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
It's such a shame Nintendo doesn't sell these cards outside of Japan. All I can ever find are Hanafuda and one suit of Kabufuda.
ReplyDeleteYou'd think someone from Japan would try to sell them on ebay, but no. Only vintage collector's items that fetch triple digits.
To be fair, there is hardly any market for such cards. The rules of the game played with the four-suited cards is virtually unknown, and the game itself extinct. The merchants of playing-cards are probably unwilling to export cards for a game that no-one knows how to play. Anyway, it would be nice if anyone who has a knowledge of the rules of the game to come forward, and explain it to us !
DeleteI have knowledge of the rules! One of the game played with those card is named "Dontsuku" (or "Donchiku"). An article in the journal of the International Playing-Card Society was published about it in 1986. It is a translation of an article by Ebashi Takashi (who wrote entire books about playing cards in Japon but only in Japanese I guess...). There are Japanese websites that share the rules, this website (http://bodogeiro.blog.jp/archives/49589542.html) gives 3 links.
DeleteAnyway, the game is very simple and similar to another game called Kingo. It is a gambling game (from 2 to 10 players): the goal is to reach a total of 15 or to do a combination of cards. Each player is dealt a first card, the dealer takes part in the game as the last player.
Then for the second and following rounds, you can : 1) Ask for another card, 2) Say you give up (if your total is above 15), or 3) Declare that you won (total of 15 or combination of cards).
The winner is the first one to reach 15 or to do a combination of cards. If no players scored 15 nor did a combination, the player with the closest total to 15 (less than 15) wins. The winner wins all the bets placed in the basket at the center of the table and becomes the new dealer.
The gambling part is simple: there is a basket at the center of the table and at each round you play you have to put 1 coin (mon) in it. (I don’t know if you have to pay for the first card.)
The combinations are: Pair + Ace / Three-of-a-kind / 2 + Cavalier (both swords or both batons) / 9 + Ace / 4 + Ace / 10 (swords) + 6 (coins) / 2 (cups) + 3 (coins) / 5 cards with a total of 15 or lesser.
A few additional combination are called takai and double the amount you earn (doesn’t apply if the dealer does them): Pair of 7 + Ace / Three Aces / Three 5 / 2 (coins) + Cavalier (batons) / 8 + Cavalier (both batons).
It seems that it was sometimes played alongside a game of Oicho-Kabu, which was thus played with the same cards (where the 10, knave, cavalier and kings had a value of 0).
Japanese Wikipedia says there is another game for Kurofuda, called "Mekurikko", but I don’t know the rules…
Cheers!
Thank you very very much for this information!
Delete