|
The word "karuta"(かるた) is from the Portuguese word "carta".
The basic idea of any karuta game is to be able to quickly determine
which card out of an array of cards is required and then to grab the card
before it is grabbed by an opponent. There are various types of cards which
can be used to play karuta; it is even possible to create a version of this
game which uses two standard poker decks for the cards!
I will use my made-up poker card version by way of explanation. I take
one deck of cards and place them face-up on the floor. As for the other
deck, I will shuffle it up and hold it in my hands. I will play the part of
the reader; the other players will be the ones trying to grab the cards.
I turn over the first card in my shuffled deck. "Four of Spades", I
announce. There is a commotion as the players scramble to get the Four of
Spades. Once it is found, and the players return to their positions, I read
the next card, "Seven of Hearts", and so on.
Later in the game, I start to say "Jack of Diamonds", but as soon as I
say "Jack..." one of the players has already dove for the correct card: she
knew that there was only one jack left.
The two "standard" types of karuta cards seem to be "uta-garuta" and
"iroha-garuta".
In "uta-garuta", you try to find the last two lines of a tanka given the
first three lines. It is often possible to identify a poem by its first one
or two syllables. The poems for this game are taken from the Hyakunin Isshu.
Anyone who can read hiragana can play "iroha-garuta". Someone recites a
proverb, and you go for the card on which is written the first syllable of
the proverb along with a picture illustrating the proverb.
|
