'Singing Ant' Hwatu

I don't actually know the brand name except that it has 'Ant' in the title somewhere!

Ants in the Bush Clover and Wisteria!

The six extra cards.

King Star brand Hwatu

The six extra cards.

 

Rainbow brand Hwatu

The Bush Warbler/Nightingale has been replaced by the Magpie, the official bird of Seoul!

 

The six extra cards.

 

 

Top row, left to right:

• Bright for non-winner: This counts as a Bright for a player that does not win the round.
• Two extra Junk cards awarded.
• 'Special' Rain junk card = two junk cards awarded (if used, this card needs to replace the normal 'Rain' junk card).

 

Bottom row, left to right:

• 'Congratulations' - double your score if you win.
• Three extra junk cards awarded.
• One extra junk card awarded.

Waddamda brand Hwatu

The six extra cards.

OWL brand Hwatu

The six extra cards.

 

Diamond brand Hwatu

The six extra cards.

Dokdo Island Hwatu: Up Close

Dokdo, Korea or should it be Takeshima, Japan?  Sovereignty disputes aside this is an interesting Hwatu deck that I recently imported from Korea for around £5 including postage.  At first glance, it looks very much like a standard Hwatu deck, however look a bit closer and you will see a few differences!

Before we look at the deck though, let me give you a little background about Dokdo or Takeshima.  The Liancourt Rocks (to give them their Anglo-French name) lie almost equidistant between Korea and Japan in the East Sea or the Sea of Japan.  Dokdo means 'Solitary Island' in Korean, whilst Takeshima means 'Bamboo Island' in Japanese.  The name Liancourt refers to a French whaling ship (Le Liancourt) that came close to being wrecked there in 1849.  The islets lie in fertile fishing grounds that may also contain large gas deposits. Korea currently administers the islets whilst Japan claims it as a part of Shimane prefecture and both claims go back several hundred years.  In 1954 and 1962, Japan proposed that the dispute be referred to the International Court of Justice but Korea declined.

It seems ironic that this deck which pushes the Korean claim to the islets are actually using a type of deck 'introduced' to Korea from Japan! Or maybe that is the whole point!

With it being a localised deck, a few of the suits and elements thereof differ.  Some look to be quite obvious as to what they are, whilst others aren't, although I'm sure these can all be found on or in the sea around Dokdo?!

Here are some images...

The Deer and Maple are replaced by the Crab and Starfish and the Harvest moon rises above Dokdo in a stormy East Sea (aka Sea of Japan).

The six extra cards.

Can you spot some of the differences?

Daitoryo Hanafuda by Nintendo

Nintendo's Daitoryo Hanafuda were manufactured very early in the company's life. They are Nintendo's most successful Hanafuda and are among the few decks that are still produced to this day. The Daitoryo cards are well known for featuring the portrait of Napoléon Bonaparte. Today, the box in which the deck comes in is made of a plastic material, whereas originally the cards were placed in beautifully crafted wood boxes.

'Daitoryo' is translated to English as 'President'. It is unknown why Fusajiro Yamauchi named the card deck as such, since Napoleon was an Emperor instead of a President. Some have speculated that Yamauchi thought that the photograph he used of Napoléon was in fact that of first US President George Washington, though this cannot be proved. It is also possible that Fusajiro simply made a false assumption in thinking that Napoléon Bonaparte was the President of France.

This was not the first time that Nintendo used a Napoléon Bonaparte likeness on a product. In the nineteen seventies, Nintendo released a strategy board game called Napoléon. It was popular enough to warrant a miniature version that was a part of the Mini Game series. Also interesting to note is that years later, Sekiryo Kaneda, president of Nintendo, created a Nintendo subsidiary called Napoleon with the intention of selling Nintendo playing cards outside of Japan. The division failed and was later dissolved.

The cards measure 5.4cm by 3.3cm or 2.1/8" (2.125") by 1.5/16" (1.325") in old money and are available in Black or Ochre.  Rules for Koi-Koi and Hachi Hachi (88) are supplied with the cards and of course, these are in Japanese only.

Rules for Koi-Koi and Hachi Hachi (88).

My Nintendo Hanafuda Collection

Here is my Nintendo Hanafuda collection.  I personally purchased the Daitoryo and Tengu decks in Osaka, Japan, whilst the Mario deck was bought on ebay.co.uk.

Tengu Hanafuda by Nintendo

One of the most popular Nintendo hanafuda decks is the Tengu deck. The Tengu Hanafuda deck is a high-quality deck, second only to the Daitoryo Hanafuda deck. The cards are stored in a sturdy plastic box with the famous picture of Tengu, a notorious Japanese demon-god on it.

As you can see, Tengu has a long nose, white beard and bushy eyebrows. He is wearing a 'Tokin' cap on his head and is holding an eight-fingered fatsia Japonica (Japanese Aralia) leaf which serves as a magical fan.

 

The Japanese word 'Hanafuda' is made up of two characters. 'Hana' means 'Flower' and 'Fuda' means 'Card'. However, the word 'Hana' can also mean 'Nose' and in the days when gambling with Hanafuda was illegal, you would show the proprietor of an illegal gamgbling den that  you wanted to play Hanafuda by rubbing your nose, which is how Hanafuda came to be associated with the Tengu demon-god!

Like the Daitoryo deck, the cards measure 5.4cm by 3.3cm or 2.1/8" (2.125") by 1.5/16" (1.325") in old money and are available in Black or Ochre.  Rules for Koi-Koi and Hachi Hachi are supplied with the cards and not surprisingly these are in Japanese only.

Mario Hanafuda by Nintendo

Mario Hanafuda are only available to members of Club Nintendo however decks can be obtained from websites like ebay.co.uk (where I got mine).  A Club Nintendo member collects 'stars' and swaps these for goodies within the Stars Catalogue online.  When this deck first came out in Japan it would cost a Club Nintendo member 400 points.

The actual deck follows the tradtional Hachihachibana pattern as used by Nintendo in their Daitoryo and Tengu decks and the deck itself is of the same quality as the Tengu deck.

The cards (like the Tengu and Daitoryo decks) measure 5.4cm by 3.3cm or 2.1/8" (2.125") by 1.5/16" (1.325") in old money. I have the 'European' deck so rules for Koi-Koi are provided in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Dutch and Portuguese.  Rules for Hachi Hachi are not supplied.

Being a Mario themed deck, many of the traditional elements have been replaced by characters within the Mario universe.  Here is the list:

Crane > Mario
Bush Warbler > Yoshi
Curtain with Luigi
Cuckoo > Lakitu
Blooper appears in the water by the Bridge
Butterflies > Paragoombas
Boar > Donkey Kong
Harvest Moon > Big Boo
Geese > ?
Piranha plant appears on the Sake Cup card
Deer > Wario
Rain-man and Frog > Princess Peach and Toad
Swallow > Koopa Paratroopa
Chinese Phoenix > Bowser

Koi-Koi Scoring Hands (Yaku)

Gokō (五光) - Five Lights - 10pts



Shikō (or Yonkō) (四光) - Four Lights - 8pts



Ame-Shikō (雨四光) - Rainy Four Lights - 7pts

'Rain-man' (Poet) plus 3 other Lights. 

'Ame' pronounced 'a-May' = Rain.

Sankō (三光) - Three Lights - 6pts

3 out of the 4 Lights that exclude the 'Rain-man' (Poet) - (November's Light card).  

'Lights' are also known as 'Brights'.

Ino-shika-chō (猪鹿蝶) - Boar-Deer-Butterfly (BDB) - 5pts

The June, July and October 'Animal' cards. 

1 additional point awarded for each extra 'Animal' card captured.

Tane (タネ) - Animals (literally 'Seed(s)') - 1pt

Also known as 'Tens'

Tane, pronounced 'Tan-A' = 5 'Animal' (10pt) cards that don't make the scoring hand of 'Ino-shika-chō' (see above).  

1 additional point awarded for each extra 'Animal' card.  These are also referred to as 'Earth' cards.

The 'Plank Bridge' and the 'Sake (Rice Wine) Cup' (both shown above) count as 'Animals'.  

I prefer using the term 'Tens'.

Aka-tan (赤タン) - Red Poetry Scrolls - 5pts

Aka-tan, pronounced 'a-ka-tan'. All 3 Red Scrolls with Japanese script on them (the January, February and March Scroll cards). 

1 additional point awarded for each extra 'Scroll' card captured. 'Aka' = Red.

 Ao-tan (青タン) - Blue Scrolls - 5pts

Ao-tan, pronounced 'Ow-tan'. This hand is made up of the June, September and October Scroll cards. 
1 additional point awarded for each extra 'Scroll' card captured. 'Ao' = Blue.

Note: Making both Ao-Tan and Aka-Tan [Aka-tan, Ao-tan no Chōfuku (赤短・青短の重複)]= 10pts, with 1 additional point awarded for each extra Scroll card captured.

A rule variant allows a player to make both Ao-tan (or Aka-tan ) and Tan. Example: Ao-tan plus 2 other scroll cards. This gives 5pts for Ao-tan and 1pt for Tan (6pts in total) rather than it counting as 5pts for Ao-tan plus 1pt for each additional scroll card for a total of 7pts.

 Tanzaku/Tan (タン) - Scrolls - 1pt

Tanzaku, usually truncated to 'Tan' = 5 Scroll cards that do not make Ao-tan or Aka-tan.  

1 additional point awarded for each extra 'Scroll' card captured e.g. 7 Scroll cards = 3pts. 

'Scrolls' are also known as 'Strips' and even 'Ribbons' - despite them representing strips of paper.

Kasu (カス) - Dregs - 1pt

Kasu, pronounced 'Cass' = 10 'Dregs' cards. 

1 additional point awarded for each extra 'Dregs' card captured e.g. 12 Dregs cards = 3pts.  

Other names are 'Junk', 'Trash', 'Simples', 'Normals', 'Plains', 'Chaff' and 'Basics'.

Optional 'Viewing' Yaku

The following two hands are fairly easy to obtain and due to this they are not always included by players.  One rule variant allows for their inclusion but the hands only count if another Yaku is made (simultaneously, subsequently or previously) e.g.  Tsukimi-zake + Sankō; Hanami-zake + Tane; Tsukimi-zake + Hanami-zake + Kasu. Some scoring systems assign only 3pts for these 'viewing' hands.

Tsukimi-zake (月見酒) - Moon Viewing - 5pts

'Tsukimi' = Moon Viewing Festival. This hand consists of the August Light card (Harvest Moon) plus September's 'Sake Cup' card.

Hanami-zake (花見酒) - Blossom Viewing - 5pts

'Hanami' generally refers to Cherry Blossom Viewing. This hand consists of the March Light Card (Cherry Blossom with Viewing Curtain) plus September's 'Sake Cup' card.

Other scoring systems assign 15pts in total for capturing all three 'Viewing' cards - 'Viewing the Blossoms in the Moonlight'.

'Rain ruins the Party'

Another rule variant or how I like to call it 'Rainy day' as it looks better in Japanese (雨の日 - Ame no hi - 'wet day'); This rule disables the 'viewing' yaku for BOTH players if a November card is captured (variants being ALL November cards captured - which I prefer).  I don't use it most the time but I think it's a fun rule.

Oya Gachi - 6pts

Another optional scoring rule is 'Oya-Gachi' (Dealer's privilege). This scores the 'Oya' (Dealer) 6pts in the event that no player makes a scoring hand during a round of a game (a variant includes the situation where one player has made a Koi-Koi call and then neither player is able to make a subsequent scoring hand).

Note: 'Oya' is the Japanese word for 'Parent' and in the work place it refers to the 'Boss' (who is usually an elder). 

Dealt Hands (Instant Wins)

Here you win a round before a card is even played! These are rare.

Teshi (手四) - Four Hands - 6pts

Being dealt all 4 cards of the same suit.

Kuttsuki (くっつき) - Sticky - 6pts

Being dealt 4 pairs of cards of matching suits.

Other

The 'Sake Cup' card counts as both an 'Animal' and a 'Dreg' card e.g. if you have 9 Dregs cards and also have the 'Sake Cup' card you have made the yaku 'Kasu' worth 1pt.  By the way, the character on the Sake Cup means 'Longevity'.

For any yaku made that is worth 7 or more points in total, then the score is doubled e.g. 8pts x 2 = 16pts.  It is up to the players involved whether or not the doubling rule is used.

If 'Player A' calls 'Koi-Koi' and then 'Player B' makes a yaku and then 'Stops' (Shōbu), then 'Player B' doubles his/her score for that yaku.

Some rules allow for multiple 'Koi-Koi' calls and doubles (especially when playing for money), whilst others only allow for one per player per round.

Hiki

If three cards of the same suit are in the field of play then these are placed together.  The player who has or draws the remaining card of that suit takes all three cards in one go when playing the remaining card of that suit.

Koi-Koi (こいこい) = 'Come Come' (as in 'carry/play on').

Shōbu (勝負) = 'Game' (as in the end of/conclusion of the match/bout/round/game).

Finally, it is worth remembering that there are practically as many different scoring systems for Koi-Koi as there are players.  Families in Japan often pass down their own 'house rules' and Yaku values. 

Kyoto Hanafuda

These original design Kyoto hanafuda cards show famous places and seasonal scenes from Kyoto, Japan's ancient capital.  Places shown on these Hanafuda include Toji Temple, Mount Daimonji and other famous locales!

http://www.goodsfromjapan.com/kyoto-hanafuda-p-1275.html

Family Tree of Japanese Playing Cards

During the 18th century a new scheme of play was created and its variants were called Mekuri, i.e. 'the turning (of cards)'. These games also used 48 card decks, four suits of 12 cards each, with the same values and courts as the original Portuguese ones (although the suit pips and illustrations were considerably stylized and the aces and court cards were almost hidden under heavy strokes of black and red paint). The result was a different look from region to region but constant within the same area. This marked the birth of several regional variants, identical in composition but graphically different.  Mekuri games grew popular but around 1790 a further law prohibited them because they were used in gambling.

A card game called Kabu took their place: its regional patterns consisted of either 40 or 48 cards (four sets of only one suit, taken from Mekuri patterns). Not long after, this was declared illegal.  The bans did not prevent Japanese players from gambling. The cards called Dôsai karuta and Mubeyama karuta were conceived in order to mimic the ones played with by children (i.e. Iroha karuta and Uta karuta respectively), whose use was allowed in order to deceive the inspectors. However, some other players realised that these games should have been more deeply altered both to avoid a further ban and to follow more closely the cultural tradition of the country. This feeling led to a revival of the old matching game patterns. During the first half of the 19th century, the group known as flower cards or Hanakaruta (later renamed Hanafuda) was born.

These decks were still made of 48 cards divided into families or suits  (as the ones used for Mekuri and Kabu games) but their illustrations which featured traditional flowers and animals, reminiscent of the early Japanese playing shells were so different from the Portuguese derived cards that they proved an effective disguise for the strict government censors.

Single suited cards though were never completely abandoned and sometime during the late 1800's a further variety called Tehonbiki sprang from this group.  In 1885 all bans on playing cards were removed.

During the Japanese invasion (and subsequent occupation) of Korea (1905-45), Hanafuda cards were taken into the country where they became popular with the local name of Hwatu, developing some slight differences from the Japanese original version although they are modelled on Japan's most common pattern (called Hachihachibana).

Echigobana

Echigo is a former province of Japan that now forms the majority of Niigata prefecture. The main features of this pattern (which are modelled on pre 1868 decks) are an extensive use of silver and gold details over the main illustrations and the presence of short poems (Tanka) added to Kasu cards belonging to the Matsu (Pine), Ume (Plum), Fuji (Wisteria), Ayame (Iris), Susuki (Pampas grass) and Momiji (Maple) suits. 

The Tanka are divided into two halves, featured on each of the two Kasu cards. This graphic element, which has nothing to do with the gambling game was probably conceived as an attempt of disguising Hanafuda cards as Uta Karuta or 'Poet Cards' since the latter were not prohibited.

'Ayame' - Iris

'Matsu' - Pine

Shikishima Hanafuda

Takumi Itô is a contemporary artist active since the mid 1940's. In 2004 she created a series of 48 woodblock prints for the Hanafuda subjects, which she entitled after an old name that the Japanese used to refer to their own homeland, Shikishima, roughly meaning 'the lovely island'. The illustrations underline the environmental details making them more eye-catching than in standard editions yet without turning them glamorous, thanks to the choice of sober colours and the naive finish of the woodblock technique.

This deck comes with two extra cards, one with a small Oni or Demon, the other featuring a further Ribbon whose text is the name of the firm that released the Shikishima edition (Okuno Karuta).

'Momiji' - Maple

The extra cards