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Trail: hanafuda

hanafuda

ElegantMedia Games cardsHanafuda (花札) are playing cards of Japanese origin, used to play a number of games. The name literally translates as ‘flower cards’.


Cards

There are twelve suits, representing months. Each is designated a flower, and each suit has four cards. Typically, there are two ‘normal’ cards worth one point, one poetry ribbon card worth five points, and a final special card worth ten or twenty points. The point values could be considered unnecessary and arbitrary, as the most popular games only concern themselves with certain combinations of taken cards.

 Month	Flower	Cards
 January	Matsu Pine	2 Normal (1 point), 1 Poetry Ribbon (5 points) and 1 Special: Crane and Sun (20 points)
 February	Ume blossoms	2 Normal (1 point), 1 Poetry Ribbon (5 points) and 1 Special: Warbler in a Tree (10 points)
 March	Sakura Cherry blossoms	2 Normal (1 point), 1 Poetry Ribbon (5 points) and 1 Special: Sakura Banner (20 points)
 April	Wisteria	2 Normal (1 point), 1 Red Ribbon (5 points) and 1 Special: Cuckoo in a Tree (10 points)
 May	Iris	2 Normal (1 point), 1 Red Ribbon (5 points) and 1 Special: Water Iris at Dock (10 points)
 June	Peony	2 Normal (1 point), 1 Purple Ribbon (5 points) and 1 Special: Butterflies (10 points)
 July	Bush Clover	2 Normal (1 point), 1 Red Ribbon (5 points) and 1 Special: Boar (10 points)
 August	Japanese Pampas Grass	2 Normal (1 point), 2 Specials: Geese in Flight (10 points), Full Moon with Red Sky (20 points)
 September	Chrysanthemum	2 Normal (1 point), 1 Purple Ribbon (5 points) and 1 Special: Poetry Sake cup (10 points)
 October	Maple	2 Normal (1 point), 1 Purple Ribbon (5 points) and 1 Special: Deer under Tree (10 points)
 November	Willow	1 Red Ribbon (5 points) and 3 Specials: Lightning (1 point), Swallow (10 points), Man with Umbrella Strolling (Rainman, 20 points)
 December	Paulownia	3 Normal (1 point, one colored differently than the others), Special: Chinese Phoenix (20 points)

In Hawaii, there are cards of a Hawaiian version, too. In Korea, the November and December suits are reversed.1

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