Not to be confused by the Hana-awase yaku of the same name
Matsu-Kiri-Bōzu [松桐坊主 - まつきりぼうず, lit. “Pine, Paulownia, Bald Monk”] is a Hana-awase variant for two players.
The name refers to the three wild cards used in the game: the Crane, the Phoenix, and the Full Moon.
¶ Determining the Dealer
The first dealer is determined like in any typical hanafuda game.
¶ Distributing the Initial Cards
The dealer deals 8 cards to each player and 8 cards on the field.
If 4 cards of the same month appear on the field, it is a misdeal, and the dealer reshuffles the deck and deals again.
¶ Exposing the Wild Cards
Before gameplay starts, players who have a wild card in their hand must expose it.
¶ Gameplay
Gameplay is identical to Hana-awase, except that the round stops once a Dekiyaku is formed. The player wins points equal to the dekiyaku value, and becomes the dealer for the next round.
¶ Using Wild Cards
There are three wild cards used in the game: the Crane, the Phoenix, and the Full Moon.
A wild card can be used to match any card regardless of its suit.
If it is on a player’s hand, the player may choose to use it.
If it is on the field, any player may choose to capture it.
If it is drawn from the draw pile, then it must be used to capture a card on the field. (It can only be discarded when the field is empty.)
Any uncapturable cards on the field as a result of a wild card capture should be left alone.
¶ Dekiyaku
| Value (in points) | Name of Yaku | Composition |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | Five Brights 五光 [ごこう, gokō] |
  |
| 50 | One Two Three 一二三 [いちにさん, ichi ni san] |
 |
| 50 | Blue Ribbons 青短 [あおたん, aotan] |
The three Blue Ribbons:   |
| 40 | Poetry Ribbons 赤短 [あかたん, akatan] |
The three Poetry Ribbons:   |
| 50 | Cuckoo, Bridge, Butterflies ぼたんきり [botankiri] |
   |
| 50 | Boar, Deer, Geese がんぼ [ganbo] |
   |
Despite how the name sounds, “Botankiri” is not 牡丹桐 (Peony and Paulownia). Likewise, “Ganbo” is not 雁牡 (Geese and Peony). The etymology is unknown.
¶ Scoring when Dekiyaku is not formed
If Dekiyaku is not formed, then players count their card points.
Then, the difference between the players’ scores is calculated.
The player with the higher score wins the score difference.
The winner of the round becomes the dealer of the next round.
¶ Card Values
Card points are standard except for the Wild Cards, which are worth 100 points each.
| Card Type | Value (in points) | Number in Deck |
|---|---|---|
| Wild Card | 100 | 3 |
| Bright | 20 | 2 |
| Animal | 10 | 9 |
| Ribbon | 5 | 10 |
| Chaff | 1 | 24 |
¶ Bibliography
- Takeshi Ichinose, “Atarashii Hanafuda Nyuumon”