HAGOITA

Do you know the Japanese traditional game, “HANETSUKI”? It is the game, something like badminton, played during the New Year.

“HAGOITA” are Japanese wooden paddles, usually rectangular in shape, and used in the “HANETSUKI”.

When I was a child, my mother bought two HAGOITAS for me to play HANETSUKI game. I remember my Hagoitas were decorated with images of beautiful woman in kimono.

They were created with cloth cut out in the shape of kabuki actors, and then pasted onto the paddle with cottons inside them to give them a dimension.

Hagoitas are not commonly seen nowadays, but continues to be a decorative item in some Japanese households.

The height of the hagoita (picture above) is 75cm. Others are about 60cm.

In December, the Hagoita-ichi (the Hagoita Market) is held at Sensoji Temple, Asakusa. Various kinds of Hagoitas in different sizes and designs are sold in dozens of market stalls there.

I’ve got several Hagoitas from my old friend. They are secondhand, but elaborate and beautifully handmade by her mother. She must have worked wholeheartedly on these Haagoitas.