Hanafuda is a style of Japaneseplaying cards used to play a variety of games. Hanafuda translates to "flower cards". The name also refers to some games played with the cards.
History
Playing cards were introduced to Japan by the Portuguese in the mid-16th century. The Portuguese deck consisted of 48 cards, four suits divided into 12 ranks. The first Japanese-made decks made during the Tenshō period mimicked Portuguese decks and are referred to as Tenshō Karuta. The main game was a trick-taking game intermediate in evolution between Triunfo and Ombre. After Japan closed off all contact with the Western world in 1633, foreign playing cards were banned. In 1648, Tenshō Karuta were banned by the Tokugawa shogunate. During prohibition, gambling with cards remained highly popular which led to disguised card designs. Each time gambling with a card deck of a particular design became too popular, the government banned it, which then prompted the creation of a new design. This cat and mouse game between the government and rebellious gamblers resulted in the creation of increasingly abstract and minimalist regional patterns. These designs were initially called Yomi Karuta after the popular Poch-like game of Yomi which was known by the 1680s. Through the Meiwa, An'ei, and Tenmei eras, a game called Mekuri took the place of Yomi. It became so popular that Yomi Karuta was renamed Mekuri Karuta. Mechanically, Mekuri is similar to Chinese fishing games. Cards became so commonly used for gambling that they were banned in 1791, during the Kansei era. Hana Awase appeared prior to 1816 when it was recorded as a banned gambling tool. Unlike earlier decks it consists of 12 months divided into four rank-like categories. The majority of hanafuda games are descended from Mekuri although Yomiadaptations for the flower cards survived until the 20th century. Though they can still be used for gambling, its structure and design is less convenient than other decks such as Kabufuda. In the Meiji period, playing cards became tolerated by the authorities. In 1889, Fusajiro Yamauchi founded Nintendo for the purposes of producing and selling hand-crafted hanafuda. Nintendo has focused on video games since the 1970s but continues to produce cards in Japan, including a few Mario-themed sets. Nintendo has licensed many third-party video game adaptations of hanafuda over the decades. The Koi-Koigame played with hanafuda cards is included in Nintendo's own Clubhouse Games for the Nintendo DS, and for the Nintendo Switch.
Outside of Japan
Hanafuda is sometimes played in the state of Hawaii in the United States and South Korea, though under different names. In Hawaii, there is Hawaiian-style Koi-Koi which is called Sakura, Higobana, and sometimes Hanafura. In South Korea, the cards are called Hwatu ; the name literally translates as battle of flowers. One of the most common Hwatu game is Go-stop or Seotda. Hwatu is very commonly played in South Korea during special holidays such as the Lunar New Years, and also during the Korean holiday of Chuseok. Playing Go-stop at holiday family gatherings has been a Korean tradition for many years. The Korean version is usually played with three players, with two-person variants. 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
There are twelve suits, representing months of the year. Each is designated by a flower and has four cards. The point values should be considered merely as a ranking mechanism, as the most popular games only concern themselves with certain combinations of taken cards.
Some decks may have an extra card which could be blank or feature a manufacturer's logo. In the Korean Hwatu version, the November and December suits are reversed. Hwatu may also include a variety of extra cards ranging in functionality, including 'service cards' which award various bonuses.
Card significance
The January poetry tanzaku card has the phrase akayoroshi, employing the hentaigana character , meaning long life''.
