kendama

K5E1N1D2A1M3A1
/ˈkɛnˌdɑːmə/

noun

A traditional Japanese toy with an attached ball that can be caught in any of three cups or on a spike.

Scrabble 14

Meanings

nounkendama (plural kendamas)

plural kendamas

  1. A traditional Japanese toy with an attached ball that can be caught in any of three cups or on a spike.

    He spread kendama throughout Japan utilizing strong-minded leadership while working energetically on unifying and codifying the techniques. […] In 1980 Fujiwara moved production of the official JKA kendama to the company Hakushinsya (maker of the Shinfuji).

    2019 July 12, “History of the Japan Kendama Association”, in Sweet Kendamas, archived from the original on 29 Jun 2021
    1 more example

    An especially haunting work, “If the Moment Came,” is a waist-high black box with a top made of wired glass and a murky interior that shows a looping video of a hand playing with a kendama, a Japanese toy featuring a wooden handle and a small ball. The artist, Chloë Cheuk, said that she created the installation after making an audio recording of boys playing with kendamas at one of the 2014 protest sites.

    2017 March 30, Mike Ives, “As Hong Kong Ponders Its Future Under Beijing, Politics Infuses Its Art”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 27 Feb 2021

Origin

  1. Japaneseけん玉
  2. Englishkendama

Borrowed from Japanese けん玉 (けんだま, kendama), from 拳 (けん, ken, “game played with the hands; fist”) or 剣 (けん, ken, “sword”) + 玉 (たま, tama, “ball”).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 劍玉 /剑玉, 劍球 /剑球
  • 劍玉 /剑玉 (jiànyù)Japanese toy with an attached ball
  • 劍球 /剑球 (jiànqiú)Japanese toy with an attached ball
  • 托球 (tuōqiú)Japanese toy with an attached ball
Hebrew קֶנְדָמָה
  • קֶנְדָמָה (kendamá)Japanese toy with an attached ball
Japanese けん玉, 拳玉
  • けん玉Japanese toy with an attached ball
  • 拳玉Japanese toy with an attached ball
  • 剣玉 (kendama)Japanese toy with an attached ball
Korean 켄다마
  • 켄다마 (kendama)Japanese toy with an attached ball
Spanish kendama
  • kendamaJapanese toy with an attached ball
Cite this entry
APA

kendama. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kendama

MLA

“kendama.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kendama. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “kendama,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kendama.

Source: kendama on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.