Tensho Karuta [天正かるた] is the term used for karuta (playing cards) made in Japan, which were faithful copies of Portuguese playing cards (Nanban Karuta [南蛮カルタ]), except they were smaller in length and width than their Portuguese counterparts.
These karuta started to be manufactured sometime during the Tensho Era (1573-1592), in the town of Miike in Chikugo Province (Now the southern part of Fukuoka Prefecture. During this time, card decks from Portugal were also imported to Japan.
During the Sakoku (1603-1868), The Japanese Shogunate severely limited trade between Japan and other countries, in order to eliminate any colonial and religious influence of primarily Spain and Portugal, after they have learned that the Philippines was colonized by Spain after its people were converted to Christianity.
Moreover, Christianity was formally banned in Japan in 1612 and was subject to persecution. During this time, a Tensho Karuta deck hidden in a Buddhist altar would be a cause for people to accuse its owner of being Christian and have him executed.
Eventually these card decks would be subject to several bans, both due to their association with gambling, and due to their foreign iconography being a possible cause of religious persecution. In the case of the latter, some card manufacturers changed the iconography to suit the Japanese tastes. Eventually, to save time, card manufacturers transformed the court card designs into abstract shapes, and overpainted them with thick black (or blue) and red paint. These Tensho Karuta derivatives would eventually be known as Mekurifuda.
¶ Deck Overview
Just like a Portuguese playing card deck, there are 4 suits in a Tensho Karuta deck - clubs, swords, cups, and coins. There are 12 ranks of cards: Dragon, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, Maid, Horse, and King.
Some Mekurifuda patterns have gold and silver overprints to differentiate which card is which suit and to identify the point values of cards when playing Mekuri.
¶ Names of Suits
| English names |
Portuguese names |
Japanese names |
|---|---|---|
| Clubs | Paus | Hau / Pau |
| Swords | Espadas | Isu |
| Cups | Copas | Koppu / Kotsu |
| Coins | Ouros | Oru / Ouru |
¶ Numbers and Courts
| Number | English names |
Japanese names |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dragon/Ace | Pin/Tsun/Un/Aza | Pin is the kabu term for ‘one’, and likely has Portuguese origins. Tsun also likely has Portuguese origins. Un from Portuguese Um meaning ‘one’. Aza from Portuguese As meaning ‘ace’, refering specifically to the Dragon of Clubs. |
| 2 | Two | Ni | - |
| 3 | Three | San | - |
| 4 | Four | Shi/Yon | - |
| 5 | Five | Go | - |
| 6 | Six | Roku | - |
| 7 | Seven | Nana/Shichi | - |
| 8 | Eight | Hachi | - |
| 9 | Nine | Ku/Kyu | - |
| 10 | Maid | Juu/Tou/Sota | Juu/Tou means ‘ten’ in Japanese. Sota is exactly the Portuguese term meaning ‘servant’. |
| 11 | Horse/Knight | Uma/Kaba | Uma means ‘horse’ in Japanese. Kaba is a shortening of Portuguese cavalo (‘horse’) or cavaleiro (‘horseman’). |
| 12 | King | Kiri/Rei | Kiri is likely a shortening of Latin Christus. Rei is exactly the Portuguese term meaning ‘king’. |
¶ Games that can be played with Tensho Karuta
Since Tensho Karuta is structurally and visually identical to a 48-card Portuguese deck, any game that uses a 48-card deck (such as a Spanish playing card deck) can be played using Tensho Karuta.
It is thought that trick-taking games like Triunfo or Ombre were played when the Portuguese introduced card games to Japan. Unfortunately, no evidence of those particular games being played in Japan exists. However, a similar trick-taking game called Hachi-nin Meri was played on an expanded Tensho Karuta deck called Unsun Karuta.
A lot of Japanese card games played using other types of cards were originally played using Tensho Karuta. For a list of Japanese games that can be played using Tensho Karuta, see Mekurifuda Games.