Japanese Game : Karuta

Have you ever heard about a game called Karuta?

Karuta is a Japanese card game, a game which needs at least three people to play this game.

If 3 people play this game, 1 will be the card reader and the other two will be the players.

In Japanese Tradition, Karuta is being played during the New Years.

There are two types of Karuta Cards. 

First, is the yomifuda (if you see the picture above, the white card which is on the left hand side) is a card to be read. 

Second, is the torifuda (right hand side) which means card to be taken. 

The people who read the yomifuda doesn’t play in the game and act as the judge of the game.

As for the example, in this game we are playing a Nihongo Karuta(Japanese Language Karuta).

First we should spread the torifuda on the table randomly. 

Then, the judge will start to read the yomifuda. 

For example :

If you the reader say おやすみなさい (Oyasuminasai), you should find a card an お hiragana like the picture above. 

And after that you need to tap the card, like this…

The people who collect the most cards win!

And the people who win can hit the other player who loses. 

HAHA~~