Hanafuda

Today, Hanafuda has been replaced by Pachinko as the nation’s preferred form of gambling, but the game remains a family past time and Nintendo continues to produce Hanafuda cards in special editions such as Pokemon, Snoopy, and so on. The Hanafuda cards have 12 unique suits each corresponding to the 12 months of the year. Introduction, Nintendo used to have many different brands sold for the same standard hanafuda pattern. Each brand differs in quality of paper, coatings, craftsmanship, method of printing, the print itself, and the colors of the print, and sometimes even the location the cards were manufactured. Hanafuda Japanese Earrings Kawaii Anime Handmade Earrings Cute Dangle Earrings Japan Resin Jewelry Hanafuda ManekiIsland. From shop ManekiIsland. 5 out of 5 stars (281) 281 reviews. Sale Price $23.99 $ 23.99 $ 29.99 Original Price $29.99 (20% off).

• Hanafuda Rules English
• Hanafuda Earrings

The hanafuda card deck has twelve suits, each named for a month and an associated flower (or flowerlike plant). The seasonal flowers have long histories in poetry and art, often tracing back to Heian Japan or Táng China, and are rich in folklore and trivia. A large part of the appeal of hanafuda for me is the contrast drawn by such poetic themes in a gambling game of the yakuza. The cards pop now and then in popular culture, as in the moveset of Kibagami Genjūrō from the fighting game Samurai Spirits, or the protagonist of female yakuza sexploitation flicks Inoshika Ochō, or in the Ino-Shika-Chō team in Naruto, &c.

These are their flowers.

Being a winter-resistant evergreen, the pine is an auspicious symbol of longevity. The Chinese grouped it with two other plants that endure beautifully in winter, bamboo and plum blossoms; together they make the Three Friends of Winter (歲寒三友 suìhán sānyǒu/saikan-no-san’yu). In Japanese culture this combination of pine, bamboo and plum (松竹梅 shō-chiku-bai) became an important decorative motif; they’re also auspiciously tied to gates in the New Year festivities, and they’re used as a grading system (as symbols for high-, middle- and low-rank). The crane of the first card has a similar set of associations: longevity and New Year. Cranes often rest atop high pines in Japanese painting, but they can’t climb trees in real life; they probably were confused with tree-loving storks.

1. Jan 30, 2015 - Explore Michael Link's board 'Hanafuda' on Pinterest. See more ideas about illustration, game card design, japanese art.
2. Hanafuda is also played in Micronesia, where it is known under the same name and is a four-person game, which is often paired cross-table. Cards edit There are twelve suits, representing months of the year.

The red poem doesn’t say *anoyoroshi but akayoroshi; the second character is a hentaigana character for “ka”. The meaning, however, is disputed (Nintendō’s website says, perhaps in jest, that it’s currently under research). One possible derivation is 明らかに良い akiraka ni yoi, “clearly good”.

Prunus mume, the Japanese apricot or Chinese plum. Another of the Friends of Winter loved in Chinese art. The fruit is used for umeboshi and umezuke pickled plums (often dyed with red shiso) – and also umeshu, the delicious fruit liquor. Being the first flower to blossom still during winter, it’s a symbol of perseverance, strength, and of the arrival of spring. Often pictured as red, though the real flowers range from white to pale rose to a lush pink. Long associated with the bush warbler (uguisu) (depicted in the animal card), the cry of which was also considered to be a sign of the arrival of spring.

A symbol of the transience of things (mono no aware) since they die (fall) while still beautiful. A standard symbol of spring, and often called a symbol of Japan. Very similar to the peach flower; cherry blossoms can be distinguished by distinctive cuts in the petal tips. The cultivated flower tree doesn’t produce edible fruit, devoting all its energies to blossoming. In the Nara period the word hana “flower”, by itself, indicated the plum blossom; tastes shifted progressively, and by the Middle Ages the cherry had won the word. Hanami, the custom of “flower viewing”, changed accordingly. The curtain of the first card is hiding a flower-viewing party. The poem strip says “Miyoshino”, thought to refer to a place in Nara famous for its cherry blossoms.

Thanks to the prestige and power of the Heian-era aristocratic Fujiwara (“Wisteria Plains”) clan, the character 藤 (fuji) is still a very popular component of family names, including the most used in Japan, Satō 佐藤. The flower is a valued subject of art and nature observation, and an important motif in Heian literature (onwards). It makes one think of Genji and courtly elegance. The hototogisu cuckoo is said in the Man’yōshū to sing from the season of wisterias.

The old “April”, i.e. the fourth lunar month, was named uzuki, after the small, white deutzia flowers (u-no-hana)—or possibly the other way around. In any case hanafuda cards don’t use the deutzia.

A purple water flower. It’s associated in poetry with summer, and in art with the eight-plank bridge (yatsuhashi)—a kind of low, zig-zag bridge often built over iris marshes in gardens, in reference to an episode in the Ise Monogatari (an actual yatsuhashi can be in fact longer than eight planks).

A flower admired since Táng China, an admiration which also spread to Heian Japan (when, judging from the Makura no Sōshi, it was considered to contribute to a Chinese atmosphere). In the arts a floral arabesque pattern (botan karakusa) became popular, spreading quickly, and many variations were devised.

The bush clover or lespedeza is one of the Seven Grasses of Autumn (aki no nanakusa), as first defined in the Man’yōshū by Yamanoe no Okura. The seven would go on to become subjects in poetry, ceramic, textiles &c., and of the group, the bush clover was the most praised in the Man’yōshū. Together with silver grass (susuki) and dumplings (dango), it’s offered to the moon in harvest-moon viewing festivals (tsukimi).

Also translated as Chinese silver grass, pampas grass, Eulalia grass, maiden grass &c., and called the “tail flower” (obana) for its resemblance to an animal’s tail. Another of the Seven Grasses of Autumn, and paired with the bush clover as decoration and offering in moon-vieweing festivals. In Okinawa, the leaves are knotted as talismans against evil.

The hanafuda suit is also called “baldie” (bōzu) for obvious reasons.

Symbol of the Japanese Throne and crest (mon) of the Imperial Family; also a motif in many other family crests. Metonimically, a symbol of Japan. The Chrysanthemum Festival (chōyō), celebrated in the 9th day of the 9th month, originated as a religious observance in China to ward off the excess energy of the day—the number 9 being considered particularly yáng (thus the name, “piled yáng”). One of several cleansing practices was to drink chrysanthemum saké (kikuzake). The Heian nobles thought it all very poetic and turned the festival into an elegant celebration, with banquets and singing.

By far the favourite of autumn, a main topic of poetry since forever, and target of “red leaf hunting” (momijigari)—the practice of traveling to see the autumn colors. The word momiji often refers to the colored leaves more than to the maple plant itself. It’s associated with the deer, to the point that venison was called maple meat (momiji-niku). The cry of a lone deer is thought to deepen the feeling of solitute (sabi) typical of autumn.

Perhaps because it likes dampness and grows next to water bodies, the tree is associated with rain, and the hanafuda suit can be called “rain” (ame) instead of “willow”. The bark and leaves contain salicin, a component of aspirin, and have long been used as pain and fever medicine worldwide, Japan included. There are a number of folkloric stories and traditions about spirits living inside of or being reborn as willow trees. Saigyō has a famous tanka about resting under a willow tree, which inspired the Nō play Yugyō Yanagi, in which a wandering priest meet the spirit of Saigyō’s willow. Bashō, a Saigyō fan, would later seek the same willow and gleefully rest under it, waxing poetic about the experience.

Pictured in the first card is Ono-no-Michikaze, one of the Three Great Names of kana calligraphy. It’s said that he was inspired to persevere on the path when he saw a jumping frog trying to reach a willow branch. I don’t know what’s the association with the swallow (tsubame) of the second card, other than the flowing tails of tree and bird.

There’s something disturbing in the abstract design of the kasu card for this month. It’s called a “demon hitting drums in the rain” (as in thunder) or a “devil’s card” (onifuda), and some decks picture it literally as such. In the common rules it’s just another low-value kasu, but in some game variants it’s used as a joker-like wildcard.

Considered to be a holy tree in Shintoism. There’s a folkloric tidbit teaching that the phoenix bird (hō-ō) will only land on the paulownia tree, and then again only if a wise ruler rules the land. The light, high-quality wood is prized for carving, furniture and instrument-making, especially for the koto.

Copyright information and other unpoetic data is usually printed in the last three cards, as in this standard Nintendō 任天堂 deck.

Below are complete instructions on how to play Hanafuda Hawaii Style. Each section includes a short animated video.

Watch a video of the complete instructions here >

Watch a video about the cards >

Hanafuda Hawaii Style playing cards have many aids to help make learning to play easy and fun. Most importantly, the point value of cards has been added to the top left.

The traditional Japanese months written on the top right of the cards represent the old Japanese lunar calendar months. They do not exactly match modern calendar months, but the suits will be referred to by their roughly equivalent English names. Use these to match suits, or hiki.

On the bottom, are aids to help match bonus point combinations, called yaku.

The deck is composed of 48 cards. They are divided into twelve suits, one for each month of the year. Each suit or hiki has four cards. The same plant is shown as the common element on each of these four cards. For example, cherry blossoms are depicted on all the cards representing the month of March. The picture below shows the cards in order starting with January on the left and ending with December on the right.

Four of the most ornate cards are worth 20 points. Eleven cards are worth 10 points. Ten of these cards are decorated with a rectangular piece of paper used for writing poetry, called tanzaku. Ten other cards with birds, butterflies or other animals are worth 5 points. The rest are “plain” cards, called kasu, with zero point value.

Watch a video about the game >

Win by accumulating the most points by matching cards. The total possible score is 240 points.

There are many different games played with Hanafuda cards in Japan, Korea, Micronesia, and Hawai‘i. The Hanafuda Hawaii Style cards are specially designed for playing the game called Sakura, which is specific to Hawai‘i. Rules vary depending on whom you ask, but the following instructions explain the fundamentals of the game. Make sure that everyone agrees to the same rules before playing.

Two to six people may play the game. It is also possible to play as partners: four players, on two teams, or six players on three teams. When playing as partners, each team places all captured cards together for the team. However, players are not allowed to show each other the cards in their hand.

First, determine the dealer, or oya. For the first game, each player draws one card randomly from the deck. The player with the earliest month in the year is the dealer. After each game, the winner becomes the oya (dealer) for the next game.

The player to the dealer's left shuffles the deck of cards, and offers it to the player on the dealer's right for the cut. When there are only two players, the player who shuffles passes the deck back to the dealer.

To cut the cards, take a portion from the top of the deck and put those cards on the bottom of the deck. You may also tap the top of the deck instead, to indicate that you are satisfied with the shuffle.

The dealer then deals the proper number of cards to each player face down in a counter-clockwise direction. Next, the dealer places the proper number of cards face up on the table, or in the “field.” The remaining cards are placed face down in a stack to draw from. Refer to the following chart for the number of cards to deal.

CARD DEALING CHART

The goal is to match cards with ones in the same suit or hiki in the field. Only cards with a point value add to a player's score.

The dealer has the first turn. The order of play flows in a counter–clockwise direction. Each turn has two parts. First, a player draws a card from her hand and places it in the field. If the player has a card that matches the suit of a card in the field, she places the card from her hand on top of the matching card in the field to show everyone the match. The player then takes both her own card and the card she has captured and places them face up in a “points section” in front of herself. She then discards any cards with no value in a kasu (rubbish) pile behind the drawing stack.

Second, the player draws one card from the drawing stack. If that card matches a card in the field, the player must take the pair of cards. Otherwise, she leaves it face up in the field. This ends a player’s turn. It is possible to capture up to 4 cards per turn.

The player to the right takes the next turn. The play continues in a counter-clockwise direction until all the cards have been used in each player’s hand.

If playing with teams, each partner sits across from the other.
Remember, the direction of play goes counter-clockwise.

Watch a video about the gaji >

The gaji (lightning) card is part of the November suit. If the gaji is in the field, a player can capture the gaji by matching it with another card in the November suit.

If the gaji card is part of a player's hand he can use it like a wild card to capture any card in the field regardless of its suit. Keep the gaji paired with the captured card. Any cards from the captured suit remaining in the field at the end of the game go to the holder of the gaji card.

The gaji card cannot be used as a wild card if there is a hiki held by another player.

Watch a video about the hiki rules>

In special situations, a player can claim all of the cards from one suit or hiki in a single turn.

If all four cards of a hiki are in the field at the beginning of the game, the dealer takes all four cards.

If a player sees all 4 cards of a suit, in whatever combination, either in her hand or in the field, she can declare a “hiki” and capture all 4 cards. For example, if a player has one card in her hand that matches three in the field, she can declare a “hiki” and take all three cards in the field in one turn. The player holding a hiki does not need to declare her hiki until another player attempts to capture one of the cards in her hiki with a gaji card.

The game is over when there are no more cards in the players' hands. Each player counts his points and the one with the greatest number of points wins. Only cards with a point value are counted.

If the scores are tied, the dealer wins. A tie game is called a tonton. If players other then the dealer are tied, the player closest to the dealer's right is the winner. If the dealer wins by virtue of being the oya (boss), he is called oya kachi (boss winner).

Once you get used to playing for only the point values of cards, you can add special card combinations called yaku to the play. This addition makes for a much more exciting and challenging game.

Watch a video about the yaku rules>

Yaku (bonus combinations) are special three–card combinations. There are eight yaku in this game. The yaku are counted at the end of the game.

If a player gets one or more yaku, all the other players must deduct 50 points from their total score for each yaku held by another player. If a player has two yaku, everyone else must deduct 100 points. If there are three players and two each have a yaku, the two players with yaku must deduct 50 points each, and the third player must deduct 100 points.

Hanafuda Rules English

If a player defeats his opponent by at least 50 points, it is called a chu victory. If the margin is more than 100 points, the player can claim a basa victory.

To help identify yaku combinations, eight different Japanese letters are at the bottom of the yaku cards. The letters are from the beginning of the “iroha uta” poem. This poem is like our alphabet song, but for Japanese letters. The poem begins:

Which roughly translated is, “colorful flowers blossom and fall.”

Hanafuda Earrings

Match the letters at the bottom of the cards to make yaku combinations. Below are the eight yaku combinations: