Karuta

{{Short description|Japanese playing cards}} {{for|Karuta armour|Karuta (Japanese armour)}} {{Italic title|reason=:Category:Japanese words and phrases}} {{Infobox card game | title = Karuta | subtitle = かるた | image = NintendoCards.jpg | image_size = | alt = | image_caption = Late Meiji period (c. 1890) advertisement by Nintendo | logo = | logo_size = | logo_alt = | logo_caption = | cardback = | cardback_size = | cardback_alt = | cardback_caption = | alt_name = | named_variant = {{plainlist| * Komatsufuda * Unsun karuta * Kabufuda * Harifuda and Hikifuda * Hanafuda * Uta-garuta * Ita-karuta * Iroha karuta * Obake karuta }} | designer = | publisher = | date = | type = | family = | players = | ages = | num_cards = | deck = | play = | card_rank = | origin = {{plainlist| * Portuguese-suited cards * ''E-awase'' }} | related = Competitive ''karuta'' | playing_time = | random_chance = | odds = | skills = | website = | footnotes = }}

{{nihongo|'''''Karuta'''''|かるた||from {{langx|pt|carta}} {{gloss|card}}}}<ref>{{cite book|last1=Sakomura|first1=Tomoko|title=Asian Games: The Art of Contest|date=2004|publisher=Asia Society|location=New York|pages=267–269}}</ref> are Japanese playing cards. Playing cards were introduced to Japan by Portuguese traders during the mid-16th century. The earliest indigenous ''karuta'' were made in the town of Miike in Chikugo Province at around the end of the 16th century. The Miike karuta Memorial Hall located in Ōmuta, Fukuoka, is the only municipal museum in Japan dedicated specifically to the history of ''karuta''.<ref>[http://www.city.omuta.lg.jp.e.lu.hp.transer.com/hpKiji/pub/detail.aspx?c_id=5&id=2802&class_set_id=1&class_id=378 Omuta City Miike karuta, history museum]. Retrieved 22 February 2018.</ref><ref>[http://karuta-rekishi.com/ Miike Playing Cards and History Material Museum]. Retrieved 22 February 2018.</ref>

''Karuta'' packs are classified into two groups, those that are descended from Portuguese-suited playing cards and those from ''e-awase''.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Mann|first1=Sylvia|title=All Cards on the Table|date=1990|publisher=Deutsches Spielkarten-Museum|location=Leinfelden|pages=193–200|ref=Mann}}</ref> ''E-awase'' originally derived from ''kai-awase'', which was played with shells but were converted to card format during the early 17th century. The basic idea of any ''e-awase karuta'' game is to be able to quickly determine which card out of an array of cards is required and then to grab the card before it is grabbed by an opponent. It is often played by children at elementary school and junior high-school level during class, as an educational exercise.

== 16th century Portuguese playing cards (Nanban karuta) == [[File:Dragon playing cards (1567) - sorted.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Portuguese-suited cards of the same design as those introduced to Japan by Portuguese sailors. Produced in 1567 in Antwerp. Six cards missing.]]

Portuguese-suited playing cards, introduced to Japan by Portuguese sailors during the 16th century ''nanban'' trade, are known in Japanese as {{nihongo||南蛮かるた|nanban karuta|lit. "playing cards of southern barbarians"}}.<ref>{{cite web|title=Namban Carta: Resurrected after 450 Years|website=japanplayingcardmuseum.com|url=https://japanplayingcardmuseum.com/namban-carta-resurrected-after-450-years/2/|lang=en|accessdate=2 August 2025}}</ref> They were used for trick-taking games. They had the four Latin suits of cups, coins, clubs, and swords, each suit having cards for 1 through 9 and three face cards (female knave/maid, knight, and king) for a total of 48 cards per card set. These features were inherited by various Japanese-made derivatives. The Portuguese cards at the time had card backs that were folded around the edges of the cards, a feature that remained standard in most karuta variants from the 17th century to the modern day. {{clear}}

== Portuguese-derived karuta ==

===Tenshō karuta=== [[File:Tenshō karuta.jpg|thumb|300px|Incomplete Tenshō karuta set, made around the Genroku era (1688–1704), woodblock printing with hand-painted colors]] The first kind of Japanese-made playing cards were ''{{ill|Tenshō karuta|ja|天正かるた}}'', named after the Tenshō period (1573–1592).<ref>Pollet, Andrea. [http://l-pollett.tripod.com/cards9.htm Tensho Karuta] at Andy's Playing Cards. Retrieved 30 July 2015.</ref> They were local imitations of the Portuguese playing cards, featuring the same deck structure and often very similar artwork. The first Tenshō karuta were made in the town of Miike, and are also known as {{nihongo||三池カルタ|Miike karuta}}.

In 1633, the Tokugawa shogunate banned Tenshō karuta, forcing Japanese manufacturers to radically redesign their cards. As a result of Japan's isolationist ''Sakoku'' policy, karuta would develop separately from the rest of the world. {{clear}}

===Mekuri karuta and komatsufuda=== thumb|300px|Komatsufuda set In order to evade the proscription of Portuguese-derived cards, makers turned the cards into very abstract designs known as {{nihongo||めくりかるた|mekuri karuta|lit. "flip{{efn|Refers to the action of revealing cards, usually from the top of the deck}} cards"}}. By the mid-20th century, all ''mekuri karuta'' fell into oblivion with the exception of {{nihongo||小松札|Komatsufuda|lit. "small pine cards"}} which is used to play Kakkuri, a game similar to Poch, found in Yafune, Fukui prefecture.<ref>Kuromiya Kimihiko. (2005). "Kakkuri: The Last Yomi Game of Japan". ''The Playing-Card'', Vol 33-4. p. 232-235.</ref> {{clear}}

===Unsun karuta=== thumb|300px|Unsun karuta set The ''{{ill|Unsun karuta|ja|うんすんカルタ}}'' ({{lang |ja|うんすんカルタ}}) deck developed in the late 17th century. It has five suits of 15 ranks each for a total of 75 cards. Six of the ranks were face cards of female knave, knight, king, "Un" (うん), "Sun" (すん), and dragon. The Portuguese deck used to have dragons on their aces; the Unsun karuta made the aces and dragons separate cards. The order of the court cards change depending on whether it is the trump suit or not just like in Ombre. The new Guru suit used circular whirls (''mitsudomoe'') as pips. Unsun karuta is still used in Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto, to play ''hachinin-meri'', a game descended from Guritipau, a relative of Ombre.<ref>Depaulis, Thierry (2009). "Playing the Game: Iberian Triumphs Worldwide". ''The Playing-Card''. Vol 38-2, p. 134-137.</ref> This game preserves some very archaic features such as inverted ranking for the pip cards in the three round suits. Inverted ranking is a feature found in Madiao, Khanhoo, Tổ tôm, Ganjifa, Tarot, Ombre, and Maw and is believed to have originated in the very earliest card games. {{clear}}

===Kabufuda=== {{main|Kabufuda}} thumb|300px|Kabufuda set {{nihongo||株札|Kabufuda}} is another derivative of ''mekuri karuta'' but all the suits were made identical. It is used for gambling games such as Oicho-Kabu. They come in decks of 40 cards with designs representing the numbers 1 through 10. There are four cards for each number and the 10 (knave) is the only face card.

====Iri no kichi==== thumb|300px|Iri no kichi set, a variant of kabufuda {{nihongo||入の吉|Iri no kichi}} is a local variant of kabufuda where all three face cards from mekurifuda are retained, also featuring a knight and king alongside the knave, for a total of 48 cards. Many decks additionally include an oni joker card. Unlike standard kabufuda cards, modern iri no kichi cards typically remain close to the old face card designs from the Edo period.

===Harifuda and Hikifuda=== The gambling game of {{ill|Tehonbiki|ja|手本引}} can be played with either a {{nihongo||張札|Harifuda}} or {{nihongo||引札|Hikifuda|lit. ''Drawn cards''<ref name="PollettTehonbiki" />}} set. ''Harifuda'' contains seven copies of cards numbered one to six in stylized Chinese numerals for a total of 42 cards. The 48-card ''Hikifuda'' or {{nihongo||豆札|Mamefuda|lit. ''Bean{{efn|Because the coins look like beans}} cards''<ref name="PollettTehonbiki" />}} has eight copies of cards with one to six coins, similar to the coins of a ''mekuri karuta'' set. In Tehonbiki, the player tries to guess which number from 1 to 6 the dealer has selected.<ref name="PollettTehonbiki">Pollett, Andrea. [http://l-pollett.tripod.com/cards70.htm Tehonbiki] at Andy's Playing Cards. Retrieved 30 July 2015.</ref><ref>Pakarnian, John, "Game Boy: Glossary of Japanese Gambling Games", ''Metropolis'', January 22, 2010, p. 15.</ref> Some sets may include indicator cards to raise or hedge bets. {{clear}}

=== Hanafuda === {{Multiple image | align = | direction = | total_width = 300 | image1 = Hanafuda January Hikari Alt.svg | alt1 = | caption1 = January hikari | image2 = Hanafuda March Tanzaku Alt.svg | caption2 = March tanzaku | image3 = Hanafuda September Kasu 2 Alt.svg | caption3 = September kasu }}{{main|Hanafuda}} {{nihongo||花札|Hanafuda|lit. ''flower cards'', also called ''Hana karuta''}} are 48-card decks with flower designs originating from the 18th century.<!-- example of 18th century deck: File:Hand-painted hanafuda - mid-Edo period.jpg --> Instead of being divided by 4 suits with 12 cards each, a hanafuda deck is divided by 12 suits (months) with 4 cards each. A deck may additionally include one or more joker cards and/or a blank spare card. Hanafuda games are mostly fishing games.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=McLeod|first1=John|last2=Dummett|first2=Michael|title=Hachi-Hachi|journal=The Playing-Card|date=1975|volume=3|issue=4|pages=26–28}}</ref> {{clear}}

==E-awase karuta== [[File:Girls playing Uta-garuta (NYPL Hades-2360230-4044029).jpg|thumb|right|A group of women playing ''Uta-garuta'' in 1900.]]

===Uta-garuta=== {{main|Uta-garuta}} {{multiple image|caption_align=center | total_width = 400 | image1 = Karuta duo kana-waka.jpg | caption1 = ''Torifuda'' (left) and ''yomifuda'' (right) | image2 = (Kifuda hyakunin isshu karuta)(Ita karuta)(Page 073) (20478559450).jpg | caption2 = ''Torifuda'' from an ''Ita-karuta'' set }} thumb|Uta-garuta practice {{nihongo||歌ガルタ|Uta-garuta|lit. "poetry karuta"}} is a card game in which 100 ''waka'' poems are written on two sets of 100 cards: one set is {{nihongo||読札|yomifuda|lit. "reading cards"}}, which have the complete poem taken from the {{Nihongo||小倉百人一首|Ogura Hyakunin Isshu}}, and the other is {{nihongo||取り札|torifuda|lit. "grabbing cards"}}, which each correspond to a ''yomifuda'' and have only the last few lines of the corresponding poem on them. One person is chosen to be the reader. As the reader reads a ''yomifuda'', the players race to find its associated ''torifuda'' before anybody else does. This game has traditionally been played on New Year's Day since 1904.<ref>Bull, David. [http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~xs3d-bull/essays/karuta/karuta.html Karuta: Sports or Culture?] at Woodblock.com. Retrieved 22 February 2018.</ref> Competitive karuta has competitions on various levels with the Japan national championship tournament being held every January at Omi shrine (a Shinto shrine) in Ōtsu, Shiga since 1955.<ref>[http://oumijingu.org/publics/index/176/ Karuta Festival] at Oumi Jingu. Retrieved 22 February 2018.</ref>

A few non-matching games exist that use only the ''yomifuda''. {{ill|Bouzu Mekuri|ja|坊主めくり}}, is a simple game of chance originating from the Meiji period. {{ill|Iro Kammuri|ja|色冠}} (Color Crowns) is a 4-player partnership game that is related to Goita.<ref>McLeod, John. [http://www.pagat.com/national/japan.html#poets 100 poets] at pagat.com. Retrieved 25 January 2016.</ref><ref>Takahashi, Hironori. [http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~rp9h-tkhs/dg_iroka.htm Iro Kammuri] at Japanese Traditional Games. Retrieved 25 January 2016.</ref> In both games, the poems are irrelevant, and the only parts of the cards that matter are the appearance of the poets such as their clothing, sex, or social status.

====Ita-karuta==== {{nihongo||板かるた|Ita-karuta}} is a variation found in Hokkaido. The ''torifuda'' are made of wood while the ''yomifuda'' remain the same or lack illustrations of the poets.<ref>Wintle, Simon. [http://www.wopc.co.uk/japan/uta-garuta Uta Garuta] at World of Playing Cards. Retrieved 25 January 2016.</ref><ref>Pollett, Andrea. [http://a_pollett.tripod.com/cards9a.htm Japanese Matching Cards, part 1] at Andy's Playing Cards. Retrieved 25 January 2016.</ref> They are used to play a competitive partnership game called ''{{ill|shimo-no ku karuta|ja|下の句かるた}}'' in which the last half of the poem is read.<ref>Takahashi, Hironori. [http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~rp9h-tkhs/dg_itaka.htm Ita Karuta] at Japanese Traditional Games. Retrieved 25 January 2016.</ref>

===Iroha karuta=== {{nihongo||いろはかるた|Iroha karuta}} is an easier-to-understand matching game for children, similar to Uta-garuta but with 96 cards. Instead of poems, the cards represent the 47 syllables of the hiragana syllabary and adds {{nihongo||京|kyō|"capital"}} for the 48th (since the syllable ''-n'' {{lang|ja|ん}} can never start any word or phrase). It uses the old iroha ordering for the syllables which includes two obsolete syllables, ''wi'' ({{lang|ja|ゐ}}) and ''we'' ({{lang|ja|ゑ}}). A typical ''torifuda'' features a drawing with a ''kana'' at one corner of the card. Its corresponding ''yomifuda'' features a proverb connected to the picture with the first syllable being the ''kana'' displayed on the ''torifuda''. There are 3 standard Iroha karuta variants: Kamigata, Edo and Owari. Each variant has its own set of proverbs based on the local dialect and culture. The Kamigata or Kyoto version is the oldest but the Edo version is the most widespread, being found all over Japan. The Owari variant existed only during the latter half of the 19th-century before being supplanted by the Edo version.

====Obake karuta==== thumb|right|150px|Obake karuta, c. early 19th century. This one is ''we'' ({{lang|ja|ゑ}}), an obsolete syllable.

''Obake karuta'' is an obsolete variation of ''Iroha karuta'' unique to Tokyo. The cards were created in the Edo period and remained popular through the 1910s or 1920s.<ref name="Pflugfelder">{{Cite web |url=http://www.keenecenter.org/godzilla_room2.html |title=Godzilla Conquers the Globe: Japanese Movie Monsters in International Film Art – Exhibition Room #2: Rare Book Reading Room From Folk Monsters to Mass Monsters |access-date=2024-04-30 |website=Donald Keene Center of Japanese Culture, Columbia University |last=Pflugfelder |first=Gregory M. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210704134315/http://www.keenecenter.org/godzilla_room2.html |archive-date=2021-07-04 |url-status=live |orig-date=2004 |at=Display Case 8: Monster merchandise (II)}}</ref> Each card in the deck features a hiragana syllable and a creature from Japanese mythology; in fact, ''obake karuta'' means "ghost cards" or "monster cards."<ref name="Pflugfelder"/> Success requires knowledge of Japanese mythology and folklore as players attempt to collect cards that match clues read by a referee. The player who accumulates the most cards by the end of the game wins.

''Obake karuta'' is an early example of the common Japanese fascination with classifying monsters and creating new ones. The game is one of the earliest attempts by Japanese companies to categorize legendary creatures, label them, define them, and subsequently market them. As such, it is a precursor to the ''Godzilla'' films of the 1950s and later. Even more closely, ''obake karuta'' resembles the ''Yu-Gi-Oh!'' or ''Pokémon Trading Card Game'', which also involves collecting cards that represent fabulous creatures. In fact, many Pokémon were designed specifically after creatures from Japanese mythology.<ref name="Pflugfelder"/>

==See also== * Competitive karuta * ''Goita'' * ''Menko'' {{clear}}

==Notes== {{notelist}}

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== {{commons category|Karuta}} * [http://cards.old.no/japan/ Japanese playing cards of western origin]: Portuguese-derived patterns. * [https://l-pollett.tripod.com/cards9.htm Andy's Playing Cards: Portuguese derived cards]: An in-depth look at Portuguese-derived patterns. * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070810102945/http://a_pollett.tripod.com/cards9a.htm Andy's Playing Cards: E-awase playing cards (archived)]: E-awase type cards. * [http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~rp9h-tkhs/dentou_j2.htm Japanese Traditional Games: Card Games] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20181105222428/http://www.geocities.jp/sudare103443/room/mein/mein-top.html Edo Karuta Research Center (archived)] {{Playing cards}} {{Playing card packs by geography}} {{Authority control}}

Category:Japanese card games