Kabu cards- "Mefuda" ( Nintendo)

Mefuda (目札 )-Nintendo, , 40c. + onifuda and blank
 We Now come to another species of japanese playing cards, known as the "Kabu"cards. These cards are basically single suited decks. That is, the deck comprises of one suit ( Usually coins or batons) repeated 4 times. There are usually 10 ranks in each suit, to give a deck of 40 cards.

 The particular deck shown here is known as the "mefuda", "( Eye-cards) , and gives a good introduction to this species of cards. The suit used here is the suit of coins, here corrupted to blobs of black paint., from 1 to 9. The tenth card is the Knave (or perhaps a cavalier in this case, as it has 4 legs), presenting the appearence of a few blobs of colour preched upon four legs  

 There are 3 identical series of these 9 cards. However, there is a fourth  series, in which some of the ranks are secorated with silver overprints. Usually the ace, trey (3) and the four of that suit recive that decoration. However, In decks like this one which use the suit of coins, the four in the special suit tends to be replaced, rather inexplicably, by a four of batons.

 Another curious ( and rather delightful) feature is the inscription on the duces (2s) treys (3s) and fours of each suit, along with the special ace. The inscription reads "金錢不用"- Use no gold or money"*, A rather splendid prohibition against gambling

-Mefuda-

1st row ( L-R)-- 6,7, 8,9,(knave) 

2nd row (L-R)-- (Ace), 2, 3, 4, 5

3rd row( L-R)--- Onifuda, Special ace, special 3,special 4

* Or, if you were to make a rhyme of it

"Gentle gamster, I pray that ye

use no gold or silver with me "

Kurofuda - Nintendo

"Kurofuda" ( 黑札) - Nintendo, 48c. + "onifuda" + Blank

   We now come to the second type of mekuri karuta, the "Kurofuda", or "black cards" . Looking at the cards, it is easy to see why they got the nickname. The features of the deck are almost completely obscured by large areas of black or red paint; so much so that the only reliable method of identifying the the cards is by the shape of the blobs of paint.( Unlike the akahachi, where the features of the deck are for the most part, just blobs of paint, this deck has printed outlines, which are painted over with blobs of paint)
  Sylvia Mann states that this deck is the closest deck to the portugese originals. In some ways, this is correct. When one looks closely at the cards. you can see outlines of faces, &c. which have been covered by the black paint ( if you look carefully, you can see them in the images below)  . These faces do indeed reseble actual human figures ( unlike the abstract forms of the akahachi)
Another curious feature of the deck is the lack of silver overprints.

Compare: akahachi- http://anthonylesq.blogspot.sg/2012/12/akahachi-nintendo.html

Key to position of cards:

top row- 7, 8,  9,  (Knave),  ( Cavalier), (King)

Bottom row---Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Swords or isu

As you can see, the colour in these images is applied more or less iin total disregard to the outlines of the figures. Note the shape of the swords. In the "Akahachi", the swords are just red lines, But here, they are more realisticaly dipicted.Also note the bird on the 2 of swords. You can also see the legs & lower half of the king's body.

Hau or batons

As with the akahachi, the main difference between the swords & batons is the colouring. Note the cavalier. The legs of his mount are visible, untouched by paint.

Ôru, or coins

The pips in this suit still remarkably look like it's european counterpart ( The star-like design in particular). If you look closely, the three court figures hold a starlike coin.

Koppu or cups

The cups in this suit are rounder and more bulbous than that of the Akahachi. You can see the lower part of the knave's body.

Compare: Akahachi

Akahachi- Nintendo

"Akahachi" ( 赤八) , 48c. + Blank & "oni-fuda"

This deck, and the following few decks that I shall present, are the so-called 'mekuri' patterns. found in Japan, the patterns are local adaptations of the portugese playing cards introduced by traders, &c. However, In time, the designs grew to be more abstract, a process perhaps much aided by the fact that they were banned ( to disguise the cards) ,along with isolation form foregin traders.

In 1973, Sylvia Mann, in her book "the dragons of portugal" , stated that there were ten different kinds of mekuri patterns being produced in Japan. However, 39 years later, I could only find two., and all in one shop in Tokyo ( Okuno karuta )

The cards introduced by the traders were Latin-suited, that is, having suits of cups, coins, batons and swords, much like ( but not identical to)  ones used in Italy and spain to this day. As you can see, the Japanese more or less kept the shape of the suits, but the court cards have been greatly abstracted, only vaguely resembling human forms .On some ( presumedly important) cards, you can see silver overprints, perhaps to make them more visible in dimly lit rooms.
 Compare: Kurofuda - http://anthonylesq.blogspot.sg/

Key to position of cards:

top row- 7, 8,  9,  (Knave),  ( Cavalier), (King)

Bottom row---Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

The suit of Batons, or "hau"

A you can see, the court cards only vaguely resemble human forms, being mostly comprised of  mass of red and black lines. Nevertheless, on some of the court cards, behind all that paint, a face can still be made out.

Also note the heavy silver overprints on the 1-6 of batons ( bottom row), and the court cards ( Top row, 3rd to 6th cards from left). The 6 of batons ( bottom row, 6th from left) , has the word 壽 ( lonevity) on it.

The suit of swords or "Isu"

The suit of isu or swords is distinguished from the suit of hau only by it's colour, the former being red, and the latter Black. Note the chinese numbers on the values of 4 to 9, and the Buddha on the 2 . The 8 ( top row, 2nd from right).

Cups, or Koppu

The pips of this suit do indeed resemble cups, or rather flat lidded vessels. The Cavalier ( top row, 4th from left), preserves the vague form of a man astride a horse - note the four legs which support the abstract figure.



Coins, or ôru
Again, the form of the suit somwhat resembles the conis of the priginal cards. The Ace ( bottom row, 1st from left), takes the vague form of a serpent or dragon, an animal which was found on the aces of the portugese cards ( see http://www.wopc.co.uk/belgium/dragons3.html)

Also shown is the oni-fuda, a card which bears the visage of a goblin.

Chicks rule- A tarot game

The four "chicks" or queens.

 This rather curiously named game is the only instance, as far as I can tell, of a tarot game invented within living memory. The inventor of this game is a blogger called Narj, and the post describing this game dates to April 13 2009.( http://narjsberk.blogspot.sg/2008_11_01_archive.html). A rough summary of the game follows

 Basicaly, the game is bridge played with a tarot deck. It is most suitable for 4 or 6 players. The cards are dealt out evenly amongst the players, and what remains is left as a "kitty". ( This means that in a 4- player game , each person has 19 cards, with 2 in the kitty.) Then, the bidding for the trump suit proceeds. The bidding is done as in bridge,  with the highest bidder being allowed acess to the cards in the kitty.

 As in this game, the highest ranking suit varies, and hence the suit normally called "trump" in tarot ( AKA major arcana ) may not be the actual trump suit in play. Hence, the  aforesaid suit are known as "bettys", with the fool, or "nymph"( as it is known here) as the highest.

 In play, the queen outranks the king ( hence the name), but the cavaliers & jacks remainding as usual. The  game play is much as in bridge. Should the winning team make a contract, it scores that number of points. Should it not, the opposing team  scores that number of points, much as in bridge.

*******

One of the major gripes that people had with this game ( judging by the comments ) is that the amount of cards in a hand was rather larde and unweildy. Hence, as A suggestion, I propose that the game may be played with a tarock deck, viz; one that has all number cards ( that is, ones in the non trump suit) lower than 7 removed from the deck, leaving a deck of 54 cards.

Binokel/Gaigel ( Württemberg pattern)

"Binokel/Gaigel" (Württemberg pattern), Nürnberger spielkarten verlag- 48c. ( 2 x 24)

We again have another oddity. This edition of the Württemberg pattern by Nürnberger spielkarten differs substantially from other editions. For starters, the figures look very different from other editions, but on closer examination, this edition at least follows the spirit of the design.

 Note the following differences from the more standard pattern: ( see http://anthonylesq.blogspot.sg/2011/12/wurttemberg-pattern-ass-altenburg.html)

1- The obers do not have the word "ober" written out on them in full ( as per the standard pattern)
2- The ober of leaves does not wear a turban, or carry a whip [ but he and the others ride really cute horses :) ]
3- The central row of hearts in the tens are coloured yellow and green, like the " type S" barvarian pattern
4- A champange bottle with it's cork flying out of it's neck is depicted on the ace of acorns

Chinese Domino cards- "十五湖"

Chinese domino cards- "十五湖" , "Double fish"- 84c.

 We now come to a Most rare and curious deck- The chinese domino cards, or 十五湖 as they are known in that language. I am informed that the cards are cheifly used by the cantonese, But even then, the use of this cards ( at least in singapore, where I got them) is practically extinct. The keeper of the shop informed me that I was the first person under 50 who had inquired about this deck, and after a long and exhaustive search, finally found them
 But, to proceed. The deck consists of 21 individual cards, each repeated 4 times, making for a total of 84 cards.The 21 cards are based on the 21 possible throws of a pair of dice.

Note the following features-
1- the ones and fours are coloured red.
2- The cards are divided into 2 halves by a small picture. In some cases, this is a pair of fishes (the brand name), but in some cases, we see the name "天生"- presuedly the company's name. Other pictures include swimmers, dogs, and flowers. These other vinigettes reflect the nicknames of the combinations. For example, the 5-5 is known as "the plum-blossom"- on that card, we see a little flower. Likewise, the 1-2, is called "the chicken"( 么雞三), and so has a that animal on it. However, not all the card's nicknmes are featured, and in other cases, pictures have been inserted that bear no relavance to the card's name.

Tarot 1JJ - Müller

Tarot 1JJ- Müller- 78c.
 As this post will both mark my blg's first anneversary, and 100th post, I decided to do something special..............
 The following deck I am about to present holds a rather special place in my heart and collection- The tarot 1JJ by Müller.This deck was the first deck in my collection, and the circumstances surronding it's purchase are worthy of some explanation:
  It was in late 2009, Whilst I was shopping in London . Entering a toy shop, ( since defunct) I noticed a deck which was markedly different form the others. It was taller than other decks for one, and printed on it's label was the legend

TAROT 1 JJ

under which was the illustration form "the sun". Armed with the knowlede that such decks were once used for games ( Gratis the QI annual), I seixed upon the chance and purchased it.

 When I peeled back the cellophane wrapper, I was in for a bit of a shock. I knew that other countries ( like Italy & germany) used different suits than hearts, diamonds, spades & clubs. However, nothing could prepare me for the sheer amazement as I viewed the cards one by one...

I first noticed the delightful illustrations on the trumps- The grace of the figures, the gaiety of the colours, and the exotic french titles to the cards

( Incidentally, I later learnt that JJ in the deck's name, 1 JJ , stood for "Junon"and "Jupiter"- taking the place of the usual Popess and Pope. The change was in part due to political correctness)

More trumps-

The top 5 trumps and the fool

Next were the court figures. They were rendered as elegantly as the trumps, brandishing their suit symbols with grace- never had I seen more beautiful cards!

The kings & fool (again)

Queens

Cavaliers

Jacks

Nor did the pip cards themselves lack illustrations......

And With such a beautiful deck, How is it not possible to resist trying to find more like so?