Sansukumi-ken

One of the few surviving sansukumi-ken games is jan-ken, which was brought to the West in the 20th century as rock paper scissors.

The speech chronicles ken as a game played by the emperors of ancient China during drinking parties.

The story is set in Nagasaki's Maruyama red light district approximately 150 years prior to the publication of the handbook.

The Chinese hosted a party in Maruyama and held Japan's first ken tournament after feasting and dancing.

The importance of the party is never made clear in the speech, but the story is useful for understanding the cultural background of ken games.

[9] The chonkina stripping game is a variation of kitsune-ken where players remove their clothing each time they lose a round.

Linhart believes that the global success of rock paper scissors comes from the universal appeal of its simplicity.