Pop Japan

Tired of the typical card games you play? Why not try karuta?

This card game originated from the Portuguese when they came to Japan. The game carta was introduced to the Japanese Samurai by the European sailors and it became a household favorite since then. There are various ways to play the karuta and surely people of all ages will be able to enjoy it.

Playing karuta has been an educational pastime for children and even foreigners who are eager to learn Japanese. Since most of the cards are written in kana (hiragana and katakana), it is a great exercise for learning Japanese characters.

There are two types of cards in play: the yomifuda and the torifuda.

The yomifuda or the reading cards have certain information written on them while the corresponding card, the torifuda or the grabbing cards have pictures or characters on them.

A reader reads the yomifuda then the players race each other to flick or grab the corresponding torifuda. The player with the most number of cards at the end of the game wins.

If you’re up for a more competitive feel of the game, you may opt to play the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu Karuta. The anthology of Ogura Hyakunin Isshu containing 100 poems from 100 different poets were inscribed in 100 cards. Playing the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu Karuta requires 200 cards in total. The yomifuda has the picture of the poet and the complete tanka poem (5-7-5-7-7) while the torifuda has the last line of the poem. The reader will read out the poem and the players will race to grab the corresponding card of the poem.

There are even national competitions for karuta experts who want to play with the same pace as them.

Karuta is a brand new way of playing cards. It involves several body senses such as the visual, auditory, mind, and touch. Playing karuta can be a great way to learn and master the Japanese language.