The 6th Hokuryu Kendama Festival (Hokuryu Town, Hokkaido) Children and adults interact and connect with each other, and enjoy themselves with all their hearts as one!

Friday, June 28, 2024

The 6th Hokuryu Kendama Festival was held on Tuesday, June 25, from 6:00 p.m. at the main hall of the Hokuryu Community Center, organized by the Hokuryu Kendama Club (Representative Naoki Kishi).

The 6th Hokuryu Kendama Festival

Twenty-four children and seven adults from Uryu Town, Numata Town, Asahikawa City, etc., including members of the Hokuryu Kendama Club, participated.

Adults and children joined forces together, full of energy, and everyone enjoyed the game in the best possible way.

Naoki Kishi, Representative Director

Thank you for coming to the 6th Hokuryu Kendama Festival today. Today, 'Takeru-kun' came from Asahikawa. Thank you very much for coming from far away. And "Takeru-kun" from Asahikawa, also from Asahikawa.Dr. Masateru Akamatsu JOHNThe "The World's Most Beautiful People" is also participating in the "The World's Most Beautiful People.

Today, I will be joined by "Kissey," "Mr. Kato," and "Dr. John.

Today's competitions are "Suswari Kendama Showdown," "Tubular Kendama Relay," and "How many kendamas can you ride? Points will be awarded for each event, and the ranking will be determined by the total number of points.

The four teams will be divided into "Dragon," "Watermelon," "Melon," and "Rice," and prizes will be awarded for each rank. The prizes are sweets, and the winning team has the largest amount. Everyone should do their best to win!

Today's rule,

1. Don't fight amongst your team. Stay united and work hard for first place!
2. Be sure to support the other team when they are doing it!

I wish you all the best," said Kishi, a.k.a. Kishimoto.

Greetings from Dr. Masateru Akamatsu JOHN

The last time I visited was in late January, and I was glad to see that everyone was in high spirits as they tried their hand at kendama.
This is the third year since the Hokuryu Kendama Club started, and this is the sixth tournament.

I think everyone will realize how difficult it is to play kendama sitting down, in addition to the kendama skills, in this competition that Kisuki came up with.

And as Kissey said earlier, when people around you are playing, 'be sure to watch' and 'go for it! and cheer them on.

Have fun and do your best to win today," said Dr. JOHN.

Sitting-up Kendama Showdown

Four teams (6 persons per team + 1 adult) will take turns to compete in the 13-item event, and the number of persons who complete the event will be credited with points.

　
Yeah! Yes! "Wow, I did it!"
"Great!" Nice! "Nice!" "Great!"
Oh, that's too bad! Breathe slowly and deeply.

Cheering and shouting to each other, they boldly challenged each other's skills!
The advice and cheering shouts of JOHN Sensei and Yakishii echoed through the room.

tube-sniffing relay

The ball is placed on the tube of a tubular bamboo ball, run around a cone, and pass the ball to the next runner so as not to drop it, and compete for the time to the last runner.

Each team worked well together and smoothly passed the ball back and forth!

How many do you want to ride?

The whole team predicts how many pieces they can put on the 5-row platter for the adult challenge, and points are awarded when the prediction is correct.

Four adults participated in each of the four teams, including Kisuki, Mr. Kato, Mr. JOHN, and the principal of Manryu Elementary School, who paid an encouraging visit to the school!

The joy of the team that guessed correctly and the frustration of the team that didn't, both of which were shared by everyone, made for a great time!

Announcement of results

• Winner:Rice Team (71 points)
• 2nd place:Dragon Team (69 points)
• 3rd place:Watermelon Team (62 points)
• 4th:Melon Team (53 points)

Everyone worked together and did a great job! Congratulations!
Each team received a prize (candy) and a big smile!

Greetings from Representative Kishi

In Hokkaido, there are only a few kendama clubs. They are in Sapporo, Asahikawa, Kamishihoro, Kitami, and Atsuma. The Hokuryu Kendama Club is gaining national recognition.

Since everyone has been involved in various activities, I have been invited to teach in neighboring towns in Kita Sorachi and conduct kendama workshops.
Members of the Hokuryu Kendama Club sometimes come to play with us there. We are planning to have a few more this year, so we hope you will come and play with us.

This year we have decided to hold a Kendama event at Sunflower Village on Sunday, August 4 (everyone crack up!!!). We are very excited about this event.
The Hokuryu Kendama Club members would like to make the event at the Sunflower Village a great success. How about you all? (Everyone: crack up!!!!)
In case of rain, the event will be held in a large area in Sunflower Park Hokuryu Hot Springs.

Thank you to everyone who helped today. We have successfully completed the 6th session. Finally, please give us some advice from Dr. JOHN," said Representative Kishi.

A word from Dr. JOHN

Thank you all for your hard work. Was today's "Suswari Kendama Showdown" difficult for anyone? This is a difficult game.

When playing kendama standing up, it is in this seated competition that you can see how the lower body (knees, stomach, etc.) is used more than the upper body.

I think it is important to realize (and understand) that by doing this, we are using our hips and other lower body parts when we stand up.

I believe that taking the time to think about how you are using your hips and knees will help you improve in the future.

The rush of events is coming in the summer.

This Saturday, we will participate in an interdisciplinary event at Doto University in Kita Hiroshima; at the end of July, we will participate in a surfing event in Atsuma Town; on Sunday, August 4, we will have an event at Himawari no Sato; on Saturday, August 17, we have an event offer at AEON MALL Sapporo Naebo; in September, we will participate in an event at an abandoned school in Pibu Town In September, we are planning to participate in an event at an abandoned school in the town of Pibu. We hope to do many things during the summer vacation so that we can play on the stage at the events.
First of all, Kissei is planning various events at the Hokuryu Sunflower Village in August, so please join us!

Have fun and keep up the good work to get better and better. Thank you very much for today," said Dr. JOHN.

A team competition in which the entire team wins by making full use of individual kendama skills! We hope you will join us in the Hokuryu Kendama Club Tournament, where children and adults interact and connect with each other, and enjoy the tournament with all our hearts as one, with endless love, gratitude, and prayers.

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