13.3.13

Asian Origin of Rock-Paper-Scissors (Jan-Ken or Jan-Ken-Pon)

The first known mention of the game was in the book Wuzazu (五杂组) by the Chinese Ming Dynasty writer Xie Zhaozhi (谢肇淛; fl. ca. 1600), who wrote that the game dated back to the time of the Chinese Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD).[4] In the book, the game was called shoushiling (手势令; lit "hand command").

In Japanese history, the people often played sansukumi-ken, which were ken (fist) games with "the three who are afraid of one another" in the sense that A beats B, B beats C, and C beats A.[5] They originated in China before being imported to Japan, where they became popular in Japanese society.[5] The earliest Japanese sansukumi-ken was a game known as mushi-ken that had been imported directly from China.[5][6] 

Today, the best-known sansukumi-ken is jan-ken,[6] which is a variation of the Chinese games introduced in the 17th century.[7] The game Jan-ken uses the signs of rock, paper, and scissors[5] and is the game that the modern version of rock-paper-scissors directly derives from.[6] The most commonly found modern version of the game—originated in the Edo to Meiji period in late 19th century Japan.[8]

By the early 20th century, rock-paper-scissors had spread beyond Asia, especially through increased Japanese contact with the west.[9]

Elsewhere in Asia the open-palm gesture represents "cloth" rather than "paper".[11]

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