"Ozashiki Asobi" is deeply connected to Kochi's sake culture

At drinking parties (also known as Tosa no Okyaku) held in Kochi Prefecture, there is a culture of pairing Tosa sake with "Sawachi cuisine," a lavish dish of sashimi, sushi, simmered dishes, and fried foods served on large platters.

After enjoying the fine food and drinks, one way to liven up the party is to have fun drinking with all the participants by playing "ozashiki asobi."
We will introduce some easy-to-play games that are often enjoyed at drinking parties in Kochi Prefecture.

① Chopstick fist

Hashiken is a traditional Japanese game played by two people using chopsticks. The winner is decided by guessing the total number of chopsticks each person is holding. Although it is a simple game, it is deep and many people become addicted to it.

It has a fairly long history among the games played in the ozashiki (traditional Japanese parlor), and is said to have originated in the mid to late Edo period. It became popular after a "Chopstick Fist Tournament" was held in 1905, and now the "Tosa Hashiken All Japan Championship" is held in Kochi Prefecture every year, attracting around 400 participants.

[How to play]

3. Sit facing each other and hold three chopsticks in each hand.
②Play rock-paper-scissors to decide who goes first and who goes second. The loser must hold a few chopsticks and hold their fist out in front of them so that the chopsticks are not visible.
③The player who goes first can only say "three" at first, so they hold their chopsticks in their hands and extend their fist forward so that there are three chopsticks in total.
④ If the first player misses, the offense and defense roles are reversed and the process continues as in ②. The only difference is that the second player has more options: "1", "3", or "5". *As a general rule, each player can only say odd numbers.
⑤ This is repeated until the first player to win three wins, and the loser drinks the sake in the cup.

②Bekuhai

The simple rules of the game are to spin a top with a picture drawn on it, and the person at the end of the spinning top who falls down drinks sake from the cup with the picture that appears on it, making it a very popular parlor game at drinking parties.
Normally, a cup can be left filled with alcohol, but the unique feature of the "three-sided cup" used in Ka-bai is that it cannot be left down until it is completely drunk.

By the way, the three sides of the Sanmen Cup are as follows:

• Okame Cup: The amount of alcohol contained is small at 20ml, so if you drink it quickly you can keep your face up.
• Hyottoko Cup: At 50ml, it is the medium size of the three types, and has a hole in the opening, so the alcohol will spill if you don't cover it with your finger.
• Tengu Cup: The long nose of this glass holds liquor up to its fullest capacity of 144ml, making it the largest. However, since the nose is exposed, it cannot be placed down, making it extremely difficult to drink in one go.

The origin of the name "可杯" is said to be that when used in classical Chinese, there is a rule that "可" cannot be placed below a sentence or written at the end of a sentence, and from this it became a sake cup that cannot be placed down.

[How to play]

1. Participants form a circle, place a tray in the center, and spin a top on it. While spinning, clap your hands and sing the "Bero-Bero Song."
② When the piece stops, the person in the direction the axis is pointing drinks from the cup with the picture that appears.

③Chrysanthemum flowers

"Kiku no Hana" is said to be the most exciting game played in the tatami room with a large group of people. Simply put, it is "Russian roulette with alcohol."
You can enjoy the thrilling feeling, and one of the attractions is that even people who don't know each other can naturally become friends.

[How to play]

① Prepare sake cups and trays for the number of participants, as well as the main attraction, the chrysanthemum flower. Arrange all the sake cups upside down on the tray, and hide a chrysanthemum flower in one of them.
② Participants take turns turning over their cups while singing "Chrysanthemum flower... Chrysanthemum flower... Happy chrysanthemum flower to open (repeat)."
③The person who turns over the cup containing the chrysanthemum flower loses and must pour sake into all the cups that are upside down at that point and drink it all.

An opportunity to connect as "drinking buddies"

"Ozashiki Asobi" is a traditional game that has been enjoyed at drinking parties in Kochi Prefecture for a long time.
All of these are easy games to try, so why not give them a try?
Of course, when you visit Kochi Prefecture, there are also restaurants where you can experience the ozashiki games we introduced, so be sure to enjoy them along with Kochi's fine wine and cuisine.

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