Japan gears up for New Year celebrations

As 2019 is coming to an end, Hagoita-Ichi Festival was held in Japan to sell 'hagoita', large wooden rectangular paddle made of soapberry seeds and bird feathers that used to play traditional Japanese pastime called hanetsuki.

"This is called 'hagoita'. It's a lucky item. The shape is spreading upward and everyone used to play with wing ball. This lucky meaning is to get out bad luck things," said Toshihiko Nitta.

The motif of 'hagoita' is an actor in Japanese entertainment traditional show 'Kabuki'. The decoration is done by the skill of traditional craft art.

"Decoration of 'hagoita' is made by using cotton and cloth as a corrugated fiberboard mould and making them one over another. The technique called "Oshie" making it look like three-dimensional," a Hagoita craft master Kogetsu Nishiyama

These 'hagoita' are unique. The motifs represent Rugby World Cup held in Japan, Tokyo2020 Olympic and movie characters.

"We prayed for the prosperity of our business and the safety of our family," said a customer.