Kanchō (カンチョー) is a prank performed by joining hands in the shape of an imaginary weapon and trying to poke the victim’s anus, often while exclaiming “Kan-CHO!“.
It is a common prank 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 skill “Secret Finger Jutsu of the Leaf Village: A 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 prank on the titular 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 usually written in katakana when used in its slang sense and in kanji when used in the medical sense.
What is the purpose of Kanchō, after all?
Kancho should not be considered vulgar; in fact, it is rarely used antagonistically, but rather as a kind of affection, similar to athletes who slap each other on the butt. Men and women, children and adults perform and receive kancho.
Some brave and shameless men perform kancho on women and even lift their skirts for this act. Foreign teachers in Japan are often targets of Kancho. This is partly due to their celebrity status in schools, as many children want to be the one who did Kancho to the teacher.
Why on earth do the Japanese do this? The short answer: because it’s funny. When asked why they do Kancho, Japanese people often give answers such as: communication, kinship, they’ve always done it, and their butt was a good target. Messed up? You got it.
If you want to avoid getting a kancho, especially if you study in a Japanese school full of children, we recommend wearing loose clothing and always staying alert with your back to the wall to avoid contact with those funny kids.
Below is a compilation of our channel with some examples of Kancho:
Where did Kanchō come from?
Kanchō likely 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 three years.
Similar to kancho, you use your extended fingers, 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.
Kanchō is growing not only in Asia but around the world. It’s not just children; research reveals that about 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 that can be accessed here: https://www.kancho.org/
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