I once said that TK changed their shape, but apparently it was a mix up in the production level of things. Apparently when things get busy in China some factories ask other factories to help with their production. There must have been a mix up and they started making the mutant kendamas in a different shape. TK admits that they should have checked their products closer (QC.. but who, aside from a player, would have been able to scope that..) and that the mistake should have been caught before they were put on the shelves, but to me it seems like a bit of bad luck that made them lose their license. **** As John (goen) said, this is all speculation and words coming from a number of sources. Believe what you want to believe!
There's likely a little more to it than just "a bit of bad luck." For example in my understanding a factory that produces JKA certified kendama has to be approved before production. Outsourcing or producing in unapproved factories isn't allowed. That's something that a company selling certified kendama for 20 years would know. It is quite possible that both sides of the equation could have handled it better but without adequate information from both parties it is probably better not to try and guess too much. The inner workings of most companies aren't generally common knowledge and while it might be entertaining to speculate it's just that, speculation. An example would be when the Mutants first hit the market. The rumor at KWC that year was that the TK maker had gotten the "license" to produce the old Mugens which wasn't even close to accurate.
You are so right. It's a lot of speculation and it can put a lot of dirt on people's faces. thanks for the insight on that!
Thanks for that response I know it was from a while ago but I'm new here (sorry) Anyways I seen the gloken tk16 and imo it looks beech but either way I would prefer the icy tama, with that said, do you know what the meijin is made of? I hope it's full birch I also picked up a tk16 yesterday and it is labeled made in Japan and the packaging looks different, if anyone knows I really would like to know if this is legit. I already opened it and started shredding it because #destroyalldamas but I have the packaging so I attached pictures. Thanks everyone
JKA certified TK16 vs Gloken's version are covered in the post above. From the photos it appears that you have one of the JKA certified "nintei" green seal ones. Packaging changes from time to time so that's less of a consideration. AFAIK the Meijin Takumi are still Birch.
thanks for that, hope it's actually made in Japan if not it's ok. I guess I'll have to have family in the Philippines send me some meijin's!
Meijin Takumi (like the JKA certified TKs before them) are physically manufactured in China. The older TK16 Master packages marked "made in Japan" would probably be better translated as "assembled in Japan." Each country has their own definition of what constitutes "Made In. . ." so depending on how things are handled on their way to retail shelves determines what is allowable for labeling.
Holy grail located. Stumbled on this on eBay the other day and just picked it up! One for the OGs @htimSxelA
@Stuart Barron oh nice! Hows the tama roundness? Some of the OG ozos are eggy af haha Good pickup either way!
Read your message and thought I best double check. Tama is fine, and the setup is actually lunar biased, so thats a pleasant change! I do have an OG sky blue too and my observations on the leaded paint is it seems almost eggshell like out the packet. I've never done more than a few tricks here and there on the blue, but I definitely think I'll sesh this leaf green and see what all the fuss is about. Not much for bevel licking so I should be ok
lol, yea I guess bevel licking those might be dangerous. When you really play them in, they get a nice grip. At least for an oldschool dama, they won't be as grippy as what people today are used to
Here's an updated version of the seals chart. The one from the JKA English History will be updated soon.
The JKA site has a full English page on the different seals now: https://kendama.or.jp/english/history/seals/
Yep, the new JKA site went live a few months ago and we're still updating. Actually, thanks for reminding me, there's a seal I missed that needs to be added. We're still trying to add and tweak some places but it's harder to coordinate at the end of the year with the JKA in Tokyo, me in Texas, and our web guy in Manila.
Does anyone know what happened to the JKA certified Yumu kendamas? They seem to be impossible to find. Even here, the thread that introduces them (linked elsewhere in this thread), their point man here (user Vincent Dimaya) as well as old websites that used to sell other Yumu branded kendamas like kendamalife seem to have gone dark. What's the story with that? Has Yumu closed up shop? Are there any Yumu JKA kendamas left available for sale anywhere?
As I understand it Yumu doesn't exist as a kendama company any longer. Sometimes you can still find their JKA certified kendama online but mainly from Japanese sellers and I think I saw some still on Amazon JP.
Thanks @goenKendama for the response. I really appreciate it. I checked the Japan Aamzon as per your suggestion and though they have a few there, unfortunately they don't ship to Canada. I realize this may not be the appropriate place to have this discussion, but do you or anyone else happen to know/be willing to give more details about what happened to Yumu?
Sorry to hear about Amazon JP. If the sellers you found are independent (i.e. not sold by Amazon) you might be able to contact them directly to try and convince them to ship to you. However you should know that shipping to North America is about USD20-30. AFAIK Yumu just closed because of business reasons; unfortunately it happens. Here are a couple threads about the various companies many are long gone. Brands and links All of the companies