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Hanafuda: Japanese Culture Dealt in a Deck of Cards

By:
Ai Kanazawa
March 12, 2014Research

Games that I played while growing up have a special place in my heart and none more so than the humble but elegant game of Hanafuda or flower cards. I loved competing with my grandparents in Hanafuda because the cards were visually stunning and mysteriously old-fashioned. Perhaps the biggest reason for my enthusiasm is that it is a game of chance rather than skill, and offered a rare opportunity to beat the grown ups.

Japanese flower cards (hanafuda)
Hanafuda consists of 48 cards in 12 suits. From left, pine (first month), plum blossoms (second month), cherry blossoms (third month), wisteria (fourth month), iris (fifth month), peony (sixth month), bush clover (seventh month), miscanthus grass (eighth month), chrysanthemum (ninth month), autumn leaves (tenth month), willow (eleventh month), and paulownia (twelfth month)

Hanafuda is a set of beautiful Japanese playing cards adorned with plants and animals that became hugely popular in the Edo (1603-1867) period.  It is thought to have originated from cards introduced by the Portuguese to Japan in the 16th century. In Japanese, card games are still referred to as Karuta (from the Portuguese word carta for cards) to this day.

Hanafuda is fascinating because the cards reveal many seasonal motifs and combination designs considered to be “harmonious” in Japanese culture.   Similar motifs are portrayed in a wide range of crafts including ceramics, textiles and utensils used for tea ceremonies. So Hanafuda cards are helpful in identifying the elements in nature that are of important cultural value to the Japanese.

Some examples of harmonious pairings found in Hanafuda cards. From left: pine and crane, cherry blossoms and warbler, wistaria and cuckoo, peony and butterfly.
Examples of harmonious pairings found in Hanafuda cards.
From left: pine and crane; cherry blossoms and warbler; wistaria and cuckoo; and peony and butterfly.

A set of Hanafuda consists of 48 cards in 12 suits. Each suit represents a month of the year and the corresponding seasons (except for November/willow and December/paulownia). The decorations on the cards are visual representations of the seasonal and natural associations that were developed from Japanese classical poetry (Waka).

Vintage Japanese lacquer ware depicting harmonious pairing of peony and the butterfly
Old Japanese lidded soup bowl with lacquer depicting a harmonious pairing of peony and butterfly

For example, plum blossoms and the warbler for the second month’s suit is a major icon for the arrival of spring. The earliest reference to this pairing is found in the 7th to 8th century collection of Japanese poems called Manyoshu. “Like plum blossoms and warbler” is an expression used to mean a good relationship.

According to Haruo Shirane in his book “Japan and the Culture of the Four Seasons”, all the suits’ images -with the exception of peony- are from classical poetry dating from the Heian (794 to 1185) period, and reflect urban commoners’ knowledge of the poetic and cultural associations of the months.  The tradition of interpreting the four seasons in this highly codified manner began in the Heian court-based culture and became the model of elegance that is called kacho fugetsu (flower and bird, wind and moon).

Wistaria and cuckoo pairing depicted in a vintage stencil.
Wistaria and cuckoo pairing depicted in a vintage stencil. The stencil is from a collection at Saratetsu, yuzen furoshiki dyer in Tokyo.

The Edo pop culture is also reflected in the Hanafuda, most famously in the willow with calligrapher Ono-no-Tofu (894-966) card. The card portrays a well-known Japanese fable of Ono-no-Tofu and the frog. In this tale, young Tofu is taking a stroll by the stream in the rain when he notices a frog attempting to jump onto a branch of a willow tree. After failing many times, the frog succeeds and Tofu, inspired by the perseverance of the frog, worked harder and eventually became a noted calligrapher.

Around the time this willow and calligrapher design was born, a puppet drama known as Bunraku and later a Kabuki performance of Ono-no-Tofu Aoyagi Suzuri was performed that included a more politically inspired version of the Tofu and the frog fable. Many Ukiyoe prints were also produced with willow and Ono-no-Tofu themes.

The 4 cards in the willow suit. Willow with calligrapher card on the left and the mysterious rain and thunder card on the right.

Over four centuries, many regional designs and rules of Hanafuda cards came into existence. The most popular use of the cards was for gambling, so the authorities banned their use repeatedly because they viewed gambling as a vice that ultimately channeled money to criminal gangs. The last ban took place in the late Edo period, which was also around the same time that the current Hanafuda designs were perfected. This is why many mysteries still surround the origins of the designs of the cards.

For example, I could not find any convincing explanation as to what is portrayed in the odd looking “rain and lightning” card that is under the willow suit. It is odd that the willow and the swallow -which is a spring bird- are portrayed in the eleventh month, and paulownia that blooms in early summer was chosen for the twelfth month. In addition, one should bare in mind that craftspeople from the Edo period never seemed to do anything without some clever hidden meaning behind their work so the puzzle can be quite complex.

Nintendo
A deck of Nintendo Tengu Hanafuda. The Japanese characters on the paulownia card explain that the cards are made from a special process of wrapping a thick card with another piece of paper and applying the design on top. The tengu (a long-nosed mythical flying messenger of buddha) is depicted on the case and it is probably not a coincidence that the word nose is “hana” in Japanese.

Hanafuda is entertainment from the ages enjoyed widely by families throughout Japan, and interestingly, they also have connections with contemporary hi-tech entertainment. About 120 years ago, when the Meiji government lifted the ban on Hanafuda, an entrepreneur called Yamauchi Fusajiro opened a Hanafuda shop in Kyoto. His cards became so popular that the brand name of his cards, Nintendo, became synonymous with Hanafuda. Nintendo eventually evolved to become today’s famous video game giant. So we Japanese can proudly say that we have been playing Nintendo for more then a century.

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Edo entoten Flower cards Hanafuda Haruo Shirane kacho fugetsu Nintendo Ono-no-Tofu 任天堂 花札 花鳥風月

6 responses on “Hanafuda: Japanese Culture Dealt in a Deck of Cards”

  1. Helen Kagan May 26, 2014 at 3:21 pm

    HI AI & Kathryn,

    As always, I enjoyed your blog. I learned many new things about the karuta. What fond memories come to mind of playing with my family in Japan in a bygone era before video games and TV! Thank you for your valuable work in preserving these crafts and spreading an appreciation of them.

    Reply ↓
    1. Ai Kanazawa Post authorMay 26, 2014 at 5:24 pm

      Hello Helen!
      Thank you for visiting our website and for your kind words! I am glad you enjoyed reading this blog post. Did you know that the “Daitoryo” president hanafuda cards that you own depicts Napoleon on the cover? I couldn’t find out why they chose Napoleon, but interesting trivia right?

      Reply ↓
  2. Fred August 27, 2018 at 12:37 pm

    Great blog post! I love reading about the symbolism and history of these beautiful cards!

    I was taught that the gaji (lightening card) depicts rain, thunderstorms, downspouts, a propeller, and a drum because it symbolizes the storms and typhoons during that time of the year. The drum is symbolic of thunder and the propeller of strong winds.

    Also, I thought I might share a link with you that you or some of you blog readers may be interested in. It’s a hanafuda rulebook. It has very in-depth rules for 37 different hanafuda games.
    http://kck.st/2v2hcvd
    And an earlier edition of the book is available on Amazon.
    https://tinyurl.com/y9xzqso2

    Reply ↓
    1. Ai Kanazawa Post authorAugust 27, 2018 at 1:18 pm

      Hello Fred,
      Thank you for reading my blog post, I’m happy to hear that you enjoyed reading it. I thought gaji card was the one with the calligrapher, but reading your explanation, I must be wrong! We called that lightening card “onifuda” and I always referred to it as “norimaki” because it resembled the soy sauce rice cracker wrapped with seaweed.
      Thank you also for sharing the useful links, I’m so grateful!

      Reply ↓
  3. Yoshiko Nakamura June 20, 2022 at 12:08 pm

    Hello, I really enjoyed reading about Hanafuda in English. I am actually planning a cultural class on Hanafuda to a group of Ikabana ladies in Richmond, VA. I was wondering if it was OK if I used your article title for my event. I will acknowledge you and this article at the beginning of the class.
    Hope to hear back from you!

    Reply ↓
    1. Ai Kanazawa Post authorJune 20, 2022 at 12:11 pm

      Yoshiko san,
      I’m very grateful you have written to me about using this article title for your event. Most people don’t bother these days, so thank you. Of course you can, I hope your event will be successful and fun!

      Reply ↓

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