Japanese Traditional Arts Issue 5 Home Page

Hyaku-Nin-Isshu Yuko Fuji from Japan describes a traditional Japanese card game. Photo: Thomas Peters A Japanese high school teacher watches high school club members play Jyaku-Nin-Isshu. About 750 years ago, a famous poet, Teika Fujiwara, selected 100 excellent poems among the poems written by the poets from the 7th to the 13th centuries. Hyaku-Nin-Isshu is 100 poems by 100 poets in Japan. Hyaku-Nin-Isshu has been established as a card game since the game was introduced into Japan from Portugal in the 16th century. There are 100 word cards and 100 matching cards. Word cards have the entire poem plus a likeness of the poet. The matching cards bear only the concluding verse. When the reader begins to read out the first lines of the poem, the players recall the ending verse and try to be the first to locate and take that card. More traditional Japanese arts: Kyudo, The Way of the Bow | The Challenge of Kendo Koto, a Traditional Musical Instrument | How the Koto Became Popular Chado, the Way of Tea | Ikebana, Japanese Flower Arranging Return to: Traditional Japanese Arts | Issue 5 | Home Page  TOPICS Online Magazine - ©1997-2007- Sandy and Thomas Peters - topics.mag@gmail.com