Kintokihana 金時花

金時花 Kintokihana, 48+1C. Oshi tengudo 大石天狗堂 

After a long interval, here is a deck from japan. We are told these cards come from Shikoku island in Japan. This deck was purchased around 5 years ago from a shop in Tokyo. The cards come in a elegant wooden box. The cards are also called Awabana 啊波花

Unlike the standard form of Hanafuda, the Kintokihana has the names of the months associated with each suit written on the card. The suit of "January", for instance has the words 一月“First month" written on the banner ( top row, 2nd from Left)  card. The remaining cards possess an encircled 一, meaning One. The same goes for the second row, showing suits from the second month-- 二月.

In other photographs of this pattern ( vide Andy Polett) the individual branches are picked out in white. In this example, the branches are picked out in silver ink. 
A translation of the short texts on the suit of January will be greatly appreciated. 

The Third [top row] and Fourth [bottom row] months.

The cards are very slightly curved along their width; you can see this in the 3rd month.

Unlike the other months, the "banner" card in the third month does not possess a numeral; rather a short text in japanese is shown, like in the "standard' hanafuda. 

Note The "Junk" cards in the third month. In this deck, the cherry blossoms are merely depicted. In the standard hanafuda, the cherry blossoms are shown growing from a branch. 

The Fifth and Sixth months. Some cards possess a stripe of silver across their width. This might be an aid to their identification. 

One of the major difficulties beginners have with hanafuda is knowing which card belongs to which suit. Unless you are familliar with Japanese plants, this is a hard task. It is further compounded by the same plant is depicted in different ways in the same suit. The numbers attached to the cards are thus an immense help, and it is hoped makers of Hanafuda would make more cards with this feature. 

The Seventh [top row] and Eighth[bottom row] months. 

On the two "Junk" cards of the 8th month, [ 2nd and 3rd from left, bottom] Japanese texts are seen. I would be most glad if anyone told me what they say. Note the blades of grass picked out in silver, on two of the cards in the Eighth month 

The Ninth [top] and Tenth months[bottom].   Note the horizontal bands of silver on some of the cards 

The suit of Eleventh (Top row) and Twelth months. Notably, the twelfth month is unumbered. 

To the far left we see the the extra card. It depicts Kintaro, a renowned Japanese warrior.

Hanafuda-- Angel, 翁

Hanafuda by "angel", "Old Man" (翁)48+1c,


EDIT: For Seven years, ( It was first published in 10/9/2011)  the author has given an erroneous title to the post.

The error surrounded the card's brand name. He initially misread it as 扇, meaning "fan". It was in fact the Similar-looking word 翁, meaning "Old Man".  The relevant character can be seen on the cards of the "December" suit (Top row). Seven years on, he re-publishes it, with the error corrected.

The name does not sound as incongruous as it seems. One of the most celebrated plays in the Noh repitoire is called 翁 Okina. A fascinating summary of the play, part ritual, part theater, may be found here  The author recalls the deck's wrapper depicted an actor, playing the role of the old man.

The deck contained 48 cards, plus one spare card. That spare card is shown to the left. It resembles the "Banner" card in the "March" suit of cherry blossoms. However, on the ribbon is marked the word 見本 Mihon , meaning Spare in Japanese. :" Sample" in Japanese.https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E8%A6%8B%E6%9C%AC

 As the commentator Porges said below "[This card] is to be placed on the front of the deck when on display in a shop, to indicate the quality of the cards."

"Nolbu"hwatu

"Nolbu", 48c+6

When Korea was under Japanese occupation, the Koreans took a liking to the Japanese games played using hanafuda. The Koreans subsequently developed their own games, and at length, a native Korean pattern.  (If you are not already familiar with the hanafuda, this is a useful link: http://anthonylesq.blogspot.sg/2012/02/hanafuda-nintendo.html )
 
  The first major difference is the materials from which the decks are made. Japanese cards are made of thick cardboard, while the korean hwatu are made of stiff sheets of plastic.

 I have seen people who are ignorant of this fact lodge complaints on an online retailer, feeling cheated, as the Japanese hanafuda they bought were printed on paper instead of the expected plastic!

Nevertheless, despite being made of plastic, the hwatu retain a red border around the cards; an imitation of the japanese cards and their turnover edges.

 The suits of January and febuary. note the “光 character on the card with the crane, ( Top row, 1st from right) This character marks out certain valuable cards in the deck. 

The suits of  march. and april Note the " ribbon" card ( Top row, 2nd from right) . The inscription on this ribbon is in Korean. No-one seems to understand what it says.  

The Suits of May and June . One of the features of the Hwatu are the use of a light, almost turquoise blue. The standard Japanese cards use a deep purple instead of this color. .  

The Suits of  July and August. Another key feature of the hwatu is the deep black used. The Hanafuda use a grey colour instead of the black. It is thus possible to see the veins of the leaves, and blades of grass. This is impossible in the hwatu. Note the " moon"  card ( 2nd row, 1st from right). It contains the visage of nolbu, a character in a Korean folktale. 

 September. and october 

November and December. 

Here are the extra " joker" cards that are peculiar to the Korean game. They display figures relevant to the story of Nolbu and Heungbu. Nolbu (1) was a miser, who had a brother called Heungbu.

Their father died. Nolbu took all their father's wealth for himself,  and drove  Heungbu out of the luxurious house in which they had previously lived,  (2). Heungbu was forced to stay in a small hut, where a swallow that they saved (3) presented them with a seed. When it was planted, it grew gourds that were filed with treasure (4). 

Nolbu grew jealous, and forced a swallow to present him with a similar seed (5). When that was planted, the gourds that it grew were filled with demons, who tore him to pieces ( not shown ). It seems that the ingenious maker has used the elements of the story described to illustrate the various bonuses that the cards confer. Any translation is appreciated. 

Echigokobana (越後小花)

越後小花, ( Echigokobana), Ohishi tengudo , 48c.+Onifuda+ 3 extras

Much like European playing cards, There are also regional variants of the Japanese Hanafuda. One such pattern is called "Echigobana".  The present deck, however, is a smaller sized ( 4.5 x 3 cm)  edition of this pattern. There are small differences in the small and large editions of this pattern, but the small deck may perhaps be a sufficient introduction to this pattern as a whole.
 Although the basic structure of the deck remains the same, The Echigobana greatly differs from the standard pattern of hanafuda . Many of the animals and details of the cards are greatly simplified and stylized. I shall introduce the key features of this deck as we go along.

The suits of January(Top row) and February(bottom row)

One of the first things that distinguishes this pattern from the regular hanafuda is the prescence of heavy silver overprinting on the cards. In the case of the suit of January (top row), the silver overprints form the detail of the pine needles.

Also note the striped background on the suit of January.

 

The suits of March(T) and April(B)

The present pattern possesses a much more stylized, even crude draughtsmanship when compared with the standard pattern. For example, the cherry blossoms of Febuary (top), are represented as mere squiggles with a blob of red colour over them.

The suits of may (T.) and June ( B)

Note the limited palette of colurs used, viz; red, black and yellow. This is particularly evident in the suit of may ( top row). Normally the iris blossoms (which is the flower used for this suit) would be coloured blue, but here, the colour blue has been replaced by black. Also note the charmingly crude rendering of the peonies of the suit of June

The suits of  july (T) and August ( B)

Note the two "Junk " cards of the suit of August ( bottom r. 3rd & 4th from left) In standard hanafuda, the sky over the black "hills" is plain. In this deck , the sky is patterned with lines in one card, and with red "clouds" in another.

The onifuda ( top row, 1st from left), and the suits of september ( T) and October ( B)

Note the "ribbon" cards for the suit of October ( 3rd from left). In standard hanafuda decks, the ribbon is rendered blue. In this deck, however, the ribbon is coloured black.

The suits of November ( T) and December( B), along with an extra card ( bottom, 1st from left)

Note the suit of November ( top) The criss-crossed silver overprints suggest rain, which is apparently an alternative name for this suit. The extra card ( called so as I can think of no better name) depicts a strange figure , something like a cross between a wicker man and a space alien bearing a stick.

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Here are three cards showing some of the main differences between this pattern and the Echigokobana. (The larger of the pairs of cards is the standard hanafuda)

1ST PAIR: The "rain-man" card  of the suit of November.

2nd pair : The "bird' in the suit of febuary. Note the lack of green in the Echigokobana.

3rd pair: The "boar" in the suit of July. In the Echigokobana, the boar looks more like a hedgehog.

 

" Kobana" (小花) - Matsui Tengudo

"kobana" (小花) - Matsui Tengudo - 48c. + 1 spare.
This deck is a miniature version of the Japanese Hanafuda, ( see http://anthonylesq.blogspot.com/2012/02/hanafuda-nintendo.html)
When I first opened the deck I uttered to myself,  " how on earth could they make it"
The deck is small, even by japanese standards ( the very name means "small flowers") -  The cards are about 2 x 3 cm.
The deck is coloured by stencil, and with some silver decoration added by hand. I am informed that the black outline was printed by woodblock. If that is true , I salute the japanese block-cutter who carved the block.
This deck also preserves some features of the earler hanafuda , namely:
1- the parts that are black in the current hanafuda, are green in colour
2 Note the "thunder" card in the "november" suit.  as opposed to a thundercloud, you see a drum

compare this deck with:

http://anthonylesq.blogspot.com/2012/02/hanafuda-nintendo.html

and

http://anthonylesq.blogspot.com/2011/10/hanafuda.html

Hanafuda "都の花" (Nintendo)

The flowers that bloom in the spring;
Tra la!

bring promise of merry sunshine...

( Gilbert and Sullivan- the Mikado )

Hanafuda, "都の花", Nintendo, 48c. +1 spare

The subject of the hanafuda, amongst card-collectors is a very famous one. To cut a long story short, After playing cards were introduced to Japan ( and their subsequent banning) , some smart players decided to change the 12  ranks of the card decks into 12 series ( "suits", ) of 4 subjects each , the subjects being 12 flowers , one for each of the 12 months. In spite of frequent bans, the cards survived to the present day, and still maintain their popularity.

Now, I have seperated the deck into 3 images. Image 1 contains all the "suits" form Jaunary to May, image 2, the flowers from june to october, and the last image, november and december.
Note the following:
1- note the "thunder" card on the november suit ( 3rd image, 1st row, 1st card on left). Under the large black blobs, note the stylized thunder-cloud
2- note the 3 cards of the "december" suit ( 3rd image, 2nd row, 1st 3 cards fr. left).
the maker's name is usualy put on them.