Pokémon Hanafuda

I'm not a fan of Pokémon - I have my reasons but this deck looks pretty cool.  It features artwork from the red/green versions.  The price is ¥2,500 plus tax.

pika...

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.pokemon-hanafuda.com/

PPG Hanafuda by Yang Mei

Trying to save the World before bedtime...the Power Puff Girls!

http://yang-mei.deviantart.com/art/PPG-HANAFUDA-152936205?offset=20

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

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

Meiji era Hanafuda by Ôishi

 

This special edition produced by Ôishi, is a replica of an original deck dating back to the Meiji era (1864-1912), that one century earlier had been commissioned to the same manufacturer by Itô Hirofumi (1841-1909), the first Japanese Prime Minister. He was a lover of figurative art of his own country and had a particular interest for the typical flower card illustrations.

 

During the 19th century despite some graphic details that were still partly subject to changes, the design of the local cards had gradually reached a certain stability and the basic elements had become standard: a Crane on the first card of Pine, a Bush Warbler on the same card of Plum, the Curtain on Cherry and so on (including the ones with red and blue Ribbons). The edition that Hirofumi had made by Ôishi could be described today as 'luxury'. The maker kept one copy for himself and from this specimen in 1991, a faithful replica was obtained called Sôridaijin no Hana-karuta (Prime Minister's Flower cards) in honour of the important client.

 

A curious fact concerning the Prime Minister is that during a state visit in the United States, he became aware that a tax was imposed on playing card decks. Up to those days this had only been a Western custom. When he returned home in order to improve the country's financial situation (which had been seriously affected by the war against Russia in 1904-5), he introduced the tax in Japan but within a few years this caused a dramatic decrease of playing card sales and several makers even had to close down their workshops.

 

 

 

Golden Peony Hanafuda (Kin-Botan)

This colourful Hanafuda edition by Windmill, named Kin-Botan (Golden Peony) is a faithful replica of another original deck that once belonged to Itô Hirofumi.

The deck is itself more or less double the size of traditional Hanafuda. Each subject is printed on brown cardstock of  'ordinary' thickness, i.e. similar to the one used for Western cards.

The Hikari, Tane and Tanzaku cards are printed in very bright colours, while the Kasu cards are yellow with a particular background texture.  Only the Kasu card of Yanagi (Willow) maintains its traditional red colour.

These cards are printed following a special technique called Kyôto yuuzen, which is the one traditionally used in Kyoto for printing textures on kimono garments. In most of the cards, the main subject is enriched with details in gold paint, giving the reason for the name of the deck (which is featured on the extra card).

 

'Matsu' - Pine

'Yanagi' (or 'Ame') - Willow (or Rain)

The extra card with the name of the deck

 

 

Awabana or Kinotokibana

The Kintokibana (officially Awabana) is a pattern born in the old province of Awa (now Tokushima prefecture, Shikoku). The name Kintoki refers to the legendary person featured on the extra card. This pattern spread to the north to Honshu in present day Okayama prefecture.

The most outstanding feature of the pattern is the presence of numerals, (except on the Kiri suit) referring to the twelve families or suits. They are found on almost every Kasu (Junk) card, in the shape of an encircled Japanese-Chinese character.

All the Tanzaku (Ribbons) but one feature a number, which is a part of the name of the month in Japanese language: 'Month 1' is January i.e. the suit of Matsu (Pine), 'Month 2' is February i.e. the suit of Ume (Plum) and so on.

Only two Tane cards from the suits of Fuji (Wisteria) and Yanagi (Willow) bear the encircled number, while the latter is not featured in other subjects, among which are all five Kô cards.

Yanagi or Ame suit

Kiri suit

Finally, the extra subject of the Kintoki deck after which this pattern was renamed: the Kintarô card.

'Kintarô'

Very popular in the Japanese folk tradition, yet based on a person who actually lived around the 10th century, Kintarô was a child of extraordinary strength, who outrooted trees and wrestled with bears in the mountains where he lived.  He is traditionally featured as a rather stout boy with tanned (Red) skin, who wears only a breastplate with a large character for 'Gold' (Kin) and carries an axe.  He later became a distinguished warrior or samurai, changing his name into Kintoki Sakata.

Dragon-Tiger Hanafuda

Most Hanafuda games are played between two opponents. In 2000, manufacturer Matsui Tengudô issued a four-player version, named Ryuu-Ko ('Dragon-Tiger') after the Tane subjects of two extra suits found in the deck. The edition is also referred to as Nana-nana-bana ('Seven-seven flower cards'), which mimics Hachi-Hachi ('Eight-Eight'), the traditional game played with standard Hanafuda decks.

Despite being a novelty, all subjects closely follow  the classic Hanafuda design, including the two suits created for this purpose.  The extra suits are 'Hasu' (Lotus) also described as 'Heaven month', whose Tane card features the Dragon, and 'Sasa' or 'Take' (Bamboo) also described as "Earth month", whose tane card features the tiger. Both suits also have a red Tanzaku (Ribbon) card.

'Hasu' (Lotus) suit

'Sasa' (Bamboo) suit

The other suits and subjects of the deck are the standard ones (see picture below), although as a reminiscence of the early Meiji period editions (19th century), verses of tanka poems are featured on the kasu cards of Pine, Plum, Wisteria, Iris, Eulalia and Maple families, a detail also found in the Echigobana regional pattern.

'Susuki' (Pampas) suit - note the Tanka poems on the Junk cards

Hanapua

Hanapua is a localised edition of Hanafuda (designed by Ken Kudo), whose subtitle 'Hawaii Flower Card Game' suggests it having been devised with the purpose of reviving the interest of Hawaiian players for Hanafuda. On the Pacific chain of Islands live the descendants of many Japanese post Second World War expatriates who gradually lost interest in the traditional game. Sets printed on regular cardstock with Japanese flower names translated into English were manufactured for some time but Hanafuda games kept losing ground to Western ones all the same.

This Hanapua edition goes back to the roots as it is printed on traditionally sized cards but the twelve suits have been completely changed, choosing not only flowers, but also other local features (e.g. petroglyphs). The design of each subject was adapted to the new suits, without a strict relation to the traditional ones, yet maintaining the classic graphic style of Hanafuda illustrations.

The suits are as follows:

• Bamboo
• Vanna
• Plumeria
• Monstera
• Orchid
• Anthurium
• Hibiscus
• Bird of Paradise
• Pineapple
• Taro
• Palm Tree
• Petroglyph

Among the noticeable features is the well-known greeting ALOHA, spelt on the red vertical ribbons and upside down along the 'Curtain card'.

Bright and Junk card from Pineapple suit

Animal and Junk card from Petroglyph suit

Bright and Ribbon card from Palm suit

Ribbon Orchid card

hanafuda ex2 by Yoin

http://browse.deviantart.com/?q=hanafuda&order=9&offset=192#/d4st7q7

Hanafuda by Birgit Amadori

'Rain-man' card of the Ame (Yanagi) suit

The above is a teaser of a stunning Hanafuda deck design.  Superb!

A very feminine looking deck in monochrome with splashes of colour.  The use of the female form compliments the flowers and the flowing look and feel of the deck.

http://www.amadori.org/html_and_images/html/framesets/3frm_illust_frameset.html
(then click on 'Hanafuda' on the left hand side).

Hanafuda Cards by Sean D'Anconia

Very creative and loving the amorous couple card (no pun intended) and the card with Her Majesty the Queen! Makes me proud to be British.

http://www.danconiacreative.com/2011/09/homemade-hanafuda-cards/

Wandering Genie Hanafuda Prints

Unusual take on Hanafuda. Cool but creepy!

http://wanderinggenie.blogspot.com/2008/06/hanafuda-boar-prints.html

Deck of Cards - Go-Stop Hanafuda by alterna180

 

This is a very interesting looking and unorthodox Hanafuda deck.  The most striking thing about the deck is that the cards are square!  Due to this, I'm not sure how practical these cards are for a game of Go-Stop or Koi-Koi.  They look like beer mats or coasters. The suits all follow their own colour schemes and the art work is detailed and very feminine.  A very refreshing take on Hanafuda.

For more images and information, please click on the link below.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/61985896/flower-card-game-deck-of-cards-go-stop