Ogura Hyakunin Isshu / Uta-garuta [Japan…

Uta-garuta (Poetry Karuta) are a kind of karuta (Japanese traditional playing cards). The card game was created by Fujiwara no Teika from the Ogura district of Kyoto, Japan. Each colour wood block card measures 120mm x 125mm and are contained in their original Japaned wooden box.

A set of uta-garuta contains cards, with a waka poem written on each, one set is yomifuda  (picture cards)  each card bearing a poet’s image and a complete poem taken from the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu, and the other is torifuda  (text only cards ) which each correspond to a picture card and have only the last few lines of the corresponding poem on them. Uta-garuta is also the name of the game in which the deck is used. The standard collection of poems used is the Hyakunin Isshu, chosen by the poet Fujiwara no Teika in the Heian period, which is often also used as the name of the game.  

The game:
One person is chosen to be the reader. As the reader reads a picture card, the players race to be first to find its associated text card. It is often possible to identify a poem by its first one or two syllables. This game has traditionally been played on New Year’s Day since 1904.