Round, Round We Go: Two Japanese Wooden Tops (こま)

One of my favourite Japanese toys is their take on a children’s classic the world over, the wooden top. One type is a little model that actually spins on the top of its handle once you spin it fast enough. It’s pretty cool as you can see in this short video.
The most enjoyable one is the top with string. Long before Beyblades and their failsafe ripcords came along, children actually had to learn to wind a rope carefully around the top before they could even think of getting started. Once they mastered that technique, there was the wrist flip to master. Rather than produce my own video this time around, I thought I’d present the video that taught me how to wrap and spin the top properly. Unfortunately, that video is no longer available on YouTube. Fortunately, I found an even better one with a pleasant soundtrack. Don't let the lack of English subtitles worry you as the video demonstration is slow and easy to follow.
As you can see, this top is a lot of fun and offers a real sense of pride to those who learn how to spin it. It can’t spin longer than a modern Beyblade, but it will put any handheld top to shame. From there, a whole world of tricks await to be mastered. The following video shows some of the best I have seen.
Travis Belrose is the author of The Samurai Poet, a novel in which the only toys are sticks and branches used as swords.