Kanchō (カンチョー) is a prank performed by putting the hands together in the shape of an imaginary weapon and trying to poke the victim's anus, often while exclaiming "Kan-CHO!".
It is a common game among children in East Asian countries such as Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. In Korea, it is called ttongchim (똥침), and in Taiwan, it is popularly called Qiānnián shā (千年殺), derived from the full name of the technique "Secret Finger Technique of the Leaf Village: Thousand Years of Death" (木の葉隠れ秘伝体術奥義: 千年殺し; Konohakagure hiden taijutsu ōgi: Sennen Goroshi).
This term derives from the popular Naruto franchise, where Kakashi Hatake uses a version of the joke about the eponymous protagonist during his ninja training.
The word is an adoption of slang from the Japanese word for enema (浣腸; kanchō). According to common practice, the word is generally written in katakana when used in its slang sense and in kanji when used in the medical sense.
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What is the purpose of Kanchō, after all?
Kancho should not be taken as vulgar, in fact it is rarely used antagonistically, but rather as a kind of endearment, similar to athletes slapping each other's butts. Men and women, children and adults make and receive kancho.
Some brave and shameless men kancho women and even lift their skirts for the act. Foreign teachers in Japan are often targeted by Kancho. This is partly due to his celebrity status in schools, as many kids want to be the one who made Kancho the teacher.
Why on earth do the Japanese do this? The short answer: because it's funny. When asked why they do Kancho, the Japanese often give answers such as: communication, kinship, they always did that and their butt was being a good target. silly? took.
If you want to avoid taking a kancho, especially if you study in a Japanese school full of children, we recommend wearing baggy clothes and always stay alert with your back to the wall avoiding contact with these cute kids.
Below you can see a compilation of our channel with some examples of Kancho:
Where did Kanchō come from?
The kancho probably came from something called 三年殺し [san nen goroshi] (lit: three-year murder). Some say the meaning is that this super secret move will kill the opponent in three years, or the pain inflicted by this technique will last for three years.
Similar to kancho, you use your fingers outstretched, but you also use your middle fingers as well. Instead of focusing on the anus, the point of the move is to attack the area between your genitals and your anus, temporarily incapacitating your opponent.
Kancho is not only growing in Asia but around the world. It's not just children; research shows that around 50% of Japanese adults do kancho from time to time. There are even TV shows and games that address kancho.
There is even an official website that talks about Kancho, which can be accessed here: https://www.kancho.org/
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