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Welcome to History Page! Wanna know how did 'Rock, Paper, Scissors, SHOOT!' originated? You are in the right page. In this page, information about the background of the game such as when and where did it start can be seen here.
The first known mention of ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors, SHOOT!’ can be found in the Chinese book ‘Wuzazu,’ written by Xie Zhaozhi during the Ming dynasty. Another Chinese literary reference to ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors, SHOOT!’ is Li Rihua’s book ‘Note of Liuyanzhai,’ where the game is called shoushiling, huozhitou, or huoquan.
Throughout Japanese history, “sansukumi-ken” is frequently mentioned. This term translates to “three-way deadlock fist games,” where A beats B, B beats C, and C beats A. These games were initially created in China and later imported to Japan, where they gained more popularity.
The earliest Japanese “sansukumi-ken” game, “mushi-ken,” was directly imported from China. It features a “frog” (thumb) defeated by a “slug” (little finger), which is beaten by a “snake” (index finger), which in turn loses to the “frog". Although the Japanese version has different animal representations, it shares the same underlying structure.
The modern version of ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors, SHOOT!’, known as Janken, emerged in Japan as a variation of the Chinese games introduced in the 17th century. Janken incorporates the now-familiar rock, paper, and scissors signs. Hand games using gestures to represent these three elements became increasingly common since the late 19th century, between the Edo and Meiji periods.
By the early 20th century, ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors, SHOOT!’ had spread beyond Asia, primarily due to increased Japanese contact with the West. The game’s English name derives from the translation of the Japanese hand gestures for rock, paper, and scissors. In other parts of Asia, the open-palm gesture signifies “cloth” instead of “paper,” and the scissor shape is also adopted from the Japanese style.