Bonkura

Toshikazu 'Bonkura' Nagai (5 December 1985-13 September 2007) was a famous JEB spinner. He was one of the first spinners to be televised, along with the likes of SEVEN and Ryo and was vice chairman of Pen Spinning Association Japan, an organization aiming to teach and spread awareness of pen spinning. Competitively he took part in the Pen Spinning World Tournament 2007. He features in famous early Collaboration Videos such as JapEn 1st and JapEn 2nd.

Bonkura's influence on the hobby across many facets has resulted in him being considered one of the first 'legendary' spinners, and he consistently ranks high on lists of the best spinners of all time.

Spinning

Solo videos

1st Solo

First posted on UCPSB on June 15th, 2006.

2nd Solo

Released on August 15th, 2007.

Influential work

I-Sonic

See also: I-Sonic

Bonkura performs the I-Sonic, hiding the pen from sight.

Short for Invisible Sonic, Bonkura first showed off an I-Sonic in his fist solo video as one of his 'fan' combos. It involved hiding the pen behind one of his fingers during a sonic, only to make it disappear when a fan passed over it, then reappear once the fan passed again. He performs it by balancing the pen on his pinky finger and holding the ring in front. Although well executed, this variant was not very convincing as the pen clearly had to be ditched behind the fan either onto his other hand or the floor. On the slomo he can be seen scooping the pen from behind the fan to continue afterwards, too.

The later, more impressive 'Bonkura I-Sonic' variation was performed in his second year solo. In the clip, he is spinning a relatively long white mod that appears to be a Comssa variant. His protruding ulnar styloid bone on his wrist can also be noted. Starting by performing the trick the traditional way, he surprises the viewer by opening his hand to show the pen has disappeared, with no fingers holding it in place before collecting it afterwards. There are numerous theories on how he accomplished this feat, but the most accepted explanation is that he wedged the pen between his ring finger and ulnar styloid on his wrist. This method has been used by multiple spinners afterwards to replicate the trick.

Officially, Bonkura only ever disclosed the trick's secret to one other person before his death, and it has not been shared.

Bonkura Trick

See also: Bonkura Trick

An advanced swivel variation showcased in the last clip of his second solo video. By modern standards it is considered to be a swivel reverse performed on the wrist joint, starting and ending in the palm.

String tricks

In his second solo, tricks involving using lengths of string were shown. These included hitting the pen with a loop to apply enough tension for an aerial, and catching the pens on loops of string through the use of what was presumably hooks on the tips of the pens.

Magnet tricks

Bonkura also showed methods of using a magnet in his second solo's 'Magnet Combo'. This involved using a horseshoe magnet to make the pen roll around the table and onto his hand, then wiggling it near the ends to make it spin on the hand.

2 Hands

An early adopter of two hand spinning, Bonkura demonstrated being able to perform symmetrical combos with a pen on each hand. With only one pen he used early variations of 1p2h twirls to transfer the mods between hands, and also used aerials caught in the other hand as finishers.

Continuous tricks

Bonkura was one of the earliest world record holders, after recording Tornado (Thumbaround extended) x103 in 2007.

Collaboration videos

Bonkura performing an early wiper combo in JapEn 1st.

Bonkura most famously featured in both JapEn 1st and JapEn 2nd, as well as SPSL 4th. A list of all the CVs he participated in can be found below.

• 研究室PV2nd - Link
  • This was his famous 'Book combo' involving spinning a book on top of the fingers and opening it to reveal a pen
• PSN 2nd - Link
• PSN 3rd - Link
• PSN 4th - Link
• JapEn 1st - Link
• JapEn 2nd - Link
• SPSL 4th - Link

Competitive Spinning

World Tournament 2007

Round 1

Versus Nanna. The stall was considered extremely difficult and surprising for the time, which led to the combo sometimes being labeled as one of the greatest combos of all time.

Round 2

Versus Daft System.

Round 3

Versus Mizm.

Round 4

Versus Eriror.

In the media

Bonkura made two appearances on television in Japan for two different shows. Once at Kyoto University representing PSAJ, and again in a show that also featured an interview of CrAsH in the UK.

Death

Bonkura died of cardiac failure on the 13th of September 2007, aged 21. The news was announced to the pen spinning community on the 21st of September 2007, with a eulogy of his contributions to PSAJ and the pen spinning community as a whole.

Many of the boards made threads spreading the news, including UCPSB and the newly created UPSB V3, with much of the spinning community expressing grief for his death.