jan ken po

In Hawaii, "jan ken po" is the universal method for settling minor disputes, making decisions, or deciding who pays for lunch. Brought to the islands by Japanese immigrants during the plantation era, the phrase completely replaced the English "rock, paper, scissors" in local vocabulary. It is used by everyone from young children on the playground to adults at a pau hana gathering. The game is typically played with the rhythmic chant "jan, ken, po," and if there is a tie, players immediately follow up with "ai ko desho" (often pronounced "eye-koh-sho") to keep throwing until a winner is decided. It is appropriate in almost any casual or social situation, serving as a fair, culturally ingrained conflict resolution tool.

Dust coated everything at the Kapolei job site, but Keoni didn't care. The lunch wagon had just pulled up, and there was exactly one spicy ahi bento left in the window. Keoni stretched his shoulders, cracking his knuckles loud enough for the rest of the framing crew to hear. "I stay undefeated since 2019," he announced to nobody in particular, blocking Maka from stepping up to the window. "I read minds, brah. I know exactly what you going throw before your brain even sends the signal to your hand."

Maka just sighed, pulling a crumpled five-dollar bill from his neon yellow shirt pocket. "You going talk all day or you like jan ken po for the bento?" Keoni smirked, getting into a wide, athletic stance like he was preparing for a sumo match. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, hyping himself up while the rest of the crew gathered around to watch the showdown.

"Jan, ken, po!" they chanted in unison. Keoni threw out two fingers with maximum aggression, already tasting the spicy mayo. Maka lazily dropped a closed fist. Rock smashes scissors. The crew erupted in laughter as Keoni stared at his fingers in disbelief, eventually shuffling to the back of the line to buy a lukewarm Spam musubi while muttering about how Maka definitely cheated.