North American
Kendama Open 2025

The nation’s largest kendama competition shines in summer.

It was just a few months ago that the idea of hosting the North American Kendama Open in 2025 was dead in the water. But a passionate community rallied alongside Sweets Kendamas and made the impossible happen, and so for the 13th year in a row, players gathered from around the world to participate in NAKO.

This is the part I hate to admit: I was unable to attend this year. But you best believe the livestream was on, the snacks were tasty, and I was in good company to view the festivities from afar. That being said, here are three takeaways from NAKO 2025.

1. Nonoka Kyodo is the best player in the world

We could have a lengthy debate about who the “best” kendama player is, but the answer, like many things regarding kendama, is subjective. Still, if I ask myself that question today, my honest answer is Nonoka Kyodo. Nonoka shocked the kendama world by pulling the ‘ol hat trick at NAKO, taking first in not one, but three competitive divisions: Girls Open, Open, and Freestyle.

Girls Open is always stacked, but Kyodo didn’t give up a point until the semi finals. After losing a close match to Nowa Yamada, she was relegated to the redemption bracket. Here, she clawed her way back to meet Nowa yet again, this time in the finals. She proceeded to secure her victory after winning two finals matches due to redemption bracket ruling.

There was no chance at redemption in Open this year. One and done matches over the course of three days, with increasingly difficult tricks and level of competition. She defeated former EKC champion Adrian Vilau in the semi finals only then to be greeted by the reigning world champion Ryoga Kawamoto. The finals came down to the wire with Kyodo taking the match 5-4, establishing herself as the first female player to ever take home the NAKO Open crown.

Finally, it was time for Freestyle. Her runs were practically flawless, and the few errors were more than compensated by the sheer difficulty of her makes. Obviously, besting the freestyle demon Yasu is the ultimate cherry on top of her dominate performance throughout the competition, but I found the revenge match against Adrian Vilau in the semis to be particularly satisfying.

I don’t know what your definition of “best” is, but mine speaks for herself.

2. International players take control

While the US is home to plenty of high level players, this year’s NAKO was dominated by the international scene. Both the Freestyle and Open podiums were composed of non-Americans, and many of them had already won major competitions elsewhere. Despite the smaller number of attendees from visiting countries, the ones who made the trip did some damage and then some.

It’s impossible to predict what direction kendama competitions will go from here, but for now, other countries are making a statement:

The days of US dominance in kendama are done.

And they might be right.

The biggest takeaway from watching these players over the weekend was actually their ages. In a nutshell, the high level players in Asia and Europe are younger than many of the ones in the US. They have more time to learn, to grow, to take everything from the older generation of players and make it their own. Their mentalities are different, the way they learn and play is different, and in a game like kendama, being different results in winning. Of course, we have plenty of talented youth ourselves, including the likes of Nathan Wilcox, Johnny Kress, Jacob Schultz, and this beast, and the future is obviously uncertain. Still, the international scene has been on the rise for years now, and they don’t seem to be slowing down any time soon.

3. Once again, Kendama players found a way.

Look, for the sake of transparency I’ll be the first to tell you that I wasn’t exactly advocating for NAKO to happen this year. I have my reasons, and I know I irked a few people with my views. But kendama players found a way. They came together and showed support for something that goes beyond the trophies and pictures. The timeline to make it happen was shorter than it ever had been, but aside from a few understandable hiccups along the way, the event sailed smoothly. Even the livestream was entertaining despite the absence of commentary. We’ll see how the industry goes after this major event, and with the holidays right around the corner, maybe NAKO was the spark that they needed to get some much-needed sales. Whatever the case, the event was a complete success, thanks not only to Sweets Kendamas, but by every participant near and far.

More NAKO competition results here.