View source for Karuta

{{Short description|Japanese playing cards}}
{{for|Karuta armour|Karuta (Japanese armour)}}
{{Italic title|reason=[[:Category:Japanese words and phrases]]}}
[[File:NintendoCards.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Late [[Meiji period]] (c. 1890) advertisement by [[Nintendo]]]]
{{nihongo|'''''Karuta'''''|かるた||from [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] ''carta'' ["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 [[Culture of Japan|Japanese]] [[playing card]]s. Playing cards were introduced to Japan by Portuguese traders during the mid-16th century. These early decks were used for [[trick-taking game]]s. The earliest indigenous ''karuta'' was invented in the town of [[Miike District|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.
== Portuguese-derived karuta ==
===Komatsufuda===
[[File:小松札.png|thumb|300px|Komatsufuda set]]
The first indigenous Japanese deck was the ''[[:ja:天正かるた|Tenshō karuta]]'' named after the [[Tenshō (Momoyama period)|Tenshō period]] (1573–[[1592|92]]).<ref>Pollet, Andrea. [http://l-pollett.tripod.com/cards9.htm Tensho Karuta] at Andy's Playing Cards. Retrieved 30 July 2015.</ref> It was a 48 card deck with the 10s missing like [[Portuguese-suited playing cards]] from that period. It kept the four Latin [[Suit (cards)|suits]] of cups, coins, clubs, and swords along with the three [[face cards]] of [[Jack (playing card)|female knave]], [[Knight (playing card)|knight]], and [[King (playing card)|king]].  In 1633, the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] banned these cards, 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. In order to evade the proscription of Portuguese derived cards, makers turned the cards into very abstract designs known as ''mekuri karuta'' (Japanese: {{lang|ja|めくりかるた}}, English: 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 ''Komatsufuda'' (Japanese: {{lang|ja|小松札}}, English: 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>
===Unsun karuta===
[[File:うんすんカルタ.png|thumb|300px|Unsun karuta set]]
The ''[[:ja:うんすんカルタ|Unsun karuta]]'' (Japanese: {{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 [[ace]]s; 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 [[Pip (counting)|pips]]. Unsun karuta is still used in [[Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto]], to play ''hachinin-meri'', a game descended from [[:pt:Guritipau|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 card games|Tarot]], Ombre, and [[Spoil Five|Maw]] and is believed to have originated in the very earliest card games.
===Kabufuda===
{{main|Kabufuda}}
[[File:Kabufuda set.jpg|thumb|300px|Kabufuda set]]
''[[Kabufuda]]'' (Japanese: {{lang|ja|株札}}) 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 (Jack) is the only face card.
===Harifuda and Hikifuda===
The gambling game of {{ill|Tehonbiki|ja|手本引}} can be played with either a ''Harifuda'' ({{lang|ja|張札}}) or ''Hikifuda'' ({{lang |ja|引札}}, lit. ''[[Glossary of card game terms#draw|Draw]]n 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 ''Mamefuda'' ({{lang|ja|豆札}}, 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 (free magazine)|Metropolis]]'', January 22, 2010, p. 15.</ref> Some sets may include indicator cards to raise or hedge bets.
=== Hanafuda ===
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| image1 = Hanafuda January Hikari.svg
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| image2 = Hanafuda March Tanzaku.svg
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| image3 = Hanafuda September Kasu 2.svg
| caption3 = September kasu
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''[[Hanafuda]]'' (Japanese: {{lang|ja|花札}}, lit. ''flower cards'', also called Hanakaruta) are 48 card decks with flower designs originating from the early 19th century. Instead of being divided by 4 suits with 12 cards each, a hanafuda deck is divided by 12 suits (months) with 4 cards each. Hanafuda games are mostly [[fishing game]]s.<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>
==E-awase karuta==
===Uta-garuta===
{{main|Uta-garuta}}
{{multiple image|caption_align=center
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| 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
}}
[[File:Karuta Practice.jpg|thumb|Uta-garuta practice]]
''[[Uta-garuta]]'' ({{lang|ja|歌ガルタ}}, lit. "poetry karuta") is a card game in which 100 ''[[Waka (poetry)|waka]]'' poems are written on two sets of 100 cards: one set is yomifuda ({{lang|ja|読札}}, 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 torifuda ({{lang|ja|取り札}}, 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 Jingu|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 game]]s exist that use only the yomifuda. Bouzu Mekuri ({{lang|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====
''Ita-karuta'' (Japanese: {{lang|ja|板かるた}}) 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===
''Iroha karuta'' (Japanese: {{lang|ja|いろはかるた}}) 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 ''kyō'' ({{lang|ja|京}}, "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 (kana)|wi]]'' ({{lang|ja|ゐ}}) and ''[[We (kana)|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 (Tokyo)|Edo]] and [[Owari Province|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====
[[Image:Obake Karuta 4-07.jpg|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! Trading Card Game|Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'' or ''[[Pokémon Trading Card Game]]'', which also involves [[collectible card game|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]]''
==References and notes==
{{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]]