinations, and he wanted to engage them to meet each other, learn life lessons, and share a bond through kendama.  

Issei Fujiwara died in 1994, a little more than a decade before there was international passion and motivation to spread kendama for the much of the same reason that he began in the first place.

Kendama began to bloom outside of Japan with the rise of the internet. Kendama USA started to distribute JKA products in 2008, with Sweets Kendamas and Krom Kendama starting in 2010.  

With Social Media and grit, these companies started to develop the international community outside of Japan, and it is still growing to this day.  We will never forget where we came from, and continue to pay homage to those that spread kendama before us. 

We work closely with everyone working to grow the sport and game, including GLOKEN, the Global Kendama Network, the JKA, and other brands that sell kendama.

In traditional business, people who sell what you sell are considered competitors, and even enemies. We view this differently. We should all work together to make our dreams come true, and create a sport and a legacy. This way the future generations can benefit from kendama in the same ways we have.