Book, some associations
I recommend this book for game info, descriptions and basic background:
Hanafuda: The Flower Card Game (referred to as HTFCG)
by Japan Publications
Nichibo Shuppan-sha, publishers
isbn 10-0-87040-430-x
isbn 13: 978-0-87040-430-6
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-list...?ie=UTF8&qid=1303784714&sr=8-1&condition=used
P. 19 The cards
JAN(pine)--"MEN" (KENJI)
1. January - since pine and crane are symbols of long life and good fortune in the Orient, it is suitable the be used to represent the beginning of the New Year. (HTFCG)
(Cerulean's note: Pine, Plum and Bamboo are three friends of winter--poetically the evergreen pine is matsu, long-lived and is known as a bridge to heaven for No plays--the backdrop of a pine tree reminds one of the heavenly
component. Cranes are supposedly symbols of fidelity and also good fortune)
FEB(plum)--"FAMILY" (KENJI)
2. February - both the nightengale and the flowers of the plum tree brighten the cold of February (HFTCG)
(Cerulean's note: poetically plum is also in the three friends of winter and the nightengale--uguisu )
From wikipedia:
The propensity of the Japanese Bush Warbler to sing has led to the birds being kept as cage birds. Robert Young records that to encourage singing the cages of kept birds were covered with a wooden box with a small paper window that allowed only subdued light in.[2] Along with the return of the barn swallow the bush warbler's call is viewed by Japanese as a herald of springtime.
It is one of the favorite motifs of Japanese poetry, featured in many poems including those in Man'yōshū or Kokin Wakashū. In haiku and renga, uguisu is one of the kigo which signify the early spring. In poetry the bird is associated with the ume blossom, and appears with ume on hanafuda playing cards. There is also a popular Japanese sweet named Uguisu-boru (Uguisu Balls) which consists of brown and white balls meant to resemble ume flower buds. However, the distinctive song is not usually heard until later in spring, well after the ume blossoms have faded. In haiku the bird with this song is known as sasako, and the song is called sasanaki.
The beauty of its song led to the English name Japanese Nightingale,[2][3] though the Japanese Bush Warbler does not sing at night.[4] This name is no longer commonly used.
MAR(cherry)--"WOMEN" (KENJI)
3. March - the unforgettable sight of cherry trees in full bloom is the hightlight of Japanese spring. The use of a curtain together with flowers recalls the tradition of arranging parties to view the flowes and of demarcating the party space by means of handsome striped curtains hung from the trees. (HFTFCG)
APRIL(wisteria)--"RELATIONSHIPS" (KENJI)
4. April - During this month the delicate lavendar pendant blooms of the wisteria freshen gardens all over Japan (HFTFCG)
(Cerulean: Wisteria with cuckoo - Spring poetic motif)
MAY(iris)--"PERSONALITIES" (KENJI)
5. May - the fifth is Boy's Day and the iris, with its bold color and sword-shaped leaf, is the flower symbollically associated with youthful vitality (HFTFCG).
(Cerulean: Iris with bridge is also a poetic reference to travelling man who turned to look at the irises and be reminded of his wife pulling her sleeves up over to her eyes at home as he went away)
JUN(peony)--"SOCIAL MATTERS" (KENJI)
6. June - It may be that no flower representing of this month, famous in Japan as the season of rains, was forthcoming and for that reason the people designing the flower cards selected the peony, the showy flower of which are more Chinese than Japanese in feeling (HFTFCG)
JUL(clover)--"HEALTH" (KENJI)
7. July - According to old calendar reckonings, July is the beginning of autumn; both clover and the wild boar are closely associated with that season (HFTFLCG)
AUG(pampas)--"HAPPINESS" (KENJI)
8. August - Pampas grass come into the fullness of its beauty in this month and viewing it by moonlight has long been a popular Japanese pastime. (HFTFCG)
(Cerulean's note: Pampas grass is one of the seven grasses of autumn, a poetic motif. The geese are also a sign of weather change).
SEP(chrysanthemum)--"TROUBLES" (KENJI)
9. The princely chryanthemum blooms most richly in September; imbibing sake from small cups seem to make them even lovelier (HFTFCG).
OCT(maple)--"WORK" (KENJI)
10. This is the month when the mountainsides flame with scarlet maples. Small wonder that the tree was selected to represent October (HFTFCG)
(Cerulean: Stag with maple can be a common haiku poetic motif for autumn, especially his bugling call during mating season).
NOV(willow)--"CHANGES" (KENJI)
11. These cards are sometimes called Willow, but most often Rain. The pictures themselves suggest the former perhaps more than the latter. There is no reason to use a willow to suggest the dull and wet month, when it is actually at the height of its loveliness in May, but since the iris has a stronger claim to this month (May), the tree was relegated to this position. This may explain the confusion in names. (HFTFCG).
(Cerulean's note: folktales of willow trees being personified by mysterious and graceful women who became human wives for a time to a fortunate fellow...and then sadly, the woman's spirit is felled by a careless axe to the physical tree, so she disappears from her husband's home...one can associate the 'dull and sadder' weather to such melancholy. Poetry was said by husband missing his wife on such a sad occassion... The swallow is also a domestic reference).
DEC(paulownia)--"MONEY" (KENJI)
12. December - Both the chrysanthemm and paulownia are widely used in graphic design; it is obviously impossible to include one without the other. The fabulous phoenix intensifies the grandeur of the suit (HFTFCG)
Kenji adds:
And seemingly, high-ranked cards have good meanings and low-ranked cards have bad meanings in general. For example, she says the "BOUZU with the full moon" card has the best meaning of 48 cards.
Hope this helps. (Note again I may be wrong!)
Kenji[/QUOTE]
Anyway, hope some of the typed notes from page 19-21 of the above book also helps. Best wishes!
Cerulean
