Girls play hanetsuki (羽根突き, battledore and shuttlecock)1 in front of their home. This was one of the traditional games that was played during the New Year celebrations.
There are two ways to play this: one person keeps the shuttlecock aloft as long as possible, or two people bat the shuttlecock at each other.
This image is part of The New Year in Japan, a book published by Kobe-based photographer Kozaburo Tamamura in 1906. Original text2:
Attired in her best kimono (dress) and obi (band), Ohama San calls upon her friend Otama San to join her in a game of battledore and shutlecock [sic], this being a three day custom of the beginning of the New Year.
See all New Year images on Old Photos of Japan.
Notes
1 Hanetsuki is a traditional Japanese game. Similar to other racket games, it is played with a rectangular wooden paddle called a hagoita and a brightly colored shuttlecock. However, there is no net.
2 Tamamura, Kozaburo (1906). The New Year in Japan. Tamamura Shashinkan.
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Reference for Citations
Duits, Kjeld (). Kobe, 1906: New Year Celebrations 16, OLD PHOTOS of JAPAN. Retrieved on August 6, 2026 (GMT) from https://www.oldphotosjapan.com/photos/667/new-year-celebrations-16
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