Origin of Janken

The modern game rock paper scissors (jan ken pon, or janken) is a relatively recent offshoot of a very broad and old family of games, some of which survive in various part of Asia and some of which are dead. This family is called ken-asobi (ken-games, in other words) in Japanese.

By far the greatest density and variety of janken variants is to be found in Japan -- although it would be unwise to conclude from that that rock paper scissors necessarily originates in Japan. For a description of some Japanese variants, see here.

For an overview of ken games throughout the world, see here.

Because of historical and cultural factors, it has generally been tempting to consider ken games in general, and rock paper scissors in particular, 'Japanese games'. Most Japanese believe the games to be peculiarly Japanese. On the other hand, most Chinese regard rock paper scissors as Chinese. The truth is that this complicated family of games can hardly be credited to any one region.

Early origins: Kazu-ken

Ken games are divided into two families, of which 'kazu-ken' is the older. 'Kazu-ken' is the Japanese term for ken games that involve counting or guessing numbers. This family of games still thrives in Korea. Such games tend to be harder work than rock paper scissors and to be played as games in their own right rather than as a way to settle arbitrary decisions. The Ming Dynasty book 'The Collection of Five' (五雑組) describes a game called 'shoushiling' (手勢令), said to have been popular with the nobility of the Han Dynasty -- between 25 and 220 AD. Shoushiling was a game based on guessing the number of fingers (i.e. it was a kazu-ken). Even allowing for the charming tendency of Chinese records to move all dates as far as possible into the past, this is the first appearance of a ken-game in history. By the Sung Dynasty (960-1279) it seems likely that games similar to shoushiling were well established.

It was not until the 17th century, though, that such a game arrived in Japan via the port of Nagasaki (the only point of entry for foreign goods and ideas during the Edo period) and was later given the name 'hon-ken', meaning 'original ken'. Shortly afterward, an explosion in ken variants and styles occurred in Japan.

Refinement: sukumi

Kazu-ken, however, is the less widespread and less diverse of the two ken families that exist. 'Sukumi-ken' is the Japanese term for ken games that involve making distinct symbols (usually with the hands, a la rock paper scissors, but not always), some of which beat others and are in turn beaten by yet others. In sukumi-ken, a similar game dynamic to kazu-ken is achieved but without the need for the players to say numbers or do arithmetic; it seems likely that sukumi-ken is a refinement of the older game.

'Sukumi', here, is a word derived from the character 'to cower' and conveys the idea of forces held in balance by mutual fear. For a long time the most populal sukumi-ken in Japan was 'mushi-ken', in which the three gestures represented snake, slug and frog. (This begs the question of how slug defeats snake.) The use of these three particular animals goes back to a Chinese book known in Japan as Kan'inshi (関尹子) but the game itself appears to be Japanese.

However, the idea represented by sukumi is a common one in East Asian religion in general. Sukumi-ken seem to have existed for a long time in areas such as south China and Southeast Asia and may not be due to Japanese influence -- in particular, there seems to be a family of five-element sukumi-ken found from China to Indonesia that may represent a separate invention of a similar game dynamic.

The rock, the paper, the scissors

Although mushi-ken remained the most common sukumi-ken for some time, the later Edo period was a time of rapid growth in a lot of Japan's artistic traditions and the total number of variants in play was enormous. At this time, ken games were in the progress of shifting from being adult-oriented drinking games toward use in the playground, or for making 'random' decisions. The move to sukumi-ken was part of this trend, which favored small, quick games. The development of the janken variant seems to have taken place either in the late Edo period (from the 1830's onward) or in the early years of the Meiji period (the 1870s). It first began somewhere in Kyuushuu -- it's tempting to assume Nagasaki -- and spread out from there in the early years of Meiji.

As with all the ken games that generally started at Nagasaki and spread outward through the rest of Japan, it's difficult to be sure whether janken was invented in Kyuushuu or whether it was invented outside of Japan, arrived at Nagasaki, and then spread to the rest of Japan. Nagasaki

The movement outward of ken games from Nagasaki to the rest of Japan presents something of a puzzle. Were new games constantly being brought to Nagasaki by Chinese and Korean travellers, and then spreading through Japan? Or were new games being invented in the ken-obsessed city of Nagasaki and surrounding areas of Kyuushuu? One can never be sure, and there is evidence on both sides.

The case for an origin in Nagasaki

Vast numbers of ken variants (see here) certainly did originate in Japan from the 17th to the 19th centuries. The vast majority of them were never played anywhere but Japan. Rock paper scissors could easily have been one of these variants.

Furthermore, even to this day West Japan remains by far the richest part of the world in living ken games. This suggests that no influx of foreign games was necessary to keep 'ken culture' alive in that region.

The case for an origin outside Japan

The case for a non-Japanese (probably Korean) origin of rock paper scissors rests largely on variants in the scissors gesture.

In Japan, the 'male' scissors gesture (thumb and first finger) has been gradually replaced by the 'female' gesture (first and second fingers). The 'male' gesture survived longest in Kyuushuu and Nagasaki.

Everywhere else in the world, the 'female' gesture is the only one used, except Korea, where the 'male' one, until recently, was almost universal.

In other words, it may be that rock paper scissors originated in Korea with the 'male' scissors gesture, travelled to Japan and took root in Kyuushuu, and reached Edo/Tokyo with the 'female' gesture gradually becoming prevalent. When rock paper scissors spread from Japan to the rest of the world, it carried the 'female' gesture, leaving Korea and West Japan with the old gesture.

It could also be suggested that the term 'Janken' is of Chinese origin. However, the etymology of this word is so obscure and complicated, and there are so many things of Japanese origin that have Sino-Japanese names, that this is not a particularly compelling argument.

Conclusion

In general, the following sequence of events is clear:

• 0 AD - 1200: Ken games are invented somewhere that's now part of China.
• 1650 - 1700: Ken games arrive in Japan as hon-ken.
• 1830 - 1880: Sukumi-ken having replaced kazu-ken, janken is born in or near Japan.
• 1940 - present: Janken, as rock paper scissors, is exported out of Asia.

The details, alas, remain unclear, not least because of the tremendous diversity of games in the ken family -- and because so few people bothered to write them down. Inexplicable, isn't it?

Etymology

The origin of the actual word 'janken' and of the chant 'jan ken pon' is obscure.

Janken is now usually written in Sino-Japanese as 両拳. The word might be derived from:

• 'ryanken' (鋏拳) where 'ryan' means 'scissors'.
• 'jakuken' (石拳) where 'jaku' means 'stone'.
• 'jaken' (蛇拳) where 'ja' means 'snake'.
• 'chai-kyun' (cantonese 猜拳).

If the above are true, then the 'pon' is perhaps just a variant of the exclamation 'hoi'.

Then again, there are also theories that the entire expression, 'pon' or 'hoi' and all, comes from Buddhist terminology such as 'ryakenhoui' (料間法意). Others suggest that it's from the Chinese phrase 'yan-ken-en-bo' (様拳元宝), perhaps derived from Chinese visitors to Nagasaki.

Unfortunately, time and entropy have probably swallowed the origin of this word forever.

Incorrect theories

Human nature being as it is, there are certain theories (on Wikipedia, at the time of writing) which don't seem to be the product of scholarship so much as misplaced nationalism, or possibly just plain silliness.

How anyone could bear to be silly about the serious business of jankenpon is beyond me.

Janken originated in Portugal or England

The World RPS Society's 'Joao V de Portugal' advances the theory than janken is of Portuguese origin. Unfortunately on the Internet this kind of thing is apt to get taken literally, especially as most Japanese observers don't realize that the WRPSS is tongue-in-cheek.

The WRPSS also claims to have been first founded in England in 1842, a claim refuted at some length on Japanese Wikipedia. Again, this is part of the WRPSS's mystique rather than a serious claim.

Janken originated in Japan

While Janken very likely did originate in Japan, there is some less-than-compelling evidence adduced to strengthen the case. Notably, it is claimed that the 'ken' naming system for what the present article calls 'ken games' is of Japanese origin and that therefore janken, which has such a name, is of Japanese origin.

Generally, though, there is no consistency in game naming between Chinese and Japanese and even Go, which is probably of Central Asian origin, has it's own name in Japanese.

In Japan, the fact that the third element is paper in Japan and the rest of the world, but cloth in Korea and China, is sometimes adduced as evidence that Japan's version is 'original' and that a distortion occurred during transmission to China and Korea. In fact, though, it is equally likely that a distortion occurred during transmission from the mainland to Japan -- a change that was then passed on from Japan to the west.