This article exists to satisfy (and hopefully inspire) curiosity. Most information found in this article is not necessary to learn how to play.

Hanafuda

Hanafuda arranged in a typical setup for Koi-Koi. Photo from Marcus Richert.

Hanafuda 花札 ▶ flower cards are Japanese playing cards that can be used to play many different games.

In Korean, these cards are known as hwatu 화투 ▶ flower fight.

#History

In the mid-1500s, Portuguese traders introduced playing cards to Japan. Portuguese decks contained 48 cards, with 12 ranks and 4 suits. Though early Japanese karuta かるた ▶ cards emulated this structure, additional styles of cards were subsequently invented.

One of these styles was hanafuda, which has 12 suits and 4 ranks, inverting the structure from most Western cards.

Was hanafuda invented because of gambling restrictions placed on karuta? Maybe. But there’s not enough evidence to support that claim.

#Cards

There are 48 cards in hanafuda, depicting the flora and fauna of Japan. The 12 suits in hanafuda are also referred to as months. Each is represented by a flower or plant and features a different distribution of ranked cards from each other.

Ranks

Hikari 光 ▶ light are the highest value cards, and represent significant Japanese cultural elements, stories, and traditions.
Tane 種 ▶ subject cards mostly illustrate wild animals. ?
Tanzaku 短冊 ▶ paper strip cards have three varieties: poetry, blue, and plain. People write wishes during tanabata matsuri 七夕祭り ▶ star festival, and hang them on bamboo branches.
Kasu カス ▶ scrap are the lowest value cards. They portray various flowers and plants found in Japan.

Point Values

Hikari are worth 20 points each, Tane are 10 points, Tanzaku are 5 points, and Kasu are 1 point. The total value of the deck is 264 points. However, some games ignore point values (like Koi-Koi) or have their own (like Sakura). ?

In a famous 3-player game called Hachi-Hachi 八八 ▶ eighty-eight, each player aims to score at least 88 points (one-third of the deck value).

Suit / Month	Hikari	Tane	Tanzaku	Kasu
January	Crane		Poetry ?	Pine
February		Warbler	Poetry ?	Plum Blossom
March	Curtain		Poetry ?	Cherry Blossom
April		Cuckoo	Plain	Wisteria
May		8-Plank Bridge ?	Plain	Iris
June		Butterflies	Blue	Peony
July		Boar	Plain	Bush Clover
August	Moon	Geese		Silvergrass
September		Sake ?	Blue	Chrysanthemum
October		Deer	Blue	Maple
November	Ono no Michikaze	Swallow	Plain ?	Willow ?
December	Phoenix			Paulownia ?

#Details

Tane

Though not all Tane cards follow this scheme, the subject matter seems to be modeled after kachō-ga 花鳥画 ▶ bird-and-flower paintings.

The May Tane card features yatsuhashi 八ツ橋 ▶ 8-plank bridge. Perhaps to make this card fit in better with other Tane cards, Matsui Tengudō added fireflies on the Iris leaves.
The September Tane card depicts a sake cup with the character for kotobuki 寿 ▶ congratulations, long life.

Tanzaku

In hanafuda, Poetry Tanzaku have simple words written on them.

Akayoroshi あかよろし ▶ red is good on the January and February Tanzaku means these cards are valuable.
Miyoshino みよしの ▶ beautiful Yoshino on the March Tanzaku is the name of a town famous for Cherry Blossoms of the same name.
The November Tanzaku is the only Tanzaku without small dots. This card is often excluded from Tanzaku Yaku in some games.

Kasu

Generally, Kasu cards depict a plant or flower with a significant amount of white space, though some differ in style from the others.

The November Kasu card typically depicts a lightning storm with a red sky and thick willow branches. It is sometimes used as a Wild card. In some decks, the lightning card features Raijin 雷神 ▶ god of thunder.
The yellow-shaded December Kasu card is stylistic, functions as a normal Kasu card, and usually displays the brand name. In some games, it could be used as an additional Tanzaku or Tane card.

#Extra Cards

Three shirofuda: a blank, a replacement card, and a serial number.

Six extra hwatu cards.

Hybrid deck with game accessory cards.

Hybrid deck with 13th hanafuda suit.

Most decks of hanafuda include one shirofuda 白札 ▶ white card. It can be used to draw a replacement, or it could have a printed serial number.

In Korean hwatu, it is common to see 6 extra cards for Go-Stop, used for optional game mechanics. These cards are often stylistically different, complete with manufacturer logos.

In hybrid decks where Ace through Queen cards double as months (January to December), Kings often display related game accessories.

Extra Suits

With the inclusion of additional suits, decks can more easily accommodate 4 players in a game similar to Hachi-Hachi (which supports 3 players).

One particular hybrid deck from The Universal Playing Card Company used King cards as a 13th hanafuda suit ( Snowy Bamboo).

The total point value of all cards in this deck (304) divided by 4 players is 76 points per player, assuming the yellow-shaded December Kasu card acts as a Tanzaku card. ?

Suit / Month	Hikari	Tane	Tanzaku	Kasu
Kings / 13th Month	Princess Yaegaki	Sparrows	Poetry ?	Snowy Bamboo

Matsui Tengudō 13th month

Matsui Tengudō Lotus and Bamboo suits

Matsui Tengudō produced two decks with additional suits. The first deck had 52 cards, which included a 13th suit ( Bamboo).

In that deck, one August Kasu and one December Kasu are shaded red and are scored like Tanzaku cards. The deck total is 308 points, 77 points per player for a 4-player game.

A later 56-card deck included two new “months,” a 13th suit ( Bamboo) and a 14th suit ( Lotus). This particular arrangement allowed for a 4-player game with a target score per player of 77 points, all without repurposing any cards from the standard deck.