Japanese people love rock-paper-scissors – or as it’s known in Japan, janken – and use it to settle all forms of disputes, such as deciding who gets the last slice of cake or what to name your baby.

Recently, a similar game called “Fist of the Gods” has been gaining traction in Japan.

Whereas janken came from China and is used to make impartial choices, “Fist of the Gods” is ritual said to have originated in ancient Greece as a way for two men to confirm their camaraderie.

A video showing how to perform “Fist of the Gods” can be seen below:

The demonstrates begin at :32, where we can see two men dressed in ancient Greek garb. On the left is Tanaka, a pale, skinny Japanese man wearing glasses. Standing to his right is a handsome, well-toned white man known only as “the Greek.”

Tanaka and the Greek demonstrate the “Fist of the Gods” with the following 6 steps.

（1） Raise both hands in the air as if worshiping the gods in their heaven
（2） Brandish your hands as if they were two blades and prepare for battle
（3） Slide your hands across to make waves horizontal to mother earth
（4） ZEUS
（5） APPOLO
（6） HERCULES

In the final Hercules pose, you make either rock, paper or scissors with your right first while crossing your left arm over your right.

At 1:43, Tanaka and the Greek play a round in real time so you can see how they used to do it back in Athens. As in the video, you should recite the following verse while going through the steps: “Wars between the gods were fought in this manner. ZEUS! APPOLO! HERCULES!“

The loser of the match must then prove the strength of his friendship to the victor. As seen from 2:09, this is done by stripping naked in front of the victor and presenting your…pillar. Because nothing says “I got your back, bro” like showing him your junk.

By this point, you can probably guess that “Fist of the Gods” is not a real game (yet). The video above is actually part of a marketing campaign by Otsuka Foods for their carbonated vitamin beverage MATCH.

▼ Here’s the commercial they’ve currently got going on TV

While it remains to be seen whether or not “Fist of the Gods” will actually catch on in Japan, we’re sure it would have a much better chance if it didn’t exclude women. But I guess that’s why we have Yakyuken.

Source: YouTube/matchmeros, himihimikaka
[ Read in Japanese ]