Games using beanbags (otedama)
Let me introduce a game using beanbags (otedama)!
Otedama are small cloth bags filled with azuki beans or rice.
In Japan, they’ve long been loved as children’s playthings.
Many of you have probably tried the game where you toss several otedama into the air and keep them going without dropping any, right?
In this article, we’ll introduce otedama tricks, traditional children’s songs you can play along with, and games using otedama that everyone from kids to adults can enjoy.
Try adding it to your everyday playtime!
Games using beanbags (1–10)
Nursery rhyme ‘Senbei Yaketa’
It has the fun you feel when playing house as a little girl.
Pretending to be a rice cracker seller, you sing the children’s song “Senbei, senbei yaketa” while moving your hands, imagining beanbags as rice crackers.
When the song ends, you pretend to eat the crackers.
Including the line “It’s delicious, isn’t it?” seems to nurture in children a sense of valuing food.
Beanbag Balance Game
For young children, balancing beanbags on their heads offers just the right level of challenge both motor-wise and relative to their body size, making it a safe and fun activity.
It’s enjoyable because they can play cooperatively while also satisfying that childlike desire to show others once they’ve mastered it.
Once they can balance the beanbag on their heads, lining up in a row and moving around the room together makes it even more fun.
Three lilies held with both hands
This is a juggling method called “Two-Hand Three-Ball Wave,” performed with both hands using three beanbags.
First, aim to complete one full cycle with all three balls.
Once you can do that, you can continue it continuously.
When you can perform the Two-Hand Three-Ball Wave, you might even try some street-performer-style tricks.
It’s also fun to swap the beanbags for rubber color balls!
Beanbag Catch
This is a recommended beanbag game for children who are still too young for moves like the swing toss or scoop toss.
To the rhythm of the beanbag song, they hold a beanbag in each hand and, without letting go, squeeze their cheeks or clap their hands.
At the end, they throw both beanbags into the air and catch them on the cue, “Catch!” Catching both at the same time is surprisingly tricky, but children will keep trying over and over until they succeed.
cluster move (in shogi)
One of the basic beanbag games is the pickup trick called “Yose-dama.” Scatter an odd number of beanbags on the floor, toss one designated as the main beanbag, and while it’s in the air, pick up the remaining beanbags, then catch the main one.
Once you get used to it, try increasing the number of beanbags you pick up.
It can be tricky if you rush, but once you get the hang of it, it’s easy! Try playing while singing a song.
Beanbag Toss Game
In the “Ojami Toss” game, “ojami” refers to beanbags.
Draw a line like in dodgeball to create two territories and place a beach ball in the middle.
From outside the boundary, throw beanbags at the beach ball, and you win if you push the beach ball into the opponent’s territory.
It gets really exciting if you set a fixed number of beanbags or a time limit!
Beanbag stick-toppling game
The beanbag stick-toppling game is played by stacking about 50 beanbags into a pile, standing a stick in the center, and then removing three beanbags at a time without letting the stick fall.
Split into two teams; the team that makes the stick fall loses.
One player from each team comes up in turn, and the winner of rock-paper-scissors removes the beanbags first.
You can make it more interesting by placing beanbags to keep the stick from falling easily, or by starting with the stick slightly tilted.
If you start with the stick slightly tilted, removing the beanbags one by one makes the game even more exciting.
one-handed yuri
One of the beanbag-juggling weaving tricks is the “one-handed weave.” In this trick, which is usually done with both hands, you juggle using only one hand.
Hold two beanbags in one hand.
Throw the first one, and while it’s in the air, throw the second.
Catch the first as it comes down, and before the second falls, throw the first back up again.
At the beginning, it’s fine to let them drop to the floor instead of catching—focus on learning the timing of the two throws.
Yuri Hanasaki
One way to play with three beanbags is called “Hanasaki Yuri.” The name comes from how, after throwing two of the beanbags, the paths they trace spread beautifully to the left and right.
Therefore, it’s important to be able to draw clean arcs with those two beanbags.
Once you learn the knack, even children can master it, but to achieve beautiful trajectories, practice is everything! For kids, it might help to mix in other beanbag games during practice so they don’t get bored.
Beanbag darts
Beanbag darts is a very simple indoor game.
You throw your own beanbags toward a target placed on the floor and compete for points.
For the target, use a large sheet of poster paper and draw concentric circles labeled 10 points, 50 points, and so on.
It’s a good idea to tape the paper down so it doesn’t shift when you throw.
You can enjoy it by taking turns individually or playing in teams.
Since it can be played while seated, everyone can join in easily.