Kendama (けん玉 ^?, also written as 剣玉 and 拳玉) is a traditional Japanese toy. The ken has three cups and a spike which fits into the hole in the ball. Basic kendama tricks consist of catching the ball in the cups and on the spike. More advanced tricks such as the airplane require you to hold the ball and land the spike in the hole on the ball.

Kendama bears similarities to the classic cup-and-ball game, and the Hispanic world toy known as boliche or balero. The principle of these toys are the same: catching one object with another, where both are joined by a string. However the modern kendama style takes influences from a diverse range of skills including yo-yo, diabolo, juggling and dance.