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Japanese Hanafuda, playing card & paper playing card culture

2022/4/28
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Besides the traditional poker games, would you like to try a different card game? Japanese Hanafuda cards with gorgeous colors and simple rules will definitely make you addicted to them! Legend has it that the Hanafuda (flower cards) was invented as early as the Azuchi-Momoyama period in the 16th century, and it is still active in the market today. Now, Kuo Kau proudly introduces our newly designed plastic and paper Hanafuda products and invites you to experience the full atmosphere of the Edo era with us.

Unlike poker cards, Hanafuda is not constituted by groups of suits and numbers, but by 48 cards with different suits on each. The 48 cards of different suits have their own names, and the meaning of these patterns must follow traditional conventions. Each 4 cards represent the characteristics of a certain month of the year, such as pine for January, plum for February, and sakura (cherry blossoms) for March. The suits of the card face are not only related to natural scenery, but also traditional Japanese culture such as customs and sacrifices. For example, the “Crane and Sun” is praying for longevity at the New Year's sunrise, the “Butterfly and Peony” depicts the noble and moving summer scenery, and the “Chrysanthemum and Cup” portrays the custom to drink sake and enjoy chrysanthemums in Double Ninth Festival, etc.

The Hanafuda is not only beautiful in patterns, but also has a simple gameplay but delicate scoring method, which is very exciting to play. Therefore, it is a card game widely loved by consumers. Although the suits of Hanafuda are distinguished by months, the points are mainly calculated by card type when playing. For example, the strongest “Hikari” (light) cards can make players obtain high scores easily; the "Tane" (seed) cards with scenery and animals are lesser; The "Tanzaku" (short paper ribbon) cards with papers used to transcribe haiku are further lesser; the "Kasu" (dreg) cards with only scenery on the cards have the least score, and must be accumulated to a certain amount to be useful in the game.

Being designed with an elegant hand-painting brush style, Kuo Kau Hanafuda is available in blue plastic playing cards (63x88mm) and red mini playing cards (45x69mm), and the packaging is a paper box exquisitely designed in the same style as the card pattern. The cards are made of durable and portable materials, and are suitable for collection and gifts, group creativity activities, souvenir shops, as well as selling together with merchandise of anime, manga and TV dramas. The novel gameplay and texture will surely win consumers heart.

Our playing cards are all made in Taiwan, with excellent quality guaranteed. For more customization and packaging methods, please contact Kuo Kau, and we will do our best bringing your imagination and blueprint to reality. Minimum order quantity: 1,008 decks.