Note 116 — XIII. BALL, AND SIMILAR SPORTS.
Reading edition
O-tédama (pronounce as in Italian) is, we learn, compounded of O, the, te, hand, and tama, balls. It is played with song, which consists in chanting the titles of the several movements; thus, in the first figure, (1) O Hito, (2) O Fu, (3) O Mi, (4) O Yo, (5) O Itzu, (6) O Mu. The second figure, in which begins Tonkiri ("tattoo"), is called Zakara (a meaningless word); and the chant is, (1) O Hito Zakara, (2) O Fu Zakara, (3) O Mi Zakara, etc. These numbers are children's numeration, of which there are two sorts; the present series continues, (7) Nana, (8) Ya, (9) Kono, (10) To. We have varying forms from a friend in Hartford, Conn., where the song has been borrowed from Japanese students. Probably provincial usages in Japan differ. We give the above terms (not the game, which is current in the United States), as written by a Japanese gentleman. It is noteworthy that this childish system has no connection with the regular table.