Hello everyone! It is the blog How Unique Japan!
This time, we would like to introduce the physical card game again, like the Menko card game. (If you did not read this article, click here and do so!)
It is the Hyakunin Isshu and Karuta.
Our lovely readers might have gotten confused and wondered how card games require physical ability. But it is true. Japan has some aggressive card games.
In the Menko card game, players need to smash their cards on the ground to flip the cards of opponents nearby upside down.
So, what physical skills are for the Hyakunin Isshu and Karuta game?
It is reflexes.
How does this ability work for the card game?
Rule
Hyakunin Isshu and Karuta have similar rules. There are two types of cards: the word card and the picture card or the first and the second part. So, they are a couple. Then, we also have three people following the rule: a reader and two players.
One tip. In the rule of Hyakunin Isshu, the first part has a beautiful picture underside. The second part only has another part (words). Players need to get the second part.
They would put the picture cards or second part cards on the floor. It is ready to play the games.
When the reader calls out the word “card” (or its first part), the players quickly search for the matching card.
It is where the reflexes skill comes in. The winner of the game is the player who collects the most pairs of cards.
So, the quicker one (finding and getting the card) will be victorious.
In the official Hyakunin Isshu game, It is no joke. When a pro gets the card, it is like a smash or slapping a targeted card away from the floor.
It is a physical competition about reflexes skills.
In the next section, we shall show the details and histories behind the Hyakunin Isshu and Karuta.
History and Details
Surprisingly, Karuta originated in Portugal around the 15th century. The origin rule was similar to a trump card game. (The word Karuta also means cards in that country.)
However, such a rule quickly mingled with the older card game. It was Hyakunin Isshu. Indeed. That card game is older than Karuta.
So, how old is the card game? Some historical documents/records say it was born around 1235 AD. Japan was in the years between the Heian and Kamakura eras.
First of all, the game was for nobilities.
At that time, they showed their poems or songs among them to compare their intelligence or cleverness. One of the prestigious family lines, the Fujiwara, organized the poem competition for the card game.
He created this rule separating poems into two parts, the first and the second. They are now more competitive games than just poems.
Coincidentally, Hyakunin Isshu has also become a brain game. Do you remember there are poems on each pair of cards?
That means the player needs to remember all the poems on the cards. The number is ONE HUNDREDth! It is such a long way to go!
Thus, the game is called One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each in English translation.
On the other hand, the Karuta is much simpler. As it said, those cards are a pair: the word part and the picture.
The picture card has the first letter of a sentence from the word cards on the upside right (the edge). When the reader calls out the sentence or first letter, the players search for the corresponding pair. It is similar to the Hyakunin Isshu.
However, it is a feature of this game.
So, any sentence could be a pair for this game if the first letter is the same as the other part. Therefore, there are thousands of Karuta games in Japan.
They are usually about lessons from dictionaries/textbooks of animals, dinosaurs, or good manners in society – it is an example if the reader says Do not blame your friend! Then, the players search for a suitable picture card with the first letter D.
By that, the Karuta game is primarily played by children as a form of education.
Fun fact of the Hyakunin Isshu
The Hyakunin Isshu is an ancient card game. Thus, there are always official competitions held in Japan every year. Seriously, it is genuinely enormous.
In each official competition, players need to wear a kimono. However, the commissioner allows flexible uniforms, such as T-shirts or jerseys.
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To close
It is tips about the physical card games in Japan. Surprisingly, there are still unique historical activities.
We will continue to update that information. Please wait for it.
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Now, we have four categories on the page. They are Japanese lifestyle, What is the Edo era, Religion in Japan, and Japanese food (it has few articles. Sorry.)
It’s all today! Thank you so much for reading this article, and we look forward to seeing you at the next uniqueness of Japan!