Plum Blossom [梅 - うめ, ume] is the name of a suit in traditional hanafuda decks. It is generally taken to be the second suit, representing the month of February [二月 - にがつ, nigatsu] or the numeral 2. The cards in this suit all feature plum blossom trees with red blooms and buds. There are two Chaff cards, one Poetry Ribbon, and one Animal. The Animal card of the Plum Blossom suit features a Japanese bush warbler [鴬 - うぐいす, uguisu] perched on the branch of a plum blossom tree.
In a few games, including Tensho, an alternate month ordering is used, with the Plum Blossom suit representing December or the number 12 instead.
¶ Bush Warbler
The Bush Warbler is also known as the “Nightingale” in some English sources. In Koi-Koi it contributes to the generic “Animals” yaku, but in other games it may take on a more specific role. In Go-Stop, for instance, it combines with the Cuckoo and Geese to make the valuable “Five Birds” yaku.
In most versions of Six Hundred the Bush Warbler is a de-facto Bright card, being worth more points than the other Animals, and forming the “Big Three” yaku when combined with the Crane and Curtain. The same combination of cards is also used in other games, including Mushi where the yaku is called “Three Brights.”
¶ Poetry Ribbon
Like the Pine Ribbon, the Ribbon on this card usually features the text aka-yoroshi in hiragana. This phrase is one name of the “Poetry Ribbons” yaku that consists of this card, the aforementioned Pine Ribbon, and the Cherry Blossom Ribbon. This yaku shows up in a large number of games, including Koi-Koi, Go-Stop, Six Hundred, and Hachi-Hachi, and may also go by “Red Ribbons,” “Little Three,” or other names.
¶ Chaff
As with most suits, there are two Chaff cards in the Plum Blossom suit, often with one card featuring a branch coming from the lower left and the other card featuring a branch coming from the lower right. In some patterns, including Echigo-Bana, each of the cards is inscribed with half of the following waka poem penned by an unknown author.
| Japanese | Rōmaji | English |
|---|---|---|
| - | Uguhisu no | The nightingale’s |
| - | nakioto ha siruki | song is clear |
| - | ume no hana | and the white plum blossom |
| - | iro magahedo ya | becomes lost |
| - | yuki no fururan. | in the falling snow. |
¶ Cultural significance
In East Asia, plum blossoms are among the very first flowers of the year, announcing the end of winter and the start of spring. Because they bloom despite the cold, they symbolize endurance in China. They are one of the most important flowers in Chinese culture, closely connected with art and literature, which in turn influenced Japanese and Korean art and literature.
In Japan, bush warblers are also associated with the coming of spring, being known as “bird that announces the arrival of spring” [春告鳥 - harutsugedori]. Bush warblers and plum blossoms are traditionally considered to fit together very well, to the point that “plum blossoms with bush warbler” [梅に鶯 - ume ni uguisu] is a saying that means “a great combination”.
In Japanese poetry, plum and bush warbler are both seasonal words [季語 - kigo] that indicate that a poem takes place in early spring. When writing a letter, traditional seasonal greetings for February include “in this season of plum blossoms” [梅花の候 - baika no kō], “in this season of plum and bush warblers” [梅鶯の候 - baiō no kō], and “as the plum blossom buds expand any time now” [梅のつぼみもそろそろ膨らみ - ume no tsubomi mo soro-soro fukurami].
Plum trees are also well known for their fruit, which are used to make umeboshi (pickled plums), a sour and salty staple of Japanese breakfast and lunch.
¶ Bibliography
- Fairbairn, John. “The Poems of the Echigobana.” Journal of the International Playing Card Society, Edited by Trevor Denning, XIV, no. 4, May 1986, pp. 97–102.
- Rin & Char, “各月に描かれた絵柄の意味,” りんとちゃーの花しらべ, blog post, September 2019.
- Ōishi Tengudō, “花札の謎シリーズ！２月札『梅に鶯』,” blog post, August 2014.
- Hanafuda Hawaii, “Symbols and Motifs in Hanafuda,” March 2025.
- Steve Phillips, “Introduction to hanafuda cards,” 2020.
- List of kigo and 季語一覧 (Kigo overview) on Wikipedia
- 時候の挨拶一覧 (Seasonal greetings overview) on Wikipedia