ISEHARA, Kanagawa Prefecture--Every Japanese over a certain age can fondly recall playing with an ”Oyama koma” spinning top during their childhood. But now the simple traditional wooden ...

This is what makes it rigid enough to cut through wood or plastic. As soon as the paper stops spinning, it loses its cutting ability and becomes bendable again. Produced by Leon Siciliano More ...

OTSU, Shiga Prefecture--What is likely to be Japan’s oldest spinning top was unearthed near a site where immigrants from the Korean Peninsula once lived, suggesting that tops were used for ...