Kabufuda [株札] is the most widely used pattern of single-suited Japanese karuta (playing cards).
This deck consists of 4 identical sets of cards valued from 1 to 10, with the exception of one Ace whose design differs entirely from the other three, and one “4” which features silver and/or gold overprinting. It ultimately derives from the suit of clubs used in Portuguese playing cards.
For a list of games played using these cards, see Kabufuda Games.
¶ Deck Overview
There is only 1 suit in the Kabufuda deck - clubs - which in practice is the same as having no suits. There are 10 ranks of cards, from 1 to 10, with 4 copies of each rank. Though one of the Aces and one of the 4s differ in design from the others of their rank, most games do not treat them any differently.
¶ The Cards
| Rank | Japanese Name | Cards |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (Ace) | Pin* |   |
| 2 | Ni |  |
| 3 | San |  |
| 4 | Shi/Yon* |   |
| 5 | Go |  |
| 6 | Roku |  |
| 7 | Nana/Shichi |  |
| 8 | Hachi |  |
| 9 | Kyu/Ku |  |
| 10 (Jack) | Juu/Tou* |  |
- The Red ‘1’ card is called Aza-pin (赤ピン, ‘red one’). The pronunciation of Aza comes from the Portuguese As meaning ‘ace’, but the Japanese kanji 赤 means ‘red’.
- The Special ‘4’ card is called Tama-shi (玉四, ‘round four’) or Kin-shi (金四, ‘gold four’).
- The ‘10’ card is also nicknamed Otou-san (お父さん, ‘father’), which is a pun refering to its rank of 10, and also the Jack depicted on the card.