Hello:
If you got the book "Amazing Miracles Of Shigeo Takagi" please take your time to study the "Owan To Tama" (Japanese Cups And Balls) routine. Is worth the study, the practice and the time to do.
Is great!
Thanks,
Hansel!

Also check out Tokyo Trickery by Takeshi Nemoto.

... and BOWLing with the STARS... (BLATANT PLUG)

The Owan to Tama routine is great. I bought the Takagi for the solid cup routine, but it's a great book from start to finish.

The Bowling with the Stars sounds very interesting. I wonder where I could find a copy?

That's a secret only known to Pete Biro and Stevens magic dale

I think the Owan to Tama routine would be great choreographed to some oriental windpipe music. It's easy to picture a magician in an oriental robe surrounded by Japanese lanterns performing this effect. I think it would be stunning.

I've studied and practiced this routine and agree, it is beautiful. But since my professional close-up repertoire is all out of pocket/no table needed material, I only do this routine as a hobby.

Has anyone done this out in the real world? I'd be interested in hearing how you transition into the routine, where you've done it, and how it went over.

The solid cup is a very interesting piece of magic too.
I'm practicing the routine and hope to put it in video and upload to youtube in the future.
Thanks,
Hansel!

There is nothing wrong with having some hobby magic as well as your professional routine. The biggest advantage of OTT is that if you don't have your set of cups with you, you can borrow three bowls and make the balls from paper napkins. They won't be elegant, but they will work.

Bill,

I completely agree about "hobby" routines...I must have at least a half dozen.

But I love the idea of this beautiful routine being seen by laypeople in live performance, and would like to hear from anyone who has actually done this.

Personally, I'd only perform it if I could maintain Takagi's original aesthetic (as a Japanese American, it's one of the things that originally fascinated me about the routine), which would probably require a parlor or formal close-up show setting. For an impromptu performance, I generally do some version of a one cup routine or Benson bowl variation; I'm not sure I would want to do the stylized displays and movements of Owan to Tama with paper napkins, but that's just me.

Your point is well taken. Certainly there is the aesthetic balance that needs to be maintained. I thought, for example, that the cigarettes produced at the end of the Takeshi Nemoto routine were somewhat odd.

I am also trying to understand the motivation behind producing cigarette packs. Anyone can shed some opinions on this?

Have to remember that that was published in 1967 when smoking was cool and just about everybody did it just about everywhere. Cigarette packs were therefore commonplace objects, just like fruit. To produce cigarette packs now as final loads, however, would be extremely odd. Rather than leading to a "wow!" from the audience, the reaction would likely be "huh?".

You really need a lot of time and extraordinary patience to learn Takeshi Nemoto's Japanese C&B routine in "Tokyo Trickery".

Fortasse

Hansel,

Thank you for bringing up the subject of the Owan To Tama.

Based on your comments, and on the subsequent discussion, I found a copy of the book, and have begun reading and studying the routine.

This struck me:

"There are two basic moves in this routine that are known as Owan-Geishi. They involve a rhythmical passing of the bowls from hand to hand. This accomplishes two things (aside from the inherent beauty of the movements) - the bowls are shown to be empty, and they are rearranged for the next sequence."

Most things I've read about the Cups and Balls stress making all of the motions natural, and of course motivating every action in a logical way that will not direct the curiosity of the onlookers towards aspects the operator wishes to keep concealed. Now I am wondering if that naturalism, which is never casual, could be maintained with a rhythmic stylization which could itself be enjoyable to watch for its beauty, and at the same time mesmerizing, and mis-directing.

The wand flourishes probably could be assigned to this category.

Thank you again for bringing up this fascinating material.

Woland

I "THINK" the early version of this used FROGS as final loads. You might want to check and study the Rezvani routine as well. He was known, in Europe, as "The King of Tomatoes." He used prop "cloth" tomatoes, and when they appeared on the scene SPONGE BALLS. You should see Jeff McBride do the Rezvani routine. (The routin is detailed in my book BOWLing with the Stars.