What is Janken?
The game janken is the Japanese version of “Rock, Paper, Scissors.” Many countries have a game like “Rock, Paper, Scissors” and janken is very similar to the English-language version. It uses the same hand gestures: a fist for “rock,” a flat and open hand for “paper,” and a V-shape with your first two fingers for “scissors.” The same rules for winning apply, too: rock beats scissors, scissors beats paper, and paper beats rock. However, the terminology is obviously different in Japanese: Rock: guu (グー) Paper: paa (パー) Scissors: choki (チョキ)
How to Play Janken
Face your opponent and say saishowaguu with a closed fist (“rock”). Janken plays very similarly to “Rock, Paper, Scissors,” but with a few added formalities. To start, hold out your fist in the “rock” shape and say saishowaguu (最初はグー) together; this means “first fist” or “first rock” and initiates the game.
Say jankenpon and show your move on “pon.” Chant jankenpon (じゃんけんぽん) with your opponent and flash your rock, paper, or scissors hand sign on the syllable “pon.” This is similar to English-speaking players saying “Rock, paper, scissor, shoot!” and showing their move on “Shoot!” Compare your hand gestures to see who won the game. Remember: rock beats scissors, scissors beats paper, and paper beats rock.
Say aiko desho and play again to break a tie. If you and your opponent show the same hand sign, it’s a tie. To settle the game, chant aiko desho (相子でしょ), meaning “Looks like it’s a draw,” and show a new hand sign on the syllable “sho.” Be prepared to say aiko desho immediately in the case of a draw; janken is very fast-paced compared to “Rock, Paper, Scissors.” Continue chanting aiko desho and showing new signs on “sho” until the draw is broken and somebody wins the game.
Cultural Significance of Janken in Japan
Playing janken is a traditional way to settle social disagreements in Japan. Japanese children learn janken at a young age, and it’s a common way for parents and teachers to let their kids handle disputes impartially. In fact, it’s customary to accept the outcome of janken even if it doesn’t go your way. Adults use the game to decide things like who pays for dinner or what to watch on TV, but sometimes even use it to make consequential business decisions or settle other disputes with high stakes. Janken is so popular that it’s common for bar and restaurant workers to play against customers for free drinks or food. There are local variations of janken and different ways to settle ties throughout Japan, depending on where and who you’re paying with.
In 2005, a $20 million art deal was decided using janken. In a very high-stakes and public example of the game’s dispute-settling powers, Takashi Hashiyama—President of the Japanese electronics company Maspro Denkoh Corporation—had representatives of the auction houses Sotheby’s and Christie’s compete in a game of janken to determine who would win a consignment of $20 million-worth of Impressionist and Modern works from the company’s art collection. Rather than play by hand, the representatives met in Tokyo and wrote their move—rock, paper, or scissors—on slips of paper. The representative from Christie’s Japan won by playing “scissors,” which beat her opponent’s “paper.” Hashiyama defended the decision to leave the collection’s fate to chance, saying “It probably looks strange to others…but I believe this is the best way to decide between two things which are equally good.”
University of Tokyo researchers built a janken robot that wins 100% of games. The robot hand is equipped with a camera that can detect miniscule movements in its human opponent’s hand, allowing it to see which hand gesture they’re about to form almost instantaneously. The robot then plays a winning hand to beat its opponent. The robot was built in 2012 both to display new excellence in robotics and technology, but also to raise a philosophical question about how robots might one day fit into society with humans.
Origins of Janken
The game janken originated in China during the Han dynasty (202 BC–220 AD). This information comes from the Wu za zu, a 15th- or 16th-century Chinese book that contains the first recorded mention of a hand game similar to “Rock, Paper, Scissors” called shoushiling. A similar game called sansukumi-ken (“three-way deadlock,” with “ken” meaning “fist”) and its variations spread to Japan from China, including mushi–ken (a version of “Rock, Paper, Scissors” that uses a frog, slug, and snake; the animals were represented by sticking out your pinky, thumb, or pointer finger). Janken is the most popular and well-known sansukumi-ken today. This specific variation using the signs for rock, paper, and scissors arrived in Japan from China in the 17th century. Modern “Rock, Paper, Scissors” in the US is derived directly from the Japanese janken.
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