Top spinning Coloring Pages

Top spinning around and around

Top spinning is played with a toy that spins around and around on a stick in the middle.
There are many kinds, from tops you spin by wrapping a string and throwing them, to small tops you spin by twisting with your fingers.
At New Year's, people play games to see who can keep their top spinning the longest.
When a top is spinning fast, it stands up so straight it looks like it is stopping!

A lucky charm that makes things go well

Top spinning has long been seen as a lucky thing because it means "things will go smoothly."
Also, because it has one straight stick in the center, people say it carries a wish for children to "grow up with an honest heart."
That is why children have loved top spinning as a fun New Year's game.

The history of Top spinning

Top spinning uses very old toys, and people say they came to Japan from China through the Korean Peninsula before the Nara period.
One story says the Japanese word "koma" comes from "Koryo," an old country on the Korean Peninsula.
At first, it was a game for adults in the palace, but in the Edo period, it spread to children in town, too.
All over Japan, people started making many unique tops that you can only find in those towns.

3 Coloring pages

There are 3 coloring pages.
The 1st page shows a wooden top with stripes and its wrapped string.
The 2nd page shows children enjoying top spinning in an open space at New Year's.
The 3rd page is a detailed coloring page that shows many kinds of tops laid out on a cloth, like striped tops, flower tops, and Daruma tops.
Color them together with the New Year's coloring page and the Fukuwarai coloring page to enjoy New Year's games!

How to do Top spinning

To spin a top with a string, first wrap the string tightly around the stick in the middle.
Put the end of the string around your finger, hold the top tight, and pull the string back quickly as you throw the top forward.
Even if it is hard at first, you will be able to spin it smoothly if you practice many times.
Be sure to check that no one is around you before you throw it!
With small tops you twist with your fingers, even little kids can play right away.

Stripes should be a different color from the next one

For the stripes on Top spinning, color neighboring stripes in different colors.
If you color them in order of red, yellow, green, and blue, you will make a fun Top spinning where the colors look like they mix when it spins.
Use light brown or cream color for the parts where you can see the bare wood.

The string and the spindle

If you color the wrapped string white or light ochre, and the spindle gray, it will look like a real iron spindle.
If you gently add a light color around the lines that show spinning motion, it makes it look like it is really moving.

The winter square

Let's color the ground in the second coloring page light brown, and the sky light blue.
If you match the children's jackets and scarves with the colors of Top spinning, the whole picture will look nice together.

Color various Top spinning carefully

On the third coloring page, let's color each Top spinning one by one with a different mix of colors.
Edo Top spinning has many thin stripes, so it looks pretty if you switch between bright colors and dark colors.
If you color the wrapping cloth in a calmer navy blue or dark red than Top spinning, Top spinning will really stand out.

Color Top spinning and let's spin it

Color Top spinning on the first coloring page, paste it onto cardboard, cut it out into a circle, and poke a toothpick through the middle to make a paper Top spinning.
Try changing the mix of colors for the stripes, like red and yellow, or blue and yellow, and compare how the colors look when it spins.
When you spin it, the colors mix and sometimes look like a completely different color.

Sounding Top spinning

Sounding Top spinning is hollow inside and has a hole on its side.
When you spin it, the wind goes into the hole and makes a mysterious "Bzzzz" sound.
It is so much fun to spin it while listening to the sound, isn't it?

Trick Top spinning

There is also a trick performance called Trick Top spinning, where people spin a top on a string or even on the blade of a sword.
It is a traditional Japanese performance that has been around since the Edo period.
You might see it on TV during New Year's or at traditional entertainment theaters!

Why Top spinning can stay upright

When Top spinning is stopped, it falls over right away, doesn't it?
But when it is spinning fast, it can stand straight up.
When its spinning power gets weak, Top spinning wobbles and eventually falls over.

Battling Top spinning

A game where you bump tops together to knock your opponent's top out of bounds, or see who can spin the longest to win, is called Battling Top spinning.
Heavy and strong tops with iron pins are used.
You draw a circle on the ground and battle inside it.
There is also a way to play where you drop your own top right onto your opponent's top while spinning it.
It makes a loud clacking sound when they hit, and it gets super exciting!