Typically speaking, a suit in a hanafuda deck refers to the specific plant or flower on the card.
A standard Hanafuda deck consists of 12 suits, and each suit has 4 cards. Each suit represents one of the 12 months of the year. In practice, these represent the 12 numbers of a Mekurifuda deck, or a Portuguese playing card deck.
The 12 suits are arranged in a sequence, which may vary depending on the game played or the region of origin. The different arrangement of suits are described below.
Some specialty decks, especially those made by Matsui Tengudo, included a 13th suit, or even a 14th suit, which enable altered gameplay or a greater number of participants.
¶ Names of Suits
| Icon | Name | A.K.A. |
|---|---|---|
 |
Pine [松, matsu] |
Korean: Songhak [송학, 松鶴, ‘pine and crane’], or less commonly Sol [솔, ‘pine’] Palauan: Mats[1] or Sechou [‘heron, egret’] |
 |
Plum Blossom [梅, ume] |
Korean: Maejo [매조, 梅鳥, ‘plum and bird’], or occasionally Maehwa [매화, 梅花, ‘plum blossom’] Palauan: Chume[2] |
 |
Cherry Blossom [桜 or 櫻, sakura] |
Korean: Beojkkot [벚꽃, ‘cherry blossom’], or less commonly Sakura [사쿠라][3] Palauan: Sakura[4] |
 |
Wisteria [藤, fuji] |
Kuromame [黒豆, ‘black beans’], Kuroi-mi [黒い実, ‘black berries’] Korean: Heukssari [흑싸리, ‘black bush clover’],[5] or occasionally Sa-heukssari [사흑싸리, ‘four - black bush clover’] Palauan: Mases [‘matches’] |
 |
Iris [菖蒲, ayame/shōbu] |
Kakitsubata [ 燕子花/杜若, ‘japanese iris’] Korean: Nancho [난초, 蘭草, ‘orchid’] Palauan: Chudel [‘grass’] |
 |
Peony [牡丹, botan] |
Korean: Moran [모란, 牡丹, ‘peony’], less commonly Mokdan [목단, 牧丹, ‘peony’], or occasionally Yuk-mokdan [육목단, 六牧丹, ‘six - peony’] Palauan: Bara [‘rose’][6] |
 |
Bush Clover [萩, hagi] |
Akamame [赤豆, ‘red beans’], Akai-mi [赤い実, ‘red berries’], Inoshishi [猪, ‘boar’] Korean: Hongssari [홍싸리, ‘red bush clover’], or occasionally Chil-ssari [칠싸리, ‘seven - bush clover’] Palauan: Babii [‘pig’] |
 |
Susuki Grass [芒 or 薄, susuki] |
Yama [山, ‘mountain’], Tsuki [月, ‘moon’], Bōzu [坊主, ‘monk’], Daibōzu [大坊主, 'great monk] Korean: Gongsan-myeong’wol [공산명월, 空山明月, ‘empty mountain with bright moon’], or Gongsan [공산, 空山, ‘empty mountain’], or occasionally Pal-gongsan [팔공산, 八空山, ‘eight - empty mountain’] Palauan: Buil [‘moon’] |
 |
Chrysanthemum [菊, kiku] |
Korean: Gukhwa [국화, 菊花, ‘chrysanthemum’], less commonly Gukjun [국준] or Gukjin [국진],[7] or occasionally Gu-gukjin [구국진, ‘nine - chrysanthemum’] Palauan: unknown |
 |
Maple [紅葉, momiji] |
Kaede [楓, ‘maple tree’], Shika [鹿, ‘deer’] Korean: Danpung [단풍, 丹楓, ‘maple’], less commonly Pung [풍, 楓, ‘maple’], or rarely Jang [장] Palauan: Ska [‘deer’][8] |
 |
Willow [柳, yanagi] |
Ame [雨, ‘rain’] Korean: Bi [비, ‘rain’] Palauan: Nisoro |
 |
Paulownia [桐, kiri] |
Korean: Odong [오동, 梧桐, ‘paulownia’], or less commonly Ttong [똥] Palauan: Kiri[9] |
¶ Arrangement of Suits
The following chart shows the ordering of the suits according to different schemes.
The “#” column gives the numeric value for each suit, while “Month” gives the month of the year associated with it in a given scheme. Note that the month associations are not applicable for “stripped” decks containing fewer than 12 suits.
The column labeled “Standard” is the most common ordering used for Japanese Hanafuda games, and should be used unless otherwise specified.
The Korean order is assumed for games originally played with Hwatu, and is identical to the standard Japanese suit order, but with Paulownia and Willow swapped.
The “Kabu” column reflects a Hanafuda deck with the last two suits (Willow and Paulownia) removed, making it suitable for adapting games originally played with the 40-card Kabufuda deck.
The “Mushi” column is similar, but reflects instead the Mushibana deck which lacks the Peony and Bush Clover cards, and is commonly used to play Osaka Mushi. This order is used in the game Mushi-Kabu, where the Willow and Paulownia suits were used as substitutes for the Peony and Bush Clover suits respectively.
The order reflected in the final column is used in certain Japanese games from the Nagoya region, including Tensho, Hiyoko, and Isuri. It is mostly similar to the standard order, but with Plum Blossom, Peony, Willow, and Paulownia shuffled about. This order must have been devised to mimic the card structure of a Mekurifuda deck (most importantly, the Willow suit, which has 3 non-Chaff cards, is assigned to the number 2 of a Mekurifuda deck, which sometimes utilize the 2 of coins as a scoring card), so that the Hanafuda deck could be used to play games designed for Mekurifuda decks.
| # | Month | Standard | Korean | Kabu | Mushi | Nagoya |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | January | Pine |
Pine |
Pine |
Pine |
Pine |
| 2 | February | Plum Blossom |
Plum Blossom |
Plum Blossom |
Plum Blossom |
Willow |
| 3 | March | Cherry Blossom |
Cherry Blossom |
Cherry Blossom |
Cherry Blossom |
Cherry Blossom |
| 4 | April | Wisteria |
Wisteria |
Wisteria |
Wisteria |
Wisteria |
| 5 | May | Iris |
Iris |
Iris |
Iris |
Iris |
| 6 | June | Peony |
Peony |
Peony |
Willow |
Paulownia |
| 7 | July | Bush Clover |
Bush Clover |
Bush Clover |
Paulownia |
Bush Clover |
| 8 | August | Susuki Grass |
Susuki Grass |
Susuki Grass |
Susuki Grass |
Susuki Grass |
| 9 | September | Chrysanthemum |
Chrysanthemum |
Chrysanthemum |
Chrysanthemum |
Chrysanthemum |
| 10 | October | Maple |
Maple |
Maple |
Maple |
Maple |
| 11 | November | Willow |
Paulownia |
- | - | Peony |
| 12 | December | Paulownia |
Willow |
- | - | Plum Blossom |
¶ Additional Suits
A few specialty Hanafuda decks feature additional suits, the most famous of these produced by Matsui Tengudo. These extra cards may be removed to allow for standard gameplay, or included for expanded capabilities. Note that the contents of these suits differs from deck to deck, even by the same manufacturer.
¶ Bibliography
- 국립국어원 표준국어대사전 (National Institute of Korean Language: Standard Korean Dictionary)
- Hanahuda: Me dou kat!, by John Bent
- Palauan Language Online: Palauan-English Dictionary
¶ Footnotes
Seemingly from Japanese hanafuda term matsu [松, ‘pine’] ↩︎
Seemingly from Japanese hanafuda term ume [梅, ‘plum tree, plum blossom’] ↩︎
In Korean, Sakura is an old-fashioned term used mostly among older players ↩︎
Seemingly from Japanese hanafuda term sakura [桜, ‘cherry tree, cherry blossom’] ↩︎
‘Black bush clover’ is not a real plant. The name is just because the drawings on the cards look like bush clovers with black flowers, especially in common hwatu designs. ↩︎
The common word for ‘rose’ in Palauan, borrowed from Japanese bara [薔薇, ‘rose’] ↩︎
The etymology of Gukjun and Gukjin is unknown. The first syllable is 菊 (‘chrysanthemum’), but the second syllable is unclear. ↩︎
The common word for ‘deer’ in Palauan, borrowed from Japanese shika [鹿, ‘deer’] ↩︎
Seemingly from Japanese hanafuda term kiri [桐, ‘paulownia’] ↩︎