Today, teenagers spend their time online, attending cosplays, playing video games, hanging out and going to parties, but historically young adults, especially Japanese women, spent their time either studying traditional customs or staying home and playing indoor games.

One of the popular forms of entertainment were indoor games played in groups.

One of these games is called Konkonchiki. The objective of the game was to put one’s hand through a loop that had been created in the middle of a long sash and grab a cup of sake that was placed on a stand behind the loop. The player should remove his or her hand before the other participants could close the loop and trap you.

Players who are not able to grab the sake cup and remove his or her hand from the loop would drink the cup of sake. This game was believed to be played by geisha at parties and New Year celebrations. However, because of the game’s popularity, a children’s version of the game was made, except that the kids drink water instead of sake.

Photo by Marshall Astor – Food Fetishist via Flickr Creative Commons