The beigoma (Japanese: ベーゴマ) is a traditional Japanese top that is approximately 3 cm in diameter and often decorated with kanji. [1] [2] [3] When spun correctly, the beigoma makes a humming sound. [4]
Players wrap their tops in thin, 60-cm long cords which they use to launch the tops onto the playing surface of a canvas fabric sheet partially stretched over a bucket or similar items. The winner is the player whose top spins the longest or successfully knocks the opponent's top out of the playing area.[ citation needed ] Players will modify their tops to accommodate different play-styles by methods such as filing away material to change the shape of the top, adding in material like wax or lead to change the distribution of weight, and fine tuning via sanding imperfections caused by the casting process.
The koma may have come to Japan from China, popular in the Kamakura period. [5] Well known by the 17th-century Edo period, the beigoma was originally made by filling spiral seashells (called "Bai") with sand and sealing them with molten wax. By the 20th century, the toy were made of lead and later of cast metal. Their popularity peaked in the first half of the 20th century before falling out of favour as newer postwar toys became available.[ citation needed ]
The advent of the modern line of battling tops called Beyblade (introduced in 1999) has caused a resurgence in interest in beigoma. [6] [7] [8] [9] However, as of 2001, there was only one factory still manufacturing traditional beigoma. [2] [3] [6]
Twister is a game of physical skill produced by Milton Bradley Company and Winning Moves Games USA. It is played on a large plastic mat that is spread on the floor or ground. The mat has four rows of six large colored circles on it with a different color in each row: red, yellow, green and blue. A spinner tells players where they have to place their hand or foot. The game promotes itself as "the game that ties you up in knots".
A yo-yo is a toy consisting of an axle connected to two disks, and a string looped around the axle, similar to a spool. It is an ancient toy with proof of existence since 440 BC. The yo-yo was also called a bandalore in the 17th century.
A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and pets. Toys can provide utilitarian benefits, including physical exercise, cultural awareness, or academic education. Additionally, utilitarian objects, especially those which are no longer needed for their original purpose, can be used as toys. Examples include children building a fort with empty cereal boxes and tissue paper spools, or a toddler playing with a broken TV remote control. The term "toy" can also be used to refer to utilitarian objects purchased for enjoyment rather than need, or for expensive necessities for which a large fraction of the cost represents its ability to provide enjoyment to the owner, such as luxury cars, high-end motorcycles, gaming computers, and flagship smartphones.
A doll is a model typically of a human or humanoid character, often used as a toy for children. Dolls have also been used in traditional religious rituals throughout the world. Traditional dolls made of materials such as clay and wood are found in the Americas, Asia, Africa and Europe. The earliest documented dolls go back to the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Greece, and Rome. They have been made as crude, rudimentary playthings as well as elaborate art. Modern doll manufacturing has its roots in Germany, from the 15th century. With industrialization and new materials such as porcelain and plastic, dolls were increasingly mass-produced. During the 20th century, dolls became increasingly popular as collectibles.
The diabolo is a juggling or circus prop consisting of an axle and two cups or discs derived from the Chinese yo-yo. This object is spun using a string attached to two hand sticks. A large variety of tricks is possible with the diabolo, including tosses, and various types of interaction with the sticks, string, and various parts of the user's body. Multiple diabolos can be spun on a single string.
A spinning top, or simply a top, is a toy with a squat body and a sharp point at the bottom, designed to be spun on its vertical axis, balancing on the tip due to the gyroscopic effect.
A dreidel, also dreidle or dreidl, is a four-sided spinning top, played during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. The dreidel is a Jewish variant on the teetotum, a gambling toy found in Europe and Latin America.
Beyblade, known in Japan as Explosive Shoot Beyblade, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Takao Aoki to promote sales of spinning tops called "Beyblades" developed as a co-production between Takara Tomy and Hasbro. The series focuses on a group of kids who form teams, which battle one another using Beyblades. Originally serialized in Shogakukan's CoroCoro Comic from September 1999 to July 2004, the individual chapters were collected and published in 14 tankōbon volumes and was licensed for English-language release in North America by Viz Media. It was licensed for English releases in Singapore and in Australia and New Zealand by Chuang Yi.
A golf ball is a ball designed to be used in golf. Under the rules of golf, a golf ball has a mass no more than 1.620 oz (45.9 g), has a diameter not less than 1.680 inches (42.7 mm), and performs within specified velocity, distance, and symmetry limits. Like golf clubs, golf balls are subject to testing and approval by The R&A and the United States Golf Association, and those that do not conform with regulations may not be used in competitions (Rule 5–1).
The National Toy Hall of Fame is a U.S. hall of fame that recognizes the contributions of toys and games that have sustained their popularity for many years. Criteria for induction include: icon status ; longevity ; discovery ; and innovation. Established in 1998 under the direction of Ed Sobey, it was originally housed at A. C. Gilbert's Discovery Village in Salem, Oregon, United States, but was moved to the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York, in 2002 after it outgrew its original home.
Takara Co., Ltd. was a Japanese toy company founded in 1955. In March 2006, the company merged with Tomy Company, Ltd. to form Takara Tomy. The Takara motto was「遊びは文化」("playing is culture").
Tomy Company, Ltd. is a Japanese toy company. It was established in 1924 by Eiichirō Tomiyama as Tomiyama Toy Manufacturing Company (富山玩具製作所), became known for creating popular toys like the B-29 friction toy and luck-based game Pop-up Pirate. In 2006, Tomy merged with another toy manufacturer, Takara, and although the English company name remained the same, it became Takara Tomy in Asia. It has its headquarters in Katsushika, Tokyo.
Beyblade: Super Tournament Battle, also known as Beyblade V-Force: Super Tournament Battle and Bakuten Shoot Beyblade 2002: Nettou! Magne-tag Battle! in Japan is a Beyblade 2002 role-playing video game. The game was released originally on December 19, 2002 in Japan and was later released in the west in 2003. It is based on the Beyblade V-Force season.
A trompo is a top which is spun by winding a length of string around the body, and launching it so that lands spinning on its point. If the string is attached to a stick the rotation can be maintained by whipping the side of the body. The string may also be wound around the point while the trompo is spinning in order to control its position or even lift the spinning top to another surface.
Battling Tops is a children's game invented by Eddy Goldfarb and first manufactured by Ideal in 1968. In the game, players launch spinning tops into an arena with the aim to have the final standing spinning top. The game has similarities to gasing pangkah, a traditional Malay sport.
Beyblade is a line of spinning-top toys originally developed by Takara, first released in Japan in July 1999, along with a related manga series. Following Takara's merger with Tomy in 2006, Beyblades are now developed by Takara Tomy. Various toy companies around the world have licensed Beyblade toys for their own regions, such as Hasbro in most Western countries, Sonokong in South Korea, and Takara Tomy for most Eastern countries.
BeyWheelz is an anime series, a spin-off of the series Beyblade. While produced in Japan, the series has yet to be aired in Japanese. Originally commissioned by Nelvana to make up for Beyblade: Metal Fury's shortened season, BeyWheelz is a series of 13 episodes, which is set in an independent continuity. The series is followed by BeyWarriors: BeyRaiderz, which acts as a continuation story for Sho, Jin, and Leon.
Battle Strikers was a line of magnetically controlled customizable spinning tops. The toyline was released in 2009 by MagNext Toys and Megabloks from Mega Brands.
Beyblade Burst is a Japanese manga and toyline created by Hiro Morita, based on Takara Tomy's Beyblade franchise. The third series of the franchise, the Beyblade Burst toyline launched on July 15, 2015, while the original manga was serialized in Shogakukan's children's manga magazine CoroCoro Comic from August 2015 to December 2021 and is compiled into twenty tankōbon volumes. Shogakukan's South East Asian branch began publishing it in English in April 2017.
Beyblade is a Japanese media franchise that consists of toys, manga, anime television series and films.