By mere accident, I stumbled across
this deck. Here's the
artist's page.
Does anyone know anything about it? My Japanese isn't good enough yet to fully understand the product description, but it looks like it's based on the RWS with a heavy slant of Japanese mythology and some extra cards. The art is gorgeous- I might actually order it...
Hey, hey! I live in Tokyo studying Japanese classical literature. When I came across this deck, I knew I had to have it! (I'm just waiting for pay-day...
)
As it was mentioned before, it's a Major Arcana-only deck (which is somewhat common among Japanese Tarot decks) that draws mostly from the Nihon-shoki and Kojiki, Japan's earliest written histories. The Fool is Yamato Takeru (the first 'real human' archetype... very fitting, I suppose; also a legendary hero); the Magician is Ame no Uzume; the Empress is Himiko (the legendary female emperor from the Nara period!!)...
Also, instead of the Devil at XV, they use the Demon/Monster (oni), and in addition to the Creation of the Heavens and Earth that was already described, there's a second Moon card. This is because there are two Tsuku-yomi beings, one male and one female, that they are trying to reflect. While the Creation can be used in place of or in conjunction with the World, you're only really supposed to use one Moon card.
Here's a link with pictures!
http://item.rakuten.co.jp/hrtg/t9505/
Nice to meet another lover of japanese tarot! I have had this on my wishlist for a while but am holding out for a full deck.. Although I did succumb to "The Bluebird Tarot" which is another japanese majors deck.
I just got the Blue Birds' Tarot myself! It's so beautiful!!! I've never seen such a magnificently sublime and dynamic Tower as the one in Blue Birds'.
I will say, I've gotten a few decks by my favourite Japanese illustrators (notably Amano Yoshitaka and Shimizu Reiko), but even though they were full 78-card decks, they often don't illustrate the pips, only the Major Arcana and the Courts. Still, pretty cards are pretty cards!