Growing up, I enjoyed many afternoons at my grandparents’ house. While my mom worked, they would take me to the indoor playgrounds at Burger King and McDonald’s or watched as I rode my bike up and down the street. My grandfather always seemed busy with work, so my grandma would occupy me by playing games with me, such as Scrabble or my favorite, her Japanese card game. As a child, I didn’t know much about this game, such as its name or what the cards are called, but I knew it was something unique that none of my friends got to play.
The playing cards, called “hanafuda,” are small tile-like cards that originate from Japan. There are 48 cards to a deck and twelve “suits,” although these cards are very different than the ones we’re used to in the United States. Each suit is represented by a different type of flower or plant, and there are no numbers. There are always two cards in each suit that are exact matches for one another. Additionally, each suit has two special cards. These cards typically feature either a red or blue ribbon with Japanese characters, or an animal, such as a deer or crane. The special cards may have other images, but they will always contain the flower of the particular suit it belongs to and something that distinguishes it as being more ornate or “special.”
When my grandma first taught me this game, I remember being confused with how to remember what each special card meant and how to describe the images on the cards when I had questions. The game, called “Koi-Koi,” was essentially a matching game between the cards in your hand and those on the table, but without numbers, it was harder to play than it sounds!
My grandma was always helpful and kind when she was teaching me; she has always been a loving teacher at heart.
I would jump at any opportunity to play with the hanafuda cards when I was spending time at her house. Her teaching me how to play with these cards made me feel exceptional, as if no one else in the world had ever played with them before. I remember once asking if she played with the cards as a girl, and when she said that she did, I remember feeling a strong connection to her and to my Japanese ancestry. I could imagine my grandma as a girl my age, possibly five or six, sitting with her own grandmother playing this game.
It’s been over a decade since I first played with the hanafuda cards, and over time, I have stopped spending so much time at my grandma’s house. I haven’t played the game with her in several years, but whenever I go to her house, I see the small deck of cards in the cabinet next to her living room TV. Reminiscing about this game and the cherished time I played it with my grandmother makes me think that the next time I’m there, I will definitely try to spark up another round of Koi-Koi.
