Hanafuda

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The Koi Koi version of hanafuda
Flower cards

Hanafuda (花札) is a style of Japanese playing cards used to play a variety of games. Hanafuda translates to "flower cards".[1][2] The name also refers to some games played with the cards.

History[edit]

Main article: Karuta

Playing cards were introduced to Japan by the Portuguese in the mid-16th century. The Portuguese deck consisted of 48 cards, four suits divided into 12 ranks. The first Japanese-made decks made during the Tenshō period (1573-92) mimicked Portuguese decks and are referred to as Tenshō Karuta. The main game was a trick-taking game intermediate in evolution between Triunfo and Ombre.[3] After Japan closed off all contact with the Western world in 1633, foreign playing cards were banned.[4]

In 1648, Tenshō Karuta were banned by the Tokugawa shogunate.[5] During prohibition, gambling with cards remained highly popular which led to disguised card designs. Each time gambling with a card deck of a particular design became too popular, the government banned it, which then prompted the creation of a new design. This cat and mouse game between the government and rebellious gamblers resulted in the creation of increasingly abstract and minimalist regional patterns (地方札). These designs were initially called Yomi Karuta after the popular Poch-like game of Yomi which was known by the 1680s.[6]

Through the Meiwa, An'ei, and Tenmei eras (roughly 1764–1789), a game called Mekuri took the place of Yomi. It became so popular that Yomi Karuta was renamed Mekuri Karuta.[6] Mechanically, Mekuri is similar to Chinese fishing games.[7] Cards became so commonly used for gambling that they were banned in 1791, during the Kansei era.

Hana Awase (hanafuda) appeared prior to 1816 when it was recorded as a banned gambling tool. Unlike earlier decks it consists of 12 months (suits) divided into four rank-like categories. The majority of hanafuda games are descended from Mekuri although Yomi adaptations for the flower cards survived until the 20th century.[6] Though they can still be used for gambling, its structure and design is less convenient than other decks such as Kabufuda. In the Meiji period, playing cards became tolerated by the authorities.

In 1889, Fusajiro Yamauchi founded Nintendo for the purposes of producing and selling hand-crafted hanafuda. Nintendo has focused on video games since the 1970s but continues to produce cards in Japan, including a few Mario-themed sets. Nintendo has licensed many third-party video game adaptations of hanafuda over the decades. The Koi-Koi game played with hanafuda cards is included in Nintendo's own Clubhouse Games (2006) for the Nintendo DS, and Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics (2020) for the Nintendo Switch.[8]

Outside of Japan[edit]

In Hawaii, there is Hawaiian-style Koi-Koi which is also known as Sakura, Higobana, and sometimes Hanafura.

In South Korea, the cards are called Hwatu (Korean: 화투, Hanja: 花鬪); the name literally translates as battle of flowers. It most likely was brought to Korea during the late 1890s.[9][10] Two of the most common Hwatu games are Go-stop (Korean: 고스톱)[11] and Seotda (Korean: 섯다). Hwatu is very commonly played in South Korea during special holidays such as the Lunar New Years, and also during the Korean holiday of Chuseok (추석). Playing Go-stop at holiday family gatherings has been a Korean tradition for many years. The Korean version is usually played with three players, with two-person variants.

Hanafuda is also played in Micronesia (the former South Seas Mandate), where it is known as Hanahuda and is a four-person game, which is often paired cross-table.[12]

Cards[edit]

There are twelve suits, representing months of the year. Each is designated by a flower and has four cards. The point values should be considered merely as a ranking mechanism, as the most popular games only concern themselves with certain combinations of taken cards.

Month/Suit · Flower/Plant 5 Hikari 'Light/Bright' cards
(20 points) 		9 Tane 'Animal' cards
(10 points) 		10 Tanzaku 'Ribbon' cards
(5 points) 		24 Kasu 'Junk/Plain' cards
(1 point) 		image
January · Pine Crane and Sun — Poetry tanzaku 2 cards The first month hanafuda cards.png
February · Plum blossom — Bush warbler Poetry tanzaku 2 cards The second month hanafuda cards.png
March · Cherry blossom Curtain — Poetry tanzaku 2 cards The third month hanafuda cards.png
April · Wisteria — Cuckoo Plain tanzaku 2 cards The fourth month hanafuda cards.png
May · Iris — Eight-plank bridge Plain tanzaku 2 cards The fifth month hanafuda cards.png
June · Peony — Butterflies Blue tanzaku 2 cards The sixth month hanafuda cards.png
July · Bush clover — Boar Plain tanzaku 2 cards The seventh month hanafuda cards.png
August · Susuki grass[a] Full moon Geese — 2 cards The eighth month hanafuda cards.png
September · Chrysanthemum — Sake cup Blue tanzaku 2 cards The ninth month hanafuda cards.png
October · Maple — Deer Blue tanzaku 2 cards The tenth month hanafuda cards.png
November · Willow Ono no Michikaze Swallow Plain tanzaku Lightning The eleventh month hanafuda cards.png
December · Paulownia Chinese phoenix — — 3 cards The twelfth month hanafuda cards.png

Some decks may have an extra card which could be blank (to draw a replacement) or feature a manufacturer's logo. In the Korean Hwatu version, the November and December suits are swapped. Hwatu may also include a variety of extra cards ranging in functionality, including 'service cards' (서비스 패) which award various bonuses.[13]

Card significance[edit]

  • The January poetry tanzaku card has the phrase あかよろし (akayoroshi), employing the hentaigana character 𛀙 for the letter ka. The meaning of the phrase is currently unknown; it is theorized that it might be a contraction of 明らかによろしい (akiraka ni yoroshii, literally “obviously good”).[14]
  • The February poetry tanzaku card has the same phrase akayoroshi.
  • The March poetry tanzaku card reads みよしの (mi-Yoshino), referring to the town of Yoshino, Nara. Yoshino is known for its cherry trees, especially of its Somei-Yoshino hybrid.
  • The September sake cup card has the kanji 寿 (kotobuki, “long life”) inscribed on it.

Games[edit]

Mekuri derived games:

Yomi derived games:

  • Poka
  • Hiyoko
  • Isuri

Gabo Japgi/Kabufuda derived games:

  • Seotda
  • Doryjytgo-ttang

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Sometimes 芒 susuki is translated as pampas (grass).

References[edit]

  1. ^ McLeod, John. "Games played with Flower Cards". pagat.com. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  2. ^ Pakarnian, John, "Game Boy: Glossary of Japanese Gambling Games", Metropolis, January 22, 2010, p. 15.
  3. ^ Depaulis, Thierry (2009). "Playing the Game: Iberian Triumphs Worldwide". The Playing-Card. Vol 38-2, p. 134-137.
  4. ^ Harris, Blake J., Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation, It Books, 2014-May-13. ISBN 978-0062276698. "Chapter 5"
  5. ^ Mann, Sylvia; Wayland, Virginia (1973). The Dragons of Portugal. Farnham: Sanford. p. 46.
  6. ^ a b c Kuromiya Kimihiko. (2005). "Kakkuri: The Last Yomi Game of Japan". The Playing-Card, Vol 33-4. p. 232-235.
  7. ^ McLeod, John; Dummett, Michael (1975). "Hachi-Hachi". The Playing-Card. 3 (4): 26–39.
  8. ^ Lane, Gavin. "Nintendo Shares A Handy Infographic Featuring All 51 Worldwide Classic Clubhouse Games". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  9. ^ Kim, Kwang-ŏn. (2004). Tong Asia ŭi nori. Seoul: Minsogwŏn. ISBN 89-5638-121-6. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  10. ^ Fairbairn, John (1991). "Modern Korean Cards". The Playing-Card. 20 (2): 68–72.
  11. ^ McLeod, John. "Rules of Card Games: Go Stop". pagat.com. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  12. ^ Iramk, Charlene. "Hanahuda". Hanahuda. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  13. ^ Sloper, Tom. "Go-Stop". www.sloperama.com. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  14. ^ "花札の謎シリーズ 赤短『あかよろし?』". Ohishi Tengudo.

External links[edit]

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