Traditions of East Asia
Lunar New Year, tea ceremony, hanami, chuseok and the ancestors. 264 traditions on EveryParampara so far.
Countries
🇨🇳 China 153🇭🇰 Hong Kong 9🇯🇵 Japan 146🇲🇴 Macau 4🇲🇳 Mongolia 23🇰🇵 North Korea 22🇰🇷 South Korea 59🇹🇼 Taiwan 30
Cities and towns
On the calendar
🇲🇳 Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and 2 moreMongolian wrestlingBökh
A traditional folk wrestling style of the Mongols, kept as a central part of Naadam festivals across Mongolia and neighbGame
🇲🇳 Ölgii, Mongolia and 3 moreHunting with eagles
The Central Asian tradition of hunting foxes and hares from horseback with golden eagles.Game
🇯🇵 Ōmuta, JapanKarutaかるた
Japanese playing cards from the 16th century, still raced over poems each New YearGame
🇲🇳 Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and 1 moreShagaiшагай
Traditional ankle bone games and fortune-telling played across Central Asia.Game
🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanKendo剣道
A Japanese martial art of swordsmanship using bamboo swords and protective armourGame
🇨🇳 China and 2 moreCuju蹴鞠
An ancient Chinese kicking game played without hands using a stuffed or air-filled ballGame
🇯🇵 Japan and 2 moreKyūdō弓道
The Japanese martial art of archery, practiced with an asymmetrical longbowGame
🇨🇳 China and 2 moreGo圍棋 (wéiqí), 囲碁 (igo), 바둑 (baduk)
Two players surround territory with black and white stones on a lined boardGame
🇯🇵 Takasaki, JapanDaruma doll達磨 (daruma)
A round Japanese wishing doll: fill one eye to set a goal, the other to mark it done.Folklore
🇰🇷 South KoreaJwibullori쥐불놀이
A Korean New Year game of whirling fire-cans to clear fields and wish good luckGame
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreJegichagi제기차기
A paper shuttlecock kicked and kept in the air, a winter game for Korean childrenGame
🇰🇵 Pyongyang, North Korea and 4 moreMass games
Disciplined, large-scale gymnastic spectacles celebrating unity and national prideCeremony
🇰🇷 Seoul, South KoreaYunnori윷놀이
A Korean board and stick-tossing game played with tokens during the Lunar New YearGame
🇲🇳 Ölgii, MongoliaGolden Eagle FestivalБүргэдийн баяр
An annual gathering in western Mongolia celebrating Kazakh eagle hunting and horsemanshipFestival
🇯🇵 JapanShogi将棋 (shōgi)
Japan's two-player strategy game, where captured pieces change sides and returnGame
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreXiangqi象棋
A two-player game of armies and cannons, played on the points of a nine-by-ten boardGame
🇨🇳 Ningbo, China and 2 moreMahjong麻將
A tile game from China, played by two to four people at a tableGame
🇯🇵 Japan and 5 moreHouse
A traditional children's make-believe game of acting out domestic family rolesGame
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreTraditional games of Korea전통놀이 (jeontongnori)
Korean games kept through the seasons, from New Year board games to winter kitesGame
🇲🇳 MongoliaBlue Pearl Ice FestivalХөх Cувд Mөсний Баяр
Mongolia's yearly winter ice festival of skating races, ice shooting and horse racesFestival
🇲🇳 Ölgii, MongoliaGaridгарьд
A top wrestling title in Mongolia, named for Genghis Khan's eagle and the mythical bird Garuda.Game
🇯🇵 JapanKamifūsen紙風船
Japanese paper balloons enjoyed as self-inflating toys, gifts and festival lanternsGame
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Kamifūsen: アルトクール, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hunting with eagles: Franz Roubaud, Public domain, source
- Karuta: Forms part of: George Grantham Bain Collection (Library of Congress)., Public domain, source
- Shagai: User:Yaan, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mass games: photo: unknown file: James Steakley, Public domain, source
- Yunnori: 국립국어원, CC BY-SA 2.0 kr, source
- Golden Eagle Festival: Altaihunters, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kendo: Source: photo taken by Harald Hofer, CC BY-SA 2.0 at, source
- Cuju: BabelStone, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kyūdō: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Mongolian wrestling: U.S. Department of State, Public domain, source
- Shogi: Unknown author, CC BY 1.0, source
- Xiangqi: Francesc Fort, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mahjong: yui*, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Go: Goban1, Public domain, source
- Daruma doll: Crisco 1492, Public domain, source
- Jegichagi: Official U.S. Navy Page, Public domain, source
- Jwibullori: KOREA.NET, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Traditional games of Korea: Davidturnswood, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Blue Pearl Ice Festival: MN5, CC0, source
- Garid: hu:Burumbátor, Public domain, source
- House: Alborzagros, CC BY-SA 3.0, source