Tohsenkyo

Tohsenkyo is a traditional Japanese game that has been passed down for nearly 250 years.

History has it that:-
One day in summer, a man named Tohraku-sanjin woke up from a nap and saw a butterfly resting on a wooden pillow. He opened a fan nearby and tossed it at the butterfly. The butterfly fluttered away, but the fan also fluttered and landed on the pillow.
This gave him an inspiration to a new game called “Tohsenkyo,” literally meaning "fan throwing game."

There is a record that a game of Tohsenkyo was held at the Konoe residence in 1791, which contributed for the game to become a trend. It was so popular that it became a form of gambling and was even banned by the government in the early 19th century.

The game is not just about tossing the fan, but it is inseparable with poetry and literature. Depending on how the fan landed on the target, poems deriving from the anthology of 100 poems by 100 poets ("Hyakunin Isshu") are recited, or each of the score is named after the chapter of "Tale of Genji" the oldest novel by a female author, both of which the Konoe family are deeply involved in the creation.