Hanafuda: A Japanese Card Game

The Criminal Code of Japan bans gambling; though exceptions do incur. Exceptions such as lottery, pachinko, etc. are considered legal, though private gambling is not. Though the ban has been enforced since the mid 1500's, card games remain popular. Over the course of the past four centuries, many games were disapproved though a new deck would eventually emerge. With it nearly impossible to enforce such laws and restrictions, the government simply monitored the gaming activity and began to allow certain games, one of the being Hanafuda.

Hanafuda, or "flower cards," may have originated in Japan, but now has multiple variations of game play that entertain countries across the world. My own personal experience with the game was initially sought in Okinawa, Japan. The deck includes 48 cards (small tiles more similar to mahjong that western style playing cards). The twelve suits identify each month of the year; and each has four cards that vary in points. For example, Tanzaku (ribbons) cards will represent a point while Ino-Skika-Cho (Boar-Deer-Butterfly) are equivalent to give points each. And obviously certain cards formed together can create additional points for the player.

To begin, two players will face one another and be dealt 8 cards each. Another eight will be dealt face up between the players; these are what we would call the community cards. Each player can use these community cards to establish the best possible hand, similar to poker. For instance, if I was first to go, I would match one of the community cards with one of my own and use them to form points. Example: If I have an animal card that I can match with the animal or similar suit on community board, I will discard it and form points. Each time a card from the community pile is removed, it is replaced.

The main strategy of the game is timing and selecting which cards will provide the most possible points if used with another. Like poker, a small amount of luck is involved when the hands are initially dealt. If you automatically receive all the 20 pt cards, you are obviously in a better position than your competitor. There is also the concept of being able to "read" the other player. They may be delaying their winning hand and capturing the lower point cards before making their attack. To conclude, the game is very exciting and I recommend it to anybody who enjoys a game of poker. Not only does it make for a great gambling game, but a very enjoyable drinking game as well.