In Japan, Rock Paper Scissors is called janken (じゃんけん), and it is part of everyday life. Children use it to pick teams, friends use it to decide who pays or who goes first, and it settles countless small questions every day. The game most of the world plays grew out of this Japanese hand game, so janken is Rock Paper Scissors at home.
The three hands
The throws are the same as anywhere else. Only the names change:
| Hand | Japanese | Shape | Beats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rock | Guu (グー) | Closed fist | Choki |
| Scissors | Choki (チョキ) | Index and middle fingers out | Paa |
| Paper | Paa (パー) | Open hand | Guu |
For pronunciation and the exact wording of each call, see our guide to Rock Paper Scissors in Japanese.
How a round goes
The count is "jan, ken, pon!" (じゃんけんぽん), and everyone shows a hand on "pon". It does the same job as "rock, paper, scissors, shoot": it keeps the players in time so nobody can wait and react.
Many groups add a line first: "saisho wa guu" (最初はグー), "first is rock". Everyone shows a fist on that line, then plays the real round on "jan, ken, pon". The opener gives a whole group one shared rhythm, and it is widely credited to the comedian Ken Shimura, who made it popular on the 1980s TV variety show Hachiji Da Yo! Zenin Shugo.
When players tie, they do not start again from the top. They call "aiko desho!" (あいこでしょ), roughly "it's a draw!", and throw again straight away on "sho". A run of ties becomes a quick chant of "aiko desho, aiko desho" until someone wins. Local versions of the count exist, but this is the one most people learn.
Where janken came from
Janken belongs to a family of Japanese hand games called sansukumi-ken, "fist games of three who fear one another". In each, three hands form a loop where every hand beats one and loses to another.
| Game | The three hands | The loop |
|---|---|---|
| Mushi-ken | Frog, slug, snake | Frog beats slug, slug beats snake, snake beats frog |
| Kitsune-ken | Fox, village head, hunter | Fox beats village head, village head beats hunter, hunter beats fox |
| Janken | Rock, scissors, paper | Rock beats scissors, scissors beats paper, paper beats rock |
Mushi-ken is the oldest of the three, and hand games of this kind reached Japan from China. Janken, with shapes any child can make with one hand, took its modern form between the Edo and Meiji periods and is the one that stayed in everyday use. In the twentieth century it travelled west and became Rock Paper Scissors. The full story is in our history of Rock Paper Scissors and in where Rock Paper Scissors came from.
Janken in everyday life
Janken is a normal, trusted way to make a small decision fairly. It decides who goes first in a game, who gets the last snack and who takes an unwanted chore. Because everyone knows the rules and the count, nobody has to explain anything before playing.
It has reached pop culture too. Since 2010 the idol group AKB48 has held televised janken tournaments in which the winner takes the centre position on a single. And a robot built at the University of Tokyo became famous for winning every round of janken, by reading the human hand with a high-speed camera; we explain how in Rock Paper Scissors robots and AI.
A game after the game
Janken often leads straight into another game, acchi muite hoi ("look over there"). The winner of the janken points up, down, left or right while calling "acchi muite hoi!", and the loser turns their head at the same moment. If the loser looks the way the winner points, the winner takes the point. If not, it is back to janken.
Janken's neighbours
Nearby countries have their own versions. In Korea the game is gawi bawi bo (가위바위보), which can lead into a follow-on game called muk-jji-ppa. In Chinese it is often called shitou jiandao bu (石头剪刀布), "rock scissors cloth". The hands are the same and the chants differ. Our guide to how the game is played across Asia covers these and more, and the variations page lists other versions.
Try it yourself
Learn the standard count and the fair-play basics in our how to play guide and the official rules. Then put your guu, choki and paa to the test and play Rock Paper Scissors online.
FAQ
What does "jan ken pon" mean?
It is the count used to play janken, the Japanese name for Rock Paper Scissors. Everyone shows a hand on "pon". The words work as a rhythm rather than a sentence with a literal meaning.
What are rock, paper and scissors in Japanese?
Rock is guu (グー), scissors is choki (チョキ) and paper is paa (パー).
What do you say after a tie in janken?
"Aiko desho!" (あいこでしょ), then everyone throws again straight away on "sho".
Did Rock Paper Scissors come from Japan?
The three-hand game we play today comes from Japanese janken. Older hand games of the same family came to Japan from China.