Pop Japan

Aside from the physical traditional games of Japan, it also has its own original set of playing cards, made for those who are not so sporty.

Karuta are actually the traditional Japanese playing cards. The Portugese are the ones who brought playing cards to Japan, during the trade between the two countries during the mid-16th century. The word actually came from the Portugese word for cards, which is carta. But the game itself has two kinds, the one with the western influence and the eawase version, which is the shell board game.

Photo by Ceridwen. Licensed under Creative Commons. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/fr/deed.en)

Tags: traditional game, Japan, sporty, karuta, japanese playing cards, portugese, carta, eawase, shell board game