Hanafuda Cards is originally called Hanafuda, a traditional card game of the land of the rising sun that often appears in movies or comics. The way to play this card game also has many similarities with Blackjack or Om three cards but will be more complicated. However, to make it easier for most people to understand, PHTAYA will introduce how to play Hanafuda cards in the Koi Koi style.
What is Hanafuda Cards?
The original name of this card is Hanafuda or Hanakaruta, which was born in the 19th century in Japan. Each Hanafuda deck has 48 cards, the special thing is that there are no numbers, instead the motifs will be birds, flowers, grass, clouds, and sky typical of the 12 months of the year.

In the Philippines, it is called Hanafuda Cards because the word “Hana” in Japanese means Flower. This is a card game that requires intelligence, good intuition and enough calmness in all situations. The most popular way to play Hanafuda Cards today is Koi Koi for 2 people. This is also the easiest way to play, so PHTAYA will introduce it to all members of the house.
How is the Hanafuda Cards deck structured?
As shared, Hanafuda Cards will include a total of 48 cards divided into 12 months of the year, each month consisting of 4 cards. In addition, similar to Western cards, the cards will also have suits including Kasu, Tanzaku, Tane and Hikari.
What are the suits in Hanafuda Cards?
Here are the meanings of the 4 suits in the Hanafuda Cards game:
- Kasu: The trash card has the lowest point value of 1. The Kasu card pattern is usually a tree or flower standing alone, each month has 2 to 3 cards.
- Tanzaku: Includes 5 cards including 2 types of red paper-shaped Akatan and purple paper-shaped Aotan, each card is worth 5 points.
- Tane: Usually cards with pictures of animals and objects representing Japanese culture. The deck has 9 Tane cards, each card is worth 10 points.
- Hikari: The highest-scoring card, each card is worth 20 points and there will be 5 Hikari cards in the deck.
Structure of the Flower deck by month

Below is the structure of Japanese Flower cards by month:
- January (Matsu – Pine tree): 2 Kasu cards, 1 Tanzaku card, 1 Hikari card in the shape of a crane.
- February (Ume – Peach blossom): 2 Kasu cards, 1 Tanzaku card, 1 Tane card in the shape of an oriole perched on a tree branch.
- March (Sakura – Cherry Blossom): 2 Kasu leaves, 1 Tanzaku leaf, 1 Hikari shaped like a curtain.
- April (Fuji – Wisteria): 2 Kasu leaves, 1 Tanzaku leaf, 1 Tane shaped like a cuckoo.
- May (Ayame – Iris): 2 Kasu leaves, 1 Tanzaku leaf, 1 Tane shaped like a Yatsu sphere.
- June (Botan – Peony): 2 Kasu leaves, 1 Tanzaku leaf, 1 Tane shaped like a butterfly.
- July (Hagi Flower): 2 Kasu leaves, 1 Tanzaku leaf, 1 Tane shaped like a wild boar.
- August (Susuki – Reed): 2 Kasu leaves, 1 Tane shaped like a wild goose, 1 Hikari shaped like a full moon in a red sky.
- September (Kiku – Chrysanthemum): 2 Kasu cards, 1 Tanzaku card, 1 Tane card shaped like a sake cup.
- October (Momiji – Red Leaf): 2 Kasu cards, 1 Tanzaku card, 1 Tane card shaped like a deer.
- November (Yanagi – Willow): 1 Kasu card, 1 Tanzaku card, 1 Tane card shaped like a swallow, 1 Hikari card shaped like a Japanese calligrapher – Ono no Michikaze.
- December (Kiri – Ivy): 3 Kasu cards and 1 Hikari card shaped like a phoenix.
What do you need to do before playing the Flower card game?

Before playing the Hanafuda card game, you need to find the dealer, so 2 people will randomly draw 1 card. The person who draws the smallest month card will be the dealer to deal the cards and play first. The dealer deals each player 8 cards face down in front of them and spreads out 8 more cards face down on the table, called the Floor, and places the remaining deck face down next to them.
Start checking to see if there are any white cards:
- Check the 8 open cards on the floor, if there is a set of 4 cards from the same month, the game will be invalidated and stopped.
- In the case where there are ¾ cards from 1 month, the person with the last card will receive all the cards from that month.
- Check the cards in hand, if the player has Yaku, the game will end and score: Teshi 4 cards from the same month 6 points, Kuttsuki 2 cards from 4 different months 6 points.
How does a Hanafuda game take place?
Below is a sharing of how a Hanafuda game will take place so that players can easily visualize. Even with the online Hanafuda Cards form, the game will take place similarly.
A specific Hanafuda Cards game
The Dealer will conduct the first turn by playing 1 card on the Floor:
- In case that card matches the month of any card on the Floor, the player will take that card. The main way to take it is to put the card in hand and that card in your area and then face up.
- In case there are 2 cards that match the month with you, you have the right to choose to take 1 of the 2. But if there are 3 cards that match the month, you will take all of them.
- If the card played does not match any card on the Floor, it must be left.
When a card is played, the player will draw another card from the deck regardless of whether or not it has been captured. If the card just drawn can capture a card on the Floor, then take it immediately. If the card just drawn cannot capture any card on the Floor, then place it back on the Floor.
When the turn ends, it will be the opponent’s turn, the game continues until 1 person creates a Yaku. At that time, they have the right to choose 1 of 2 options:
- Case 1: End the game immediately and proceed to calculate the score. The card score will be calculated according to the Yaku and the opponent will not have any points.
- Case 2: Choose to continue playing, also known as Koi Koi, to be able to create more Yaku with higher scores. Note that the game will continue until 1 Yaku is created. In case the opponent creates the next Yaku, they will get double the score while the player himself will not have any points.
End of the Flower Card Game

The online Flower Card Game will end if the player reaches Yaku and does not continue. In the other case, the deck runs out of cards to draw, then the game ends. The result in Hanafuda will have 2 cases: Draw or Win.
- The player will win when he has the highest score = the total score of the Yaku created throughout the game.
- The draw case is when 2 players continuously Koi – Koi without any more Yaku. At this point, it is considered a draw – no one gets points, also known as Nagare.
Above are the basic shares about flower cards – a traditional Japanese card genre. PHTAYA has helped members learn more about a new form of card playing that is completely different from the familiar Western cards. However, with just regular practice, players will soon get used to and love this unique card game.