Thank you Architectural Digest for featuring one of Jcollector’s fabulous antique hagoita New Year’s paddles in your August, 2009, issue! Readers, you can view it on page 64 in the “Discoveries by Designers” section. As a result of AD’s interest, we have had a run on these wonderful items and are actively searching for others to replenish our inventory.
Traditional Japanese hagoita are wooden paddles used for a game called hanetsuki, which is similar to badminton. Each December, hagoita markets open in Japan selling these charming New Year’s gifts for girls. A market near Toyko’s Senso-ji temple in Asakusa is perhaps Japan’s oldest (founded 350 years ago during the Edo period) and most famous. It is typically held annually from December 17-19.
Antique hagoita come in all sizes and are crafted with one side of handpainted wood (used to hit the shuttlecock) and another, even more decorative side, of finely rendered silk and other fabrics skillfully fashioned in high relief to represent well-known Kabuki theater figures. The older ones are highly valued and in great demand as wall hangings or dramatic decorative elements in any environment.
Check back often at Jcollector, as we are regularly updating our selection of antique hagoita!
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One Nio, called Ungyo, has a closed mouth, and represents the beginning of the universe. The other, Agyo, has an open mouth, and symbolizes the end of the universe. Other explanations for the open/closed mouth include: Mouth open to scare off demons; closed to shelter/keep in the good spirits. “Ah” is the first sound in the Japanese alphabet, while “N” (pronounced “un” ) is the last, so the combination symbolically represents all possible outcomes (from alpha to omega) in the cosmos.
Interestingly, the Nio may be a case of the possible transmission of the image of the Greek hero Heracles to East Asia along the Silk Road. Heracles was used in Greco-Buddhist art to represent Vajrapani, the protector of the Buddha, and his representation was then used in China and Japan to depict the protector gods of Buddhist temples. This transmission is part of the wider Greco-Buddhist phenomenon, where Buddhism interacted with the Hellenistic culture of Central Asia from the 4th century BC to the 4th century AD.





