is a 15-minute Japanese educational television program that has been aired by

NHK , also known by its Romanization of Japanese, romanized initialism NHK, is a Japanese public broadcasting, public broadcaster. It is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television licence, television license fee. NHK ope ...

since April 9, 2002. It encourages augmenting children's "way of thinking" under the supervision of and . A five-minute format called PythagoraSwitch Mini is also available. During the beginning and ending of each episode, and between each ''corner'' (segment), there are . "Pythagorean device" is the equivalent Japanese colloquialism for the American "

Rube Goldberg machine A Rube Goldberg machine, named after American cartoonist Rube Goldberg, is a chain reaction–type machine or contraption intentionally designed to perform a simple task in a comically overcomplicated way. Usually, these machines consist of a s ...

" and British "

Heath Robinson William Heath Robinson (31 May 1872 – 13 September 1944) was an English cartoonist, illustrator and artist who drew whimsically elaborate machines to achieve simple objectives. The earliest citation in the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' f ...

" contraption. The main focus of the program is a puppet show, but the subject is mainly advanced by small ''corners''. World phenomena, principles, characteristics, and the like are introduced in an entertaining way. At the end of each segment, the show's title is sung as a kind of punchline.

Segments

In the show, segments are called "corners".

Today's Topic

A puppet show in which explains the structure of the world to young penguins, and . A recurring situation is that, while discussing each topic, Encyclopedia will say , to what the penguins, after looking at said page, respond After that, the three call upon an anthropomorphic dog-like TV, who shows them a video about the topic. A mouse called is also featured.

Underground Gora Switch

A puppet show similar to ''Today's Topic'' in which a little mole, who lives underground in Pita and Gora's basement, named observes the way world works through a periscope. A common occurrence is that Gurao's periscope will run out before he can see how whatever he's looking at works and when this happens, Gurao calls for his father , asking to learn more. The two then call for , an anthropomorphic pig-like tablet who shows them a video about the topic. Suu from ''Today's Topic'' sometimes appears interacting with Gurao and Chikada Mogurou. This segment appears infrequently.

Pythagora Devices

are frequently featured.

Algorithm Exercise

A corner broadcast since 2002. It stars the duo . It is

algorithm In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm () is a finite sequence of Rigour#Mathematics, mathematically rigorous instructions, typically used to solve a class of specific Computational problem, problems or to perform a computation. Algo ...

themed, so that the movements that are done side by side are related ("crouching motion" combines with "shaking arms", so that the arms avoid the action, etc.). Usually, the duo does the exercise with special guests, such as

announcers, baseball players, sumo wrestlers, etc. There are also individual versions for each member: the "Yamada version" and the "Kikuchi version".

Algorithm March

Father Switch

A segment in which a father and his child act out sequences and play games based on any of the Japanese letter sounds.

Other Corners

* ：A segment in which a straight line bends into different shapes, forming different things. *# Sumo wrestler *# Tea kettle *# Chicks *# Hammer Thrower *# Pteranodon * : A segment in which a black box asks the viewer a question about objects inside it. * : A potato shaped like a dice (voiced by Iwao Nozomi) moves forward and backward and to the left and right in the tiles drawn on the ground, with words written on each side of him. He can move even if he is out of the tiles. * : A segment where different things appear with circles and triangles above them. The triangle groups usually disappear. *# Pigeons that flew away. *# Sushi taken by customers. *# People with hand warmers in their pockets. *# Ice hockey players. * : This segment introduces the stages of product testing before the shipment of industrial products. *#

Office chair An office chair, or desk chair, is a type of chair that is designed for use at a desk in an office. It is usually a swivel chair, with a set of wheels for mobility and adjustable height. Modern office chairs typically use a single, distinctive ...

s *#

Ballpoint pen A ballpoint pen, also known as a biro (British English), ball pen (Hong Kong, Indian, Indonesian, Pakistani, and Philippine English), or dot pen ( Nepali English and South Asian English), is a pen that dispenses ink (usually in paste form) ...

s * : Animated shorts about a dog named Framy, who is made out of clear squares. Other characters that are composed of simple figures, but they are not transparent. Sometimes; Framy's brothers, and , appear in their own stories or interacting with Framy. * : a critique of Pythagorean Devices by Ms. Hammer Critic (voiced by Mio Ueta), in some segments a dissection of the Pythagora Devices are demonstrated to show “how the trick works”. *# Equipment No. 147: 3 Cups *# Equipment No. 175: The Come Back Car *# Equipment No. 144: The Toothpick *# Equipment No. 107: Egg 2 * : A segment in which the viewer is taught a different experiment. *# : an egg floats on a cup filled with water mixed with salt *# : a pine cone dipped in a glass of water contracts, and when dry it expands back to normal. *# : a nori seaweed in a clear package becomes transparent when dipped in a glass of water. *# : lifting a salted ice cube with a string. *# : pouring water to a cup in front of a paper inscribed (with the ''pu'' mirrored horizontally) reverses that letter's image. *# "Mini" segment: whiteboard art on a mirror floats when dipped on a tub of water. *# "Mini" segment: A boiled egg can spin around. *# "Mini" segment: See the inside of an aluminum bag with your smartphone's flashlight when you turn off the lights. * : A segment where a man can turn himself invisible and challenges the viewer to try to follow him around. The segment ends, usually, with a dog barking and the Invisible Man declaring that he "can't stand dogs!". *# He challenges the viewers to find him on top of a building. *# He challenges the viewers to find him in the ground where he fell after rescuing a cat. * : Tsutomu Sekine and Jonio Iwai perform what seems to be physically impossible feats using

stop-motion Stop-motion (also known as stop frame animation) is an animation, animated filmmaking and special effects technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appe ...

photography. At the end of each segment, the title of the corner changes to . * : A claymation featuring clay characters named Nendore and Nandore tripping on various objects resulting in impressions: *# TV remote and

peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), goober pea, pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics by small and large ...

s *#

Colored pencil A colored pencil (American English), coloured pencil (Commonwealth English), colour pencil (Indian English), map pencil, pencil crayon, or coloured/colouring lead (Canadian English, Newfoundland English) is a type of pencil constructed of a na ...

s and a piece of

cheese Cheese is a type of dairy product produced in a range of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk (usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats or sheep). During prod ...

Cellophane Cellophane is a thin, transparent sheet made of regenerated cellulose. Its low permeability to air, oils, greases, bacteria, and liquid water makes it useful for food packaging. Cellophane is highly permeable to water vapour, but may be coate ...

tape dispenser and

magnet A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nickel, ...

*# Bottle opener and

clothespin A clothespin (US English) or clothes peg (UK English), also spelled "clothes pin" is a fastener used to hang up clothes for drying, usually on a clothes line. Clothespins come in many different designs. Design During the 1700s laundry was ...

Acorn The acorn is the nut (fruit), nut of the oaks and their close relatives (genera ''Quercus'', ''Notholithocarpus'' and ''Lithocarpus'', in the family Fagaceae). It usually contains a seedling surrounded by two cotyledons (seedling leaves), en ...

s and

dice A die (: dice, sometimes also used as ) is a small, throwable object with marked sides that can rest in multiple positions. Dice are used for generating random values, commonly as part of tabletop games, including dice games, board games, ro ...

Mosquito coil A mosquito coil is a Insect repellent, mosquito-repelling incense, usually made into a spiral, and typically made using dried paste of pyrethrum powder. The coil is usually held at the center of the spiral, suspending it in the air, or wedged by ...

and

seashell A seashell or sea shell, also known simply as a shell, is a hard, protective outer layer usually created by an animal or organism that lives in the sea. Most seashells are made by Mollusca, mollusks, such as snails, clams, and oysters ...

s *#

Marbles A marble is a small spherical object often made from glass, clay, steel, plastic, or agate. These toys can be used for a variety of games called marbles, as well being placed in marble runs or races, or created as a form of art. They are ofte ...

and

shogi , also known as Japanese chess, is a Strategy game, strategy board game for two players. It is one of the most popular board games in Japan and is in the same family of games as chess, Western chess, chaturanga, xiangqi, Indian chess, and janggi. ...

pieces * : A stop-motion animation segment featuring ordinary objects being brought to life. *# ,

eraser An eraser (also known as a rubber in some Commonwealth countries, including South Africa from which the material first used got its name) is an article of stationery that is used for removing marks from paper or skin (e.g. parchment or vellu ...

*# ,

drinking straw A drinking straw is a List of eating utensils, utensil that uses suction to carry the contents of a beverage to one's mouth. A straw is used by placing one end in the mouth and the other in a beverage. By applying suction with the mouth, the air ...

*# ,

rubber band A rubber band (also known as an elastic, gum band or lacky band) is a loop of rubber, usually ring or oval shaped, and commonly used to hold multiple objects together. The rubber band was patented in England on March 17, 1845, by Stephen Perry ...

*# , bolt *# ,

sugar cube Sugar cubes are white sugar granules pressed into small cubes measuring approximately 1 teaspoon each. They are usually used for sweetening drinks such as tea and coffee. They were invented in the early 19th century in response to the difficulti ...

*# ,

sticky note A Post-it note (or sticky note) is a small piece of paper with a re-adherable strip of glue on its back, made for temporarily attaching notes to documents and other surfaces. A low-tack pressure-sensitive adhesive allows the notes to be easily ...

*# , chopsticks *# ,

shoe A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot. Though the human foot can adapt to varied terrains and climate conditions, it is vulnerable, and shoes provide protection. Form was originally tied to function, but ...

brush A brush is a common tool with bristles, wire or other filaments. It generally consists of a handle or block to which filaments are affixed in either a parallel or perpendicular orientation, depending on the way the brush is to be gripped during u ...

*# ,

matchbox A matchbox is a container or case for matches, made of paperboard, cardboard, thin wood, or metal, generally in the form of a box with a separate drawer sliding inside the cover. Matchboxes generally measure 5 x 3.5 x 1.5 cm, and commonly have ...

*# ,

aluminum foil Aluminium foil (or aluminum foil in American English; occasionally called tin foil) is aluminium prepared in thin metal leaves. The foil is pliable and can be readily bent or wrapped around objects. Thin foils are fragile and are sometimes ...

*: Also includes and segments for some of the above creatures. * : This segment teaches how to make gadgets and gimmicks included in Pythagora Devices. ** Beginner Course **# Zigzag Sloping Road **#Time Lag Device **#Flip-flop Top ** Intermediate Course **# A Winding Road **# Marble Accelerator ** Advanced Course **#A catapult. * : A segment featuring handkerchiefs with the characters, Pita and Gora, on them. These handkerchiefs tell a story about the characters. *# *# *# *# * : A segment in which the viewer has to spot three differences in two pictures. * : An animated segment about a tape measure named Jackie, who helps his friends or plays with the viewer. *# Measuring the TV Screen Episode *# Let's Go Mr. Remote Episode *# Is Anyone Nine Centimeters Tall? Episode *# Measuring the Vacuum Cord Episode *# Measuring the Kitchen Scale Episode *# The Lookalike Episode *# The Wind Around Tape Episode * : Ten small sticks join together and transform into various things. * : A segment that introduces different, interesting bridges. *#

Swing bridge A swing bridge (or swing span bridge) is a movable bridge that can be rotated horizontally around a vertical axis. It has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravit ...

( Amanohashidate,

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

) *#

Bascule bridge A bascule bridge (also referred to as a drawbridge or a lifting bridge) is a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances a span, or leaf, throughout its upward swing to provide clearance for boat traffic. It may be single- o ...

(Tei Port Moveable Bridge in Kōnan, Kōchi) *#

Lift bridge A vertical-lift bridge or just lift bridge is a type of movable bridge in which a span rises vertically while remaining parallel with the deck. The vertical lift offers several benefits over other movable bridges such as the bascule and swi ...

(Kagasunobashi in

Tokushima is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Tokushima Prefecture has a population of 682,439 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,146 Square kilometre, km2 (1,601 sq mi). Tokushima Prefecture b ...

) *#

Transporter bridge A transporter bridge, also known as a ferry bridge or aerial transfer bridge, is a type of movable bridge that carries a segment of roadway across a river. The gondola is slung from a tall span by wires or a metal frame. The design has been us ...

(

Vizcaya Bridge The Vizcaya Bridge (''Bizkaiko Zubia'' in Basque, ''Puente de Vizcaya'' in Spanish) is a transporter bridge that links the towns of Portugalete and Las Arenas (part of Getxo) in the Biscay province of Spain, crossing the mouth of the Nervi ...

Biscay Biscay ( ; ; ), is a province of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Autonomous Community, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the Bay of Biscay, eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilb ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

) *#

Submersible bridge A submersible bridge is a type of movable bridge that lowers the bridge deck below the water level to permit waterborne traffic to use the waterway. This differs from a lift bridge or table bridge, which operate by raising the roadway. Two sub ...

(on

Corinth Canal The Corinth Canal () is a canal in Greece that connects the Gulf of Corinth in the Ionian Sea with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. Completed in 1893, it cuts through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth and "separates" the Peloponnese peninsula fro ...

in Isthmia,

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

) *# Rolling bascule bridge (Te Matau ā Pohe in

Whangārei Whangārei () is the northernmost city in New Zealand and the largest settlement of the Northland Region. It is part of the Whangarei District, created in 1989 from the former Whangarei City, Whangarei County and Hikurangi Town councils to admi ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

) * : A segment in which the viewer is invited to count different objects. * : In a certain place, a start switch is pressed in a machine, which introduces something happening. *# A Ferris wheel being lit up at night. *# A roller coaster. *# The spotlights onstage of an opera house. * : A segment in which an object is pushed through a shape it can just barley pass through on a conveyor belt, there's also a "turning version". * : A segment which introduces various robots (mainly work robots). *# Sentry robot *# Bicycle parking *#

Automatic milking Automatic milking is the milking of dairy animals, especially of dairy cattle, without human labour. Automatic milking systems (AMS), also called voluntary milking systems (VMS), were developed in the late 20th century. They have been commerciall ...

*# A robot that goes into rocky gaps to save people's lives. *# A robot that moves red hot metals. *# A robot that puts books onto a book shelf. * : A segment in which different concepts are introduced in 5 seconds. * : Motion capture animation, in which dots appear one by one, inviting readers to guess what animal is depicted in the initial film. *# An inchworm *# A

monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes. Thus monkeys, in that sense, co ...

*# A crab *# A pigeon * : A segment in which the viewer has to guess what kind of object something is based on its numbers. *# The dates on a calendar *# The numbers on a grocery store salespaper * : Different shapes appear on a turntable and turn into different objects. *# A horse *# Fish bones *# Walking the dog *# A Squid * : An inlay of dots, as in ''What Animal is This?'', together with motion capture, invites viewers to guess what these dots form or person is doing. *#

Bullfighting Bullfighting is a physical contest that involves a bullfighter attempting to subdue, immobilize, or kill a bull, usually according to a set of rules, guidelines, or cultural expectations. There are several variations, including some forms wh ...

Conducting Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or Choir, choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary d ...

*# Rhythmic Gymnastics *# Air hockey *# A ladybug walking on a leaf *# Eggs being sorted * : A segment in which the viewer has to guess which object is real and which one is not. *#

Tangerine The tangerine is a type of citrus fruit that is orange in colour, that is considered either a variety of the mandarin orange (''Citrus reticulata''), or a closely related species, under the name ''Citrus tangerina'', or yet as a hybrid (''Citr ...

s *#

Pencil A pencil () is a writing or drawing implement with a solid pigment core in a protective casing that reduces the risk of core breakage and keeps it from marking the user's hand. Pencils create marks by physical abrasion, leaving a trail of ...

s *#

Teacup A teacup is a cup for drinking tea. It generally has a small handle (grip), handle that may be grasped with the thumb and one or two fingers. It is typically made of a ceramic material and is often part of a set which is composed of a cup and ...

s * : The viewer is invited to play rock paper scissors with a Pythagora device. * : A segment featuring a game where a kid does chores based around the Japanese letters, similar to ''Father Switch'' (). * : A segment in which a kid plays a game, putting toys or household items on a character named . 100 grams is achieved by getting up to 95-99 grams then offered 1 or more yen coins from the and placing the coins on the scale. * : A segment in which the Japanese letters form a word using an animated Pythagora device. * : Japanese letters form a word on a conveyor belt. * : A segment featuring song in which the viewer has to guess which similar Japanese symbol is forming. There's also versions called , and . * : A segment in which a kid writes a "secret message" that can only be read by wrapping the paper around a cylinder shaped stick to their father, requesting to do an activity with him. * : Two friends named Tatehiko and Yokohiko draw pictures together. Yokohiko can only move left and right while Tatehiko can help him move up and down. * : A segment in which an image passes by a gap and the viewer has to guess what it is. *# A soccer ball. *# A pinecone. *# A wooden carved bear. *# A watering can. * : A segment in which Botejin appears, meeting other similar creatures. *# *# *# * : A segment similar to a computer game. It has a cube like dog named Inuten, directions such as "left", "right", "up" and "down" are called to help him reach a certain goal. * : A segment in which an animal reaches a certain goal. *# A ladybug walks across Japanese words to form sentences. *# A lizard goes into his cage by following the sunlight. * : A segment similar to ''Animal Program'' in which an animal reaches a certain goal. *# A ladybug goes up and down a ramp. *# A bug goes through a maze. * : The viewer is asked to guess a certain kind of imprint. *# A track runner. * : Similar to "Pythagora Code Stick", a child writes a secret message to their father using paper cups. * : A segment introducing "one minute crafts" that the viewer can try at home. *# Today's Snack Device *# CD Case Person * : Ms. Hammer Critic explains how to fix errors in Pythagora Equipment. * : A boy and his friends observe a man miming different actions. The boy asks the man what he is doing and the viewer sees a video of it. *# Brushing a tortoise's shell. * : A stop motion animation where 10 sugar cubes arrange into different shapes, similar to "10 Stick Anime". * : An animation in which a digital person shaped like tiles can move around on tiled surfaces.

Actors

, , and , are some of the voice actors who perform and call out the topics. provides narration and voices a character named , a mouse who sometimes introduces the show or introduces segments.

Broadcast

Outside Japan,

NHK World Premium NHK World Premium is a TV news and entertainment broadcasting service offered by NHK World-Japan, the international arm of Japan's public broadcaster NHK. The service is aimed towards Japanese Diaspora and the overseas market, similar to worldwi ...

broadcasts ''PythagoraSwitch Mini''. In

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

TV Cultura TV Cultura, or simply Cultura, is a free Brazilian non-commercial public television network headquartered in São Paulo and a part of Father Anchieta Foundation, a non-profit foundation funded by the São Paulo State Government. It focuses on ...

has been broadcasting it under the title ''Viva Pitágoras!'' since at least 2006. Starting April 2015, an English version of PythagoraSwitch Mini has been broadcast on NHK World TV. In addition, some PythagoraSwitch videos are also available on

Google Video Google Video was a free video hosting service, originally launched by Google on January 25, 2005. Initially focused on searching TV program transcripts, it soon evolved to allow hosting video clips on Google servers and embedding onto other ...

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

and

DailyMotion Dailymotion is a French online video platform, online video sharing platform owned by Canal+ S.A., Canal+. Prior to 2024, the company was owned by Vivendi. North American launch partners included Vice Media, Bloomberg L.P., Bloomberg, and Hears ...

Awards

At the 30th

Japan Prize is awarded to individuals whose original and outstanding achievements in science and technology are recognized as having advanced the frontiers of knowledge and served the cause of peace and prosperity for mankind. As of 2024, the Japan Prize h ...

International Educational Program Contest, in 2003, episode 25 "Let's Look at It Another Way" won top prize, the Prime Minister's award, of the Early Education category. At Prix Jeunesse 2004 in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

it won top prize in the age 6 and below non-fiction category.

References

External links

*
ピタゴラスイッチ
– NHK Broadcast History *{{IMDb title, 0991057 NHK original programming Japanese television shows featuring puppetry Japanese children's television series Children's education television series 2002 Japanese television series debuts 2010s Japanese television series 2020s Japanese television series Puppetry in Japan