culture corner: Ping Pong

You may have seen it while flipping through Japanese sports channels. With those lightning- fast off-the-chest serves, dizzying loop shots, and wicked forehands, the game is a sight to be seen. While takkyu (table tennis), more casually called ping pong, seems relegated to only late-night sports coverage in the United States, it is consistently gaining popularity in Japan, and has developed its own unique niche in the world of Japanese sports.

Table tennis originated in England in the late 1800s when wealthy socialites would enjoy some after dinner entertainment of volleying petite balls made of cork or string with cigar box lid paddles on a cleared-off dining room table. While ping pong’s journey from Victorian England to Japan is not associated with one particular person, vessel, or event, its popularity is nothing new. Throughout the 1950s and ‘60s Japan reigned supreme on the ping pong table, boasting a string of world championship winners. More recently, however, Japan’s ping pong prowess has been eclipsed by the mighty Chinese table tennis pros, who dominate both the men’s and women’s top three spots as ranked by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).

Even though Japan isn’t winning every match these days, the sport still attracts attention, especially its stars. Japan’s most adored ping pong celebrity is 20-year-old Ai Fukuhara. Nicknamed Ai-chan, (chan is a term of endearment used for children) this whiz kid is a celebrated table tennis prodigy whose career has been closely watched by the Japanese population since she was a toddler At the ripe old age of three, she began plinking the ball back and forth with her mother, former table tennis pro Chiyo Fukubara, and at 13, she became the youngest player to make the Japanese National Team. She has since played in national and international table tennis competitions. including the 2004 Olympics in Athens, and has steadily climbed the TIE ranks to her current place at number nine. Fukuhara, who opts for a traditional shake-hand grip and a close-to-the- table stance, is particularly popular with school-age youth, and like many of the athletes idolized in the United States, she even stars in her very own PS2 video game.

revolution. At the 2007 Women’s Table Tennis World Cup, several designers were featured in the first-ever Table Tennis Fashion Show with Japan’s own Fukuhara in attendance to admire the designs. More recently, at the Table Tennis National Championships inTokyo, a few ping pong competitors caused a ruckus with table tennis officials when they donned trendy short skirts, brightly colored tops, and glittery hairPing pong in Japan is continuing to prove that it isn’t the same old stuffy after-dinner pastime it once was. Beyond breaking into the video game industry, ping pong has also spurred a fashion accessories instead of the traditional neutral-hued gym garb.

With more and more ping pong tables popping up in bars, restaurants, and even convenience stores throughout Japan, ping pong has become not only a source of national pride, but one of celebrity, fashion, and casual fun as well.

—Richenda Sandlin-Tymitz