This is a list of known producers of hanafuda in Japan, arranged alphabetically, with links to individual pages for those manufacturers for which we have sufficient information.
| Manufacturer | Location | Founded in | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ace (エース ēsu) | Kyoto | 1960 (as Toyo Trump 東洋トランプ) | Closed in 1967 due to bankruptcy | - |
| Angel (エンゼル enzeru), a.k.a. Okina Karuta (翁かるた) |
Higashiomi, Shiga Prefecture. Kyoto. |
1949, Registered in 1963, Established in 1965 | Active | Currently its main focus is on western playing cards and supply of equipment for casinos around the world. |
| Akata Shōjōya (赤田猩々屋) | Kyoto | Around 1883, Registered in 1900 | Closed | Operated as a stationery company. Has evidence that their products are imported to San Francisco, USA |
| Alaska (アラスカ) | - | - | Closed | Among those that made hana-trump, even though it did not manufacture a dedicated hanafuda deck. |
| Baba Keieidō (馬場京栄堂) | Kyoto | 1948 | Closed | - |
| Beverly (ビバリー) | Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo. | 1977 | Active | Mainly produces jigsaw puzzles, toys and games. It also produced various character hanafuda, as well as “Master Hanafuda”. |
| Dai Nippon Trump (大日本トランプ) | Higashiomi, Shiga Prefecture. | - | Stopped producing hanafuda | Currently active as a western playing card manufacturer. |
| Ensky (エンスカイ) | Soka-shi, Saitama Prefecture. | 1938 as Amada Toy Mfg. (parent company), split off from parent company in 2005 | Active | Its parent company originally sold menko cards. Ensky now currently manufactures various toys, games, and merchandise featuring various intellectual properties. It also manufactured and sold various character hanafuda, and also published Kirby Hanafuda, although the cards were manufactured by Nintendo. |
| Heibon Trump (平凡トランプ) | Tokyo | 1967 | Closed in 1972 | - |
| Inoue Juntendō (井上順天堂) | Kyoto | 1957 | Closed | - |
| Iwata Shoten (岩田商店) | Aichi? Gifu? Shiga? | 1844-1848, Registered in 1918 | Closed | Sold products by other manufacturers, including Nintendo |
| Kamigata-ya (上方屋) | Tokyo | 1886 | Closed | Sold products by other manufacturers, including Nintendo |
| Kawai | Osaka | - | Closed | - |
| Kawai Fukushōdō (河合福勝堂) | Osaka | 1884 | Closed | Operated as a toothbrush company |
| Kawakita (川北) | Kyoto | 1948 | Closed in 1962 | Also manufactured western playing cards for The Far East Playing Card Company. Or it could possibly be the same company under a different name. |
| Kinkadō (金花堂) | Sakata, Yamagata Prefecture. | - | Closed | - |
| Kohara Honten (小原本店) | Osaka | - | Closed in 1980 | - |
| Kyōto Karuta (京都かるた) | Kyoto | 1977 | Closed | Founded by an ex-employee of Nihon Karuta Seizō. This company is not related to Usui Nichigetsudo, which produced “Kyoto Karuta” in 1920. |
| Kyōwadō (京和堂) | Kyoto? | - | Closed | - |
| Maruē (マルエー) | Mino, Gifu Prefecture. | 1960 | Closed | - |
| Marunadō (マルナ堂) | Chuo-ku, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture. | 1913 | Stopped selling hanafuda | Currently active as a toy wholesaler. It sold hanafuda manufactured by Nintendo and Ryutendo during the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. |
| Matsui Tengudō (松井天狗堂) | Kyoto | 1897 | Closed in 2010 | Most famous for its hand-printed hanafuda created by the third generation, Shigeo Matsui since the mid-1970’s. |
| Murai Bros. & Co. (村井兄弟商會) | Kyoto | 1894 | Taken over by the Japanese government in 1904 (State tobacco monopoly in effect) | Promoted its brand of Cigarettes by including a trading card in each pack. Several sets featured beautifully illustrated hanafuda designs with a western playing card as its index, making the set effectively a hana-trump. Collecting the whole set |
| Nakao Seikadō (中尾清花堂) | Kyoto | 1894 | Closed | - |
| Nihon Goraku (日本娯楽) | Onomichi city, Hiroshima. | 1945(as Takahashi Shoten 高橋商店) | Stopped producing hanafuda | Currently active as an importer of musical instruments. It sold hanafuda manufactured by Kyoto Karuta. |
| Nihon Karuta Seizō (日本骨牌製造) | Kyoto | 1914 | Closed in 2015 | Famous for its blue outline on black leaves, as well as an illustration of a rabbit pounding mochi on the Full Moon card. Along with Oishi Tengudo, this company influenced the design elements of Korean-made Hwatu. Also sold Hana-trump decks under the “Windmill” brand. In its later years, it sold cut-out hanafuda decks manufactured by Oishi Tengudo. |
| Nihon Parl Kakoh (日本パール加工) | Higashiosaka City, Osaka Prefecture. | 1967 | Active | Mainly a manufacturer of stationery, school supplies, and toys. They also manufactured low-cost cut-out hanafuda, which was also sold by Motobayashi (a 100-yen store). |
| Nippon Yūgi Gangu (日本遊戯玩具), a.k.a. Nichiyu (日遊 or ニチユー) | Asakusa, Tokyo. | 1947 | Stopped producing hanafuda | Currently active as a Tarot card and western playing card manufacturer. During the 1960’s, they were among those who produced Hana Cards for export to Hawaii, USA. |
| Nintendō (任天堂) | Kyoto | 1889 | Active | Currently the biggest manufacturer of Hanafuda in Japan. Also currently most famous globally for its contribution in the video gaming industry and bringing famous video game characters such as Mario, Donkey Kong, and many others. |
| Nishimura (西村) | Tokyo | 1887 | Closed | They used to manufacture their own hanafuda, but in their later years they sold hanafuda made by other companies such as Oishi Tengudo and Nintendo. |
| Ōishi Tengudō (大石天狗堂) | Kyoto | 1800 (as Minatoya) | Active | Operated as a rice merchant as Minatoya. The oldest Japanese card manufacturer still in operation today. Most famous for its hyakunin isshu sets as they are the official manufacturer for Competitive Karuta. |
| Ōtani Shōten (大谷商店) | Sakurai town, Shiki district, Nara prefecture. | - | Closed | Became Tenjudō Honten, also closed. |
| Ryūtendō (龍天堂) | Kyoto | 1946, Registered in 1948 | Closed | Founded by Nintendo’s Keijo (now Seoul, Korea) ex-branch manager, Takeuchi Sukegoro. |
| Seieidō (精英堂) | Yonezawa City, Yamagata Prefecture. | 1915 | Stopped producing hanafuda | Currently active as a printing company for packaging, labels, and stickers. |
| Suisando (翠山堂) | - | - | Closed | - |
| Suzuki Tengudō (鈴木天狗堂) | Kyoto | 2019 | Inactive since 2023 | A one-person studio who tried to revive the traditional hand-printed and manual crafting techniques of hanafuda. Sold hanafuda in the style of Matsui Tengudo, as well as a quadtych hanafuda design. Also sold hand-printed komatsu-fuda. |
| Tamada Fukushōdō (玉田福勝堂) | Kyoto | 1806 | Closed | Operated as a needle wholesaler. The Tamada family would later inherit Nihon Karuta Seizō. |
| Tamura Shōgundō (田村将軍堂) | Kyoto | 1921 | Active | Produces hanafuda and other karuta using traditional manual methods including coating the paper with a starch finish, and backpasting each card by hand. |
| Tanaka Gyokusuidō (田中玉水堂) | Kyoto | 1864, Registered in 1893 | Closed in the 1960’s | After closing, its brands were taken over by Iwata Honten. |
| Tsuchida Tenguya (土田天狗屋) | Osaka | 1885 (as Osaka Tenguya) | Closed | Operated as a maker of wooden combs. |
| Universal (ユニバーサル, yunibāsaru) | Osaka | 1914 (as Inoue Nanyo Bracelet Factory), 1918 (as Universal) | Closed in 1972 | Initially started as a bracelet factory, but eventually ventured into the western playing card business. They also manufactured hanafuda and hana-trump. Nowadays their most widely known hanafuda product is Gomuhana, a cut-out hanafuda deck that was coated with rubber to make the cards slippery. |
| Usui Nichigetsudo (臼井日月堂) | Kyoto | 1853 | Closed in 1927 | Operated as a manufacturer of perfume oils and face powder. Manufactured “Kyoto Karuta” in 1920. |
| Yamashiro Shōten (山城商店), a.k.a. Yamayo (山與) | Kyoto | Registered in 1901 | Closed in 1989 | “Yamayo” is a shortening of the founder’s name, Yamashiro Yosaburō (山城與三郎). |
| Yanoman (やのまん) | Osaka. Taito-ku, Tokyo. |
1954 | Active | Founded as a trading company. It sold mostly tin toys during its early years, but became well known for being the first company to produce Jigsaw puzzles in Japan, in 1973. It also produced various character hanafuda. |
| Manufacturer | Status | Brands |
|---|---|---|
| Chorus | Active | Golden Pierrot |
| Diamond | Active | Diamond |
| Dragon | Active | Dragon |
| - | Active | Gaeulkkeoch |
| Keumbok | Active | Dookubi Gold |
| Royal | Active | Royal |
| - | Active | Sunrise |
| Waddamda | Active | Waddamda |
| Manufacturer | Location | Founded in | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hanafuda Hawaii | Hawaii, USA | 2009 | Active | Founded by Helen Nakano in order to promote and preserve the local game of Sakura in the island of Hawaii. Currently sells Hanafuda Hawaii Style, Hanafuda Na Pua Hawaii, and Hanafuda Pilina. Their cards are manufactured in China. |
| IndianWolf Studios | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. | Kickstarter account created in 2012 | Active | A two-person studio founded by Jason and Antonietta Johnson that published several card games and board games. They also published several hanafuda-related products using western cardstock and plastic. Their cards are manufactured in China. |
| United States Playing Card Company | Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. Erlanger, Kentucky, USA. |
1867 (as Russell & Morgan Printing Company) | Active | While not mainly a producer of hanafuda, it also sold custom-made playing cards with hanafuda designs that can be played as a hanafuda deck. |