Arab News Japan

Like many soccer fans trying to predict the results of the World Cup Qatar 2022, A Japanese man that goes by the name “Tomonosuke Ninja” has been predicting the teams that will win upcoming matches at the World Cup by spinning an umbrella.  

Hi,everyone.
My name is #Tomonosuke a #Ninja flom Mie #Japan.

FIFA World cup 2022 Qatar Tournament GROUP B#England VS #Iran Prediction.#QatarWorldCup2022 #Qatar2022 pic.twitter.com/1AhtKEJoXL

— 忍者 知之助 Tomonosuke Ninja (@TvAshura) November 20, 2022

In a series of videos posted on both Twitter and YouTube, Tomonosuke, who is a ninja and Kasamawashi master, is seen preforming  Kasamawashi, a type of traditional Japanese performance arts, in which two metal-rings, each of which represent a certain country, are placed on a tilted conic umbrella that the performer rotates. The performer controls the position of the object by subtly changing the speed to ensure the rings are kept at the same spatial position. The ring that manages to remain on the umbrella indicates the winner, while the one that falls to the ground indicates the losing team. If both rings fall at the same time, then the predicted result is announced as a draw.

Tomonosuke, who is part of a professional ninja troupe in Mie Prefecture named “Ashura” has so far correctly predicted that England will win the Group B match verses Iran and that Netherlands will win the Group A match verses Senegal. He has also predicted that Saudi Arabia will win the Group C match against Argentina, as well as other forecasts for upcoming matches.

While the method of prediction is not supported by any mathematical models or quantitative data and is instead a purely dynamical approach to predicting the outcomes of the World Cup, Tomonosuke seems to believe that the Kasamawashi method, and the act of balancing rings on a rotating umbrella is capable of giving some information, which is fascinating to observe.

The use of different methods to predict the outcome of one of the world’s most-watched sporting tournaments is not new, however, Tomonosuke has some big shoes to fill, given the success of the predecessing football predictors such as Paul the octopus, who became an international celebrity when at the 2010 World Cup he correctly forecast the outcome of Germany’s games and picked eventual winners Spain.