Hanafuda
I have just added Beverly Enterprises Hanafuda-Style Playing Cards to my range of Hanafuda decks.
Beverly Enterprises Inc
The Japanese games company Beverly Enterprises Inc is building a strong brand image as a designer of cool looking games that are strong on “concept,” design and packaging.
You can get a good idea of what I mean if you compare their “Shogi Training Set” to an equivalent product by the child education specialists, Kumon (see my previous blog post). Whereas Kumon go for a solid, carefully designed, wooden set, Beverly aspire to creating something new, dynamic, and exciting using lighter materials, such as bonded card, plastic and glossy paper.
"...designed to hang on a stand and SHOUT!"
Two Hanafuda-Trump Decks
You can get a similar impression if you compare Beverly’s “Hanafuda Trump” deck to the old Tamura Shogundo Hanafuda Trump deck, (currently unavailable).
The Tamura Shogundo deck is made of plastic card stock and is packed in a plastic case with a cardboard sleeve.
It would be easy to overlook the Shogundo deck on a shop shelf, unlike Beverly’s Hanafuda Trump deck, which is packed in a box twice the size of the Shogundo Hanafuda pack, and which is designed to hand on a shop shelf stand and SHOUT!
Beverly Hanafuda: Strong On Design
And, you have to admit, there is a lot to shout about when it comes to the design of the cards. It was an inspired idea to set the hanafuda cards at a dynamic angle against a traditional tatami mat background. The light green colour and the texture of the tatami nicely sets of the strong colours and designs of the hanafuda cards.
Also, the light green backgound helps to make the Western playing card values stand out so they are very easy to read.
The cards are made of glossy card stock and measure 57mm x 89mm, a little narrower and a little longer than the Shogundo deck. I find them nicely proportioned for play as well as pleasing to look at.
Nice Box But…
The only real drawback with this deck is that the cardboard box was clearly designed to look good on the shop display rack rather than to serve as the ideal storage box for the cards. It’s cleverly put together so that the cards sit in two compartments inside the box. Yes, that means you have to split the deck before you can put it away. Sadly, there is no good solid plastic storage case such as you get with the Shogundo deck, but then Beverly is NOT Shogundo!
Beverly: A Youthful & Dynamic Company
Japanese companies like Shogundo and Kumon seem to be rather staid affairs run by old men who happen to make games for the young. Beverly was founded in 1977, but it remains a dynamic and youthful company that knows how to tap into the dynamic evanescent energy of youth…
Click the link to order a Beverly Hanafuda Trump deck from Japanese-Games-Shop.com.
David Hurley
Novelty packs of cards that combine Hanafuda designs with western style playing cards (“toranpu” in Japanese – from the word “trumps”) are quite a popular item on this website. I also recommend them to people who want to play hanafuda with bigger cards.
I offer two types of combi decks on this site, the Tamura Shogundo deck ($18.50) and the economy priced deck by Daiso ($5).
The Daiso deck has been out of stock for quite a while, but I’m pleased to say that they are now back in stock, and with a smart new design on the box. Go to the Hanafuda page and scroll down to find the deck.
Hanfuda/Trumps Combi Deck
The Nintendo Tengu Hanafuda Deck
One of the most popular Nintendo hanafuda decks is the Tengu deck. The Tengu Hanafuda deck is a high-quality deck, second only to the Daitoryo Hanafuda deck. The cards are stored in a sturdy plastic box with the famous picture of Tengu, a notorious Japanese demon-god on top.
As you can see, Tengu has a long nose, white beard, bushy eyebrows. He is wearing a “tokin” cap on his head and is holding an eight-fingered fatsia Japaonica (Japanese aralia) leaf which serves as a magical fan.
The Tengu’s Nose And Hanafuda
The Japanese word “hanafuda” is made up of two characters. “Hana” means “flower” and “fuda” means “card”. However, the word “hana” can also mean “nose” and in the days when gambling with hanafuda cards was illegal, you would show the proprietor of an illegal gamgbling den that you wanted to play hanafuda by rubbing your nose, which is how hanafuda came to be associated with the tengu demon-god! That, at least is the story…
The Tengu Hanafuda deck is now available for purchase here at Japanese-Games-Shop and will be shipped to your door by Express Mail Service from Japan. 
