Karuta is a popular Japanese poem card game which involves matching Omifuda 読み札:”reading cards” to their Torifuda取り札とりふだ counterparts which are the grabbing cards.
History:
Karuta was originally introduced in Japan by Portuguese traders and during the period of 1600-1868 Karuta evolved into the distinct Japanese custom it is today. The earlier form of Karuta was played using hand-painted shells and was reserved for the Kyoto aristocrats.
How to play?
Spread all the grabbing cards face up on a flat surface between the players.
The "reader" randomly draws a reading card from the deck and reads it aloud.
Players race each other to determine which grabbing card corresponds to the Reading Card clue and then to touch/grab/claim the correct card first.
Repeat steps two and three until no cards remain.
Whichever player has the Least cards wins!
Types of Karatu:
Uta-garuta: The most common for of Karuta consisting of 100 Waka poems.
Iroha Karuta: An easier version for children made up of basic alphabets.
Shakespeare Karuta: In this version Shakespeare’s Old English has been translated to modern Japanese with familiar phrases such as “To be or not to be”.
Start playing today:
Karuta is the perfect way to learn Japanese and play at the same time. To play you will need a deck. Online stores like Punipuni Japan, Rakuten, Japan's Amazon.com, River Whale, and Discovery Creative all offer a wide selection of affordable Karuta (including all the varieties listed above) for international shipment. You can even print out free downloadable decks on websites such as Happy Lilac or Nifty Kids. Most sets come with a CD-ROM which calls out the reading cards for you and stands in for the reader. Another option is to do the reading yourself.
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