Hanafuda Divination is a form of cartomancy where a hanafuda deck is used to read a person’s fortune.
There are endless variations in performing hanafuda divination, depending on the region, the method used, the guide in reading the hanafuda designs, and the intuition of the cartomancer themself. Sometimes, hanafuda divination is used in conjunction with divination using other types of cards, or even divination with crystals.
Typically, each method has a table of their own interpretation of the meanings of the hanafuda designs, which usually considers the suits of the cards, but sometimes, the types of cards are also considered.
When performing cartomancy to read another person’s fortune, you must take in consideration their feelings and explain the cards to them in a gentle manner, especially if there are many bad cards that appeared.
¶ Divination Methods and Card Meanings
¶ From Hanafuda with Auten
The divination method used by Leia (the owner of the Youtube channel “Hanafuda with Auten”) involved the viewer of her video picking one of four cards, and depending on the card chosen by the viewer, she revealed 3 cards which predicted the viewer’s fortune, which she explained in detail on the video.
In addition to the usage of hanafuda, Leia also associated each of the four card choices with a unique crystal for those who want to “pick with crystals”. Also, after every hanafuda fortune reading, she also brought up oracle cards for additional predictions.
Most of Leia’s “Pick-a-card” hanafuda divination videos were meant for predicting the fortune for a specific month of 2023, although some videos dealt with specific topics such as opportunity, love, and rebirth.
Leia used spiritual master teacher Selena Rodriguez’s “Hanafuda Magic” as a guide for her hanafuda interpretations and readings.
¶ From James Yong Kerby
All 48 cards of the deck are used.
¶ Setup and Instructions
Shuffle the deck well, and place 4 face-down cards in a row on the table. Next, place 4 more face-down cards in a row, each partially covering the bottom part of the 1st row (similar to setting up the cards in Klondike, except each stack has an equal number of cards). Keep doing this until there are 4 fanned stacks of face-down cards on the table, with each stack having 4 cards.
Finally, place 4 face-up cards partially covering the 4th row, and the “Solitaire game” begins.
- If there are any two face-up cards on the bottom of each stack with matching suits, remove them from the stacks and set them aside in a specific manner (described below).
Each matching pair is set aside in one of four face-up piles in a specific manner: The first pair goes into the first pile, the second pair goes into the second pile, the third pair goes into the third pile, and the fourth pair goes into the fourth pile. The fifth pair goes on top of the first pile, 6th pair on top of 2nd pile, 7th pair on top of 3rd pile, 8th pair on top of 4th pile, 9th pair on top of 1st pile, 10th pair on top of 2nd pile, and so on. At the end of the “solitaire game”, all the cards will have been placed into one of these piles.
You cannot match three matching cards at once.
- If the bottom card of a stack is a face-down card after you have removed any matching cards, flip that face-down card face-up.
If there are no more matching cards, place a card in a separate row below the stacks.
- If it matches suit with any of the face-up cards on the bottom of each stack, take the pair of matching cards and set them aside in the manner already described above.
Continue the above process until there are no more cards left in the draw pile.
Finally, check the four piles of cards that were set aside, look for any sets of four cards of the same suit within each pile, and write down their meanings in order to read your fortune.
¶ Meaning of the suits
| Icon | Plant | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
 |
Pine | Good luck, new start, energy, freshness, optimism |
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Plum Blossom | Good news, triumph, joy, persistence, stubbornness, patience |
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Cherry Blossom | Celebration, party, dance, entertainment, fun |
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Wisteria | Falling in love, romance, passion, likes and hobbies |
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Iris | Hard work, wisdom, success in projects and studies, courage, travel, masculinity |
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Peony | Government, authorities, respect and honor, power, riches, spotlight, jealousy |
 |
Bush Clover | Vacation, holiday, rest, sleep, tiredness, bed, recovery, laziness |
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Susuki Grass | Practicality, domestic responsibilities, carefulness. Also mysticism, philosophy and poetry |
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Chrysanthemum | spending time with elders and grandparents, ancestry, tradition, family |
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Maple | Calm, peace, friendliness, innocence, gratitude, diplomacy and appreciation |
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Willow | Self-doubt, depression, negativity, bad news, surprises, fear, endings |
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Paulownia | Solution, help, protection, divine guidance, help by the powerful, fate and life, utility |
¶ From Lucky Lynx
All 48 cards of the deck are used.
This method is intended only for reading your own fortune, but Lucky Lynx believes that it can also be used for reading the fortunes of other people.
Lucky Lynx describes the method as “playing Solitaire” with the cards, after which you must look for any sets of four cards of the same suit among the cards you’ve matched, and read their meanings. However, Lucky Lynx also mentions that sometimes the “Solitaire” method isn’t necessary for the cards to reveal your fortune.
¶ Setup and Instructions
Shuffle the deck well, and place 4 face-down cards in a row on the table, and 4 face-up cards in a row above the face-down row. Next, place 4 more face-down cards in a row, each partially covering the bottom part of the 1st face-down row (similar to setting up the cards in Klondike, except each stack has an equal number of cards). Keep doing this until there are 4 fanned stacks of face-down cards on the table, each stack having 4 cards, and 4 face-up cards above the 4 face-down stacks.
Next, place 4 face-up cards partially covering the 4th face-down row.
If there are cards with matching suits on the above row, then stack them together.
¶ Playing Process
If there are any face-up cards at the bottom of any of the stacks that match suit with any of the cards on the above face-up row, remove them from the stack(s) and place them on top of the matching card on the above face-up row. Otherwise, place 1 face-up card at the bottom of each stack (forming another row of 4 face-up cards below), and look for any matching cards again.
Continue the above process until there are no more cards left in the draw pile.
Finally, check the cards on the above face-up row, look for any sets of four cards of the same suit, and write down their meanings in order to read your fortune.
During the process, there are only a maximum of 4 suits that can be used in revealing the fortune, since the matching cards need to include any of the four face-up cards in the row above the stacks. So right away during the setup, you can already imagine what fortune you will get, but you need to “play Solitaire” to confirm those fortunes.
¶ Meaning of the suits
| Icon | Plant | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
|
Pine | Affection, celebration, new year, auspiciousness, patience, new beginnings, cold dark winter Crane - happiness, messenger, birth |
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Plum Blossom | Coming of spring, wishes for spring, goal, time for planning “Nightingale” – love, compassion, hope |
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Cherry Blossom | Spring, youth, beauty, elegance, grace. However, the beauty is short-lived, just like the cherry blossoms. You must focus on the present. |
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Wisteria | Protection, cover, battle, courage. You will have success later in life. Cuckoo – return home, call in the night, honor advancement, status |
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Iris | Virility, eating something good, fire. Manage your mind or you will become lost. Power. Someone may be holding you down. |
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Peony | You maybe be in a situation which you cannot do alone without somebody’s help. Help is on its way if you choose to attract it. Medicine/healing or the need for medicine/healing. Transformation, happiness or a choice specifically to become happy. Flooded with emotion, devoid of emotion, wealth good fortune and prosperity, the ability or need to attract something. |
|
Bush Clover | Luck, swelling grains in summer, affection, danger, pest, not being honest with yourself Boar - courage |
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Susuki Grass | Romance, enticement, nightlife, spending money at night, the need for balance, insights, and/or secrets being revealed or kept Geese - auspiciousness |
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Chrysanthemum | Friendship, loyalty, victory, longevity Sake cup - Drinking and meeting people, agreements being made |
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Maple | Worry, sensitivity, caution, psychic ability, dark part of the year, spirits, omens, gentleness |
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Willow | Visitor (supernatural or human), Take a break. Be flexible, graceful and strong. Communication, Being persistent. Don’t give up. |
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Paulownia | **Preparing for a new cycle, disillusion, spending money and balancing accounts, shaking off burdens by balancing your debts, righteousness. ** |
In addition, the Ribbon cards in each month represent “poetry, writing, or books”.
¶ From Nintendo Hana Cards Booklet (1950’s)
40 cards of the deck are used, excluding the joker and the peony and bush clover suits.
This method is used to read a person’s fortune in the near future. You can either read your own fortune or somebody else’s.
¶ Setup and Instructions
Shuffle the deck and divide it roughly into 3 equal face-down piles.
The person whose fortune will be read must choose one of the 3 piles.
Once a pile has been chosen, place the cards from the chosen pile on the table face-up, one-by-one, in a row from left to right.
Using the guide below, write down the meaning of each face-up card that appeared from left to right, and piece the meanings together in order to read the person’s fortune.
¶ Meaning of the suits
| Icon | Plant | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
|
Pine | FORTUNE - Good luck, wealth and prosperity. Even if you have given up on something, a new path will open up and the light will shine. It’s a good time for love, marriage, starting a business, building a new house, employment, etc. |
|
Plum Blossom | MISFORTUNE - A lonely and difficult future. Things that are going well would soon go wrong. Your love partner may have a change of heart. Your business may be affected negatively. Be careful. |
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Cherry Blossom | OPPORTUNITY - Auspicious sign for seizing opportunities. Whatever you wish will come true. However, if you do not seize the opportunity quickly, you may miss it. |
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Wisteria | INCONVENIENCE - You are ready to move forward toward your goal, but the conditions are not yet ready. You must be patient and wait for the cherry blossoms to bloom. |
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Iris | DELIBERATENESS - If you take it one step at a time and work hard, you will gradually reach your goal. But do not rush and make a big leap, as you will surely make a grave mistake. Keep calm. |
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Susuki Grass | STEADFASTNESS - Stay true to your intentions and do not waver in your decisions, and you will find great happiness in the near future. |
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Chrysanthemum | UNCERTAINTY - A fickle and confused mind. You will quiver in your decision-making and not be able to make one. You must calm down and reflect on your actions. |
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Maple | PERSEVERANCE - The road ahead is difficult, but you will not fail. As long as you reflect on yourself and always do the right thing, keep carrying on and moving forward, and you will gradually be blessed with a good fortune. |
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Willow | FRIENDSHIP - Follow your own path diligently and keep a pleasant attitude, and you will be socially recognized. Many people around the world will help and cooperate with you, and you will be successful, so this is a very good omen. |
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Paulownia | ARROGANCE - Self-righteousness and lack of self-reflection. You are too stubborn and assertive, and do not listen to what others have to say, so you easily trip up and fall. Please try to maintain a spirit of cooperation. |
Example reading:
Whatever you do, you must calmly reflect and think about it. But, even though difficult obstacles are expected in the future, if you reflect on your actions and decide that you are doing the right thing, you can resolutely stick to your original intention and forge ahead with single-minded determination. However, if you are too confident and stubborn in sticking to your original intention, you may be tripped up by others, but if you exercise self-restraint, you will be able to seize the opportunity and achieve your goals. And if you maintain a humble attitude and follow your own path, you will be recognized and famous in society, and your later years will be very auspicious.
The 8 cards are for example purposes only. The actual pile contains 13 cards, more or less.
¶ From ParaGlitter
All 48 cards of the deck are used.
This method can only be used to read your own fortune; If another person touches any of the cards during the divination process, the result is nullified.
By default, this method reveals your fortune in the near future; However, it can also be used for answering specific questions, by asking the question during shuffling.
¶ Setup and Instructions
ParaGlitter had two videos about Hanafuda Divination, and she used a different setup in each video.
¶ SETUP A
Shuffle the deck well, and place 4 face-down cards in a row on the table, and 4 face-up cards in a row above the face-down row. Next, place 4 more face-down cards in a row, each partially covering the bottom part of the 1st face-down row (similar to setting up the cards in Klondike, except each stack has an equal number of cards). Keep doing this until there are 4 fanned stacks of face-down cards on the table, each stack having 4 cards, and 4 face-up cards above the 4 face-down stacks.
If there are cards with matching suits on the above row, then stack them together.
Finally, flip all 4 cards in the bottom row face-up, and the “Solitaire game” begins.
¶ Playing Process for Setup A
-
If there are any face-up cards on the bottom of each stack with matching suits, remove them from the stacks and place them in the above row.
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If the bottom card of a stack is a face-down card after you have removed any matching cards, flip that face-down card face-up.
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If a face-up card on the bottom of a stack matches suit with the cards in the above row, remove it from the stack and place it among the other cards that match suit with it.
You cannot match a card on the bottom of a stack with a card in the middle of a stack.
If there are no more matching cards, place 1 face-up card at the bottom of each stack (forming another row of 4 face-up cards below), and look for any matching cards again.
Continue the above process until there are no more cards left in the draw pile.
Finally, check all the matching cards that were set aside, look for any sets of four cards of the same suit, and write down their meanings in order to read your fortune.
¶ SETUP B
Shuffle the deck well, and place 4 face-down cards in a row on the table. Next, place 4 more face-down cards in a row, each partially covering the bottom part of the 1st row (similar to setting up the cards in Klondike, except each stack has an equal number of cards). Keep doing this until there are 4 fanned stacks of face-down cards on the table, with each stack having 4 cards.
Finally, place 4 face-up cards partially covering the 4th row, and the “Solitaire game” begins.
¶ Playing Process for Setup B
-
If there are any face-up cards on the bottom of each stack with matching suits, remove them from the stacks and set them aside.
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If the bottom card of a stack is a face-down card after you have removed any matching cards, flip that face-down card face-up.
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If a face-up card on the bottom of a stack matches suit with the cards that were set aside, remove it from the stack and place it among the other cards that match suit with it.
You cannot match a card on the bottom of a stack with a card in the middle of a stack.
If there are no more matching cards, place 1 face-up card at the bottom of each stack (forming another row of 4 face-up cards below), and look for any matching cards again.
Continue the above process until there are no more cards left in the draw pile.
Finally, check all the matching cards that were set aside, look for any sets of four cards of the same suit, and write down their meanings in order to read your fortune.
¶ Meaning of the suits
| Icon | Plant | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
|
Pine | MESSENGER |
|
Plum Blossom | LOVE |
|
Cherry Blossom | VOYAGE |
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Wisteria | FIGHT |
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Iris | EATING SOMETHING GOOD |
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Peony | HAPPINESS |
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Bush Clover | LUCK |
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Susuki Grass | GOING OUT AND SPENDING MONEY AT NIGHT |
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Chrysanthemum | DRINKING AND MEETING PEOPLE |
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Maple | WORRY |
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Willow | VISITOR |
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Paulownia | SPENDING MONEY |
¶ From Tarot Daily (2019?)
All 48 cards of the deck are used.
¶ Meaning of the suits
| Icon | Plant | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
|
Pine | Good luck, new start, energy, freshness, optimism Crane – many people in the crowd Ribbon – express thoughts to others, help others or receive help from others, loneliness, starting out small |
|
Plum Blossom | Good news, triumph, joy, persistence, stubbornness, patience Bush Warbler – huge scale Ribbon – express thoughts between you and others. junks – simple good news, triumph, joy |
|
Cherry Blossom | Celebration, party, dance, entertainment, fun Curtain – many people in the crowd celebrating; invitation to a big party Ribbon – invitation to a party or concert |
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Wisteria | Falling in love, romance, passion, likes and hobbies Cuckoo – Strike your heart, falling in love with somebody, moon = emotions Ribbon – love songs, writing love poems, junks – small love, keeping your love to yourself |
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Iris | Hard work, wisdom, success in projects and studies, courage, travel, masculinity |
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Peony | Government, authorities, respect and honor, power, riches, spotlight, jealousy |
|
Bush Clover | Vacation, holiday, rest, sleep, tiredness, bed, recovery, laziness |
|
Susuki Grass | Practicality, domestic responsibilities, carefulness. Also mysticism, philosophy and poetry |
|
Chrysanthemum | spending time with elders and grandparents, ancestry, tradition, family |
|
Maple | Calm, peace, friendliness, innocence, gratitude, diplomacy and appreciation |
|
Willow | Self-doubt, depression, negativity, bad news, surprises, fear, endings |
|
Paulownia | Solution, help, protection, divine guidance, help by the powerful, fate and life, utility |
¶ Bibliography
- Hanafuda with Auten - Monthly Predictions 2023
- James Yong Kerby - Cartomancy: Hanafuda Divination Demonstration
- Lucky Lynx - Fortunetelling with Japanese Hanafuda Cards part 1
- Lucky Lynx - Fortunetelling with Japanese Hanafuda Cards part 2
- Nintendo Hana Cards Booklet, 1950’s
- ParaGlitter - hanafuda cards (fortune telling)
- ParaGlitter - Divining with Hanafuda
- Tarot Daily youtube channel (video already deleted)