Hyakunin-Isshu JapaneseKaruta

The title can be translated as “One hundred people, one poem each”.



All the poems in Hyakunin-Isshu are made in Tanka style, consisting of 31 syllables. The first half of a Tanka poem (17 syllables) is called Kamino-ku and the second half is called Shimono-ku . （Note: Some poems consist of 30 syllables or 32 syllables.）



Two different types of Karuta cards are used for the game. One is the Yomi-fuda (reading card) and the other is the Tori-fuda (playing cards).

Each set has 100 cards.



This game shows Kaminoku (The first half of a Tanka ) on the upper area.

So, You select Shimono-ku card in the bottom area.



You can learn traditional Japanese poem and hiragana letters on this game.