Peony [牡丹, botan] is the name of a suit in traditional hanafuda decks. It is generally taken to be the sixth suit, representing the month of June [6月, rokugatsu] or the number 6.
The cards in this suit all feature red peony flowers. There are two Chaff cards, one Blue Ribbon, and one Animal. The Animal card of the Peony suit features butterflies [蝶, chō] fluttering above the fragrant peonies.
In a few games, including Tensho, an alternate month ordering is used, with the Peony suit representing November or the number 11 instead.
¶ Cards
¶ Butterflies
Peony with Butterflies [牡丹に蝶, botan ni chō], or simply Butterflies, is the Animal card of the Peony suit.
This card is part of the famous “Boar-Dear-Butterflies” [猪鹿蝶, inoshikachō] yaku in many hanafuda games from Japan, including Koi-koi, Hana-Awase and Roppyakken.
¶ Blue Ribbon
Peony with Blue Ribbon [牡丹に青短, botan ni aotan] is the Ribbon card of the Peony suit, and one of the three Blue Ribbons.
The Peony Ribbon combines with the Chrysanthemum Ribbon and Maple Ribbon in a large number of games to form the yaku called “Blue Ribbons.”
¶ Chaff
The Peony suit, like most, has two Chaff cards.
¶ External links
For examples of traditional art with the same motifs as this suit of hanafuda, see also the following category on Wikimedia Commons:
¶ Bibliography
- Ōishi Tengudō, “花札の謎シリーズ！6月札『牡丹に蝶』前篇” and "後編,” blog posts, May and June 2016.
- Rin & Char, “各月に描かれた絵柄の意味,” りんとちゃーの花しらべ, blog post, September 2019.
- Hanafuda Hawaii, “Symbols and Motifs in Hanafuda,” March 2025.