-
Goodbye katanuki? Japanese festival game may go extinct thanks to the pandemic
投稿日 2021年2月10日 10:00:45 (ニュース)
-
続・お知らせ。海外セレブゴシップ&ニュース
-
お知らせ
-
We spot the legendary dekotora Aki Kannon, dedicated to actress and singer Aki Yashiro
-
New Pokémon GU collaboration dresses all the family, including babies for the first time
-
How do European Cup Noodles taste to a Japanese palate?
-
We’ve been doing it wrong – Japanese genius shows us how we should all be making sandwiches【Pics】
-
The future is now with full face sunglasses
-
Natto-infused ramen is a thing — we tried it, we love it【Taste test】
-
Jellyfish and Halloween in perfect harmony at Sumida Aquarium event
-
Japanese toilet paper collection opens our minds as we open our butts
-
Aomori police on the lookout for man shouting unsolicited advice at kids about dating and ramen
-
Former Arashi members Sho Sakurai and Masaki Aiba get married… Wait, that didn’t come out right
-
Creator of Japan’s longest-running manga, Golgo 13, passes away, leaves fans one last gift
-
Crazy cheap cosplay at Daiso? How to transform into Dragon Ball’s Vegeta at the discount shop
-
7 Halloween-themed afternoon teas you won’t want to miss this year
-
Krispy Kreme Japan creates doughnut burgers that are a meal and two desserts all in one【Photos】
-
Get in the damn drift car, Shinji? Evangelion Tomika toy brings D1 machine home in miniature form
-
Demon Slayer Nichiren Blades ready for new duty: Slicing through your sweets as dessert knives
-
Man in Japan arrested for breaking into ex-girlfriend’s apartment to steal her Nintendo Switch
-
The Japanese Internet chooses the top too-sexy-for-their-own-good male voices in anime
-
First-ever Studio Ghibli x Russell Athletic range pays homage to My Neighbour Totoro
-
Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan announces first expansion with new Donkey Kong area
-
Cup Noodle pouch satisfies our never-ending need for instant ramen
-
Retro Japanese train is our new favourite office space
-
How do Japanese fans feel about Netflix’s live-action Cowboy Bebop opening sequence?
-
We try Uniqlo coffee at first-ever cafe inside Ginza flagship store
-
The number of elderly people in Japan this year has yet again smashed multiple records
-
Mr. Sato broadens his home drinking horizons at Kaldi【Japan’s Best Home Senbero】
-
We try Japanese Twitter’s newest trend the Penguin Egg, end up hatching something very disturbing
-
Takoyaki makers surprisingly good at grilling meat for yakiniku too
Sponsored Link
The only makers of katanuki pieces may have to close their doors forever if the pandemic continues much longer.
There all kinds of fun traditions associated with Japanese festivals, but one of the most popular for kids–besides the many food stalls selling sweets, of course–are the festival games, like the goldfish scoop, ring toss, and air rifle shooting. Children all over the country look forward to festivals so they can win prizes from the games.
But one beloved festival activity known as katanuki might not survive the pandemic. Why? Because the company that makes katanuki may be forced to close its doors if it goes on much longer.
//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js
Katanuki is a kind of contest of skill and patience. The game is played with small, fragile candy boards that have a picture carved into them, like flowers, daily objects or animals. The designs come in different levels of difficulty, and participants have to try to carefully cut out the picture with a small needle or pin without breaking it. If they succeed, they win a prize, and the higher the difficulty, the better the prize.
These candies, which are made with rice or potato flour, sugar, and food coloring, are mostly supplied by one small, family-owned company known as Hashimoto. They have been making katanuki candies since the 1960s, when they began selling them at kamishibai street theater performances. Though the advent of television meant the decline of kamishibai, Hashimoto weathered the change of times when other katanuki candy makers closed their businesses by selling their candies at street stalls, which soon led to a huge boost in popularity. Eventually, thanks to their savvy business practices, katanuki became popular across the country as a festival game.
View this post on InstagramSponsored Link
//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js
Currently, the company consists of just nine people: four of his family members and five part-time workers. Yet still they have managed to supply enough katanuki candies for festivals all over Japan. “There isn’t a clear way of knowing for sure, but I think we are the only domestic company who makes them,” said the company’s current president, Kenji Hashimoto. But that means if his company is in trouble, the whole tradition might be, too.
With the declaration of the state of emergency in April last year, spring festivals around the country were canceled, and Hashimoto realized they would have to suffer losses for spring and hope that summer would let them bounce back. But the pandemic continued through the year, cancelling nearly every festival of the summer and fall and essentially wiping out most of the demand for katanuki candies. Even shops and restaurants that sold them experienced a decrease in business, and Hashimoto’s sales tanked.
//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js
Though they hoped stay-at-home orders (Hashimoto katanuki sets can be purchased through Amazon for 775 yen [US$7.50]) would boost sales of their katanuki sets at supermarkets, profits have still been tremendously low, and with a second state of emergency declared and extended, things aren’t looking good for Hashimoto. “We have zero orders for events. It looks like festivals might be difficult this year too. We’ve been surviving by lowering my family’s salaries, but that has its limits, too,” said Hashimoto. “At this rate, we won’t be able to maintain the culture of katanuki.”
Vaccines are on the way, but they may not be approved in Japan for several months yet, so we will probably see spring and summer go by without any festivals. Hopefully katanuki and its maker Hashimoto can withstand the winds of change and continue to provide children of all ages with happy festival memories when all this is over, or else they’ll be yet another decades-old, traditional business to become a victim of the pandemic.
Source: Asahi Shimbun via Kyodo News via Hachima Kiko
Top image: Amazon/ブランド: ハシモト(Hashimoto)
● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
Source: SORA NEWS24
Sponsored Link
最新情報