Tori-sashi [鳥刺し, ‘bird catcher’] is a role game thought to be played as a drinking party game in the Edo period. The game is best played with 6 or more players.
Special karuta containing the names of the roles, the illustration of the roles, or both, have been made in the past.
Each role is indicated on each card.
You may also use pieces of paper if you don’t have the cards.
There are 3 human roles: Lord [殿様, tono-sama], Servant [用人, yōnin], and Bird Catcher [鳥刺し, tori-sashi].
The other players play the role of different birds. Names of various birds are indicated on the remaining cards.
You can have as many different birds as you like, depending on the number of players. However, all players must know which birds are available in the game before playing.
Sometimes, additional non-bird roles are included to make the game more exciting.
Depending on the number of players, an equal number of cards should be prepared.
Shuffle the cards well and deal to each player. Players may not show to the other players the cards they have.
Once all players received their roles, the game begins.
The Lord identifies themself by saying their line:
“I’m going to play with the bird catcher today. Servant, call the bird catcher.”
The Servant responds by saying their line:
“Bird catcher, Your lord is calling you. Come.”
Then the Bird Catcher responds:
“I am the bird catcher.”.
Once all three players with human roles have identified themselves, the Lord then decides which of bird they want the Bird Catcher to catch (of course, the Lord cannot choose a type of bird that isn’t used in the game).
The Lord then tells it to the Servant:
“Servant, I want a [name of bird] caught today.”
The Servant relays it to the Bird Catcher:
“Bird catcher, please catch a [name of bird].”
The Bird Catcher must then guess which person has the card containing the name of the bird asked by the Lord, and points at them. That player reveals their role.
If the Bird Catcher chooses correctly, then the Lord will ask for another bird, and the game continues.
If the Bird Catcher chooses all birds correctly, the Bird Catcher wins and the game ends.
If the Bird Catcher chooses the wrong bird, then the Bird Catcher loses and drinks/takes a punishment. The game ends.
The game may be played as many times as desired.
In this version of the game, a minimum of 7 players is required: 3 players playing the role of humans, and at least 4 players taking the role of a bird. If there are more players, non-bird roles that act as “jokers” in the game may be added.
Depending on the number of players, an equal number of cards should be prepared.
Before starting the game, give 24 chips to each player, which will indicate their score.
Shuffle the cards well and deal to each player. Players may not show to the other players the cards they have.
Once all players received their roles, the game begins.
The Lord identifies themself by saying their line:
“I’m going to play with the bird catcher today. Servant, call the bird catcher.”
The Servant responds by saying their line:
“Bird catcher, Your lord is calling you. Come.”
Then the Bird Catcher responds:
“I am the bird catcher.”.
Once all three players with human roles have identified themselves, the Lord then decides which of bird they want the Bird Catcher to catch (of course, the Lord cannot choose a type of bird that isn’t used in the game).
The Lord then tells it to the Servant:
“Servant, I want a [name of bird] caught today.”
The Servant relays it to the Bird Catcher:
“Bird catcher, please catch a [name of bird].”
There is only one bird needed to be caught per game, and it cannot be changed during the game.
The Bird Catcher must then guess which person has the card containing the name of the bird asked by the Lord, and points at them. That player reveals their role.
The Lord then says:
“Bird Catcher, you made a mistake. Servant, why don’t you try catching a [name of bird] yourself?”
The Servant must then guess which person has the card containing the name of the bird asked by the Lord, and points at them. That player reveals their role.
The Lord says:
“Servant, you made a mistake. I will catch a [name of bird] myself.”
The Lord then finds the person with the card containing the name of the bird asked by the Lord. That player reveals their role.
The game may be played for a desired number of games, or until a player runs out of chips.
Since a hanafuda deck contains many birds, a selection of hanafuda cards can be used to play Tori-sashi.
Lord: Full Moon
Servant: Curtain
Bird Catcher: Rainman
6 Birds: Crane, Bush Warbler, Cuckoo, Geese, Swallow, Chicken(Phoenix)
Non-Birds: Bridge, Butterflies, Boar, Sake Cup, Deer, or any Ribbon or Chaff.