Is the Portuguese Pattern Extinct?

[Rosanne]

In a thread 'Just an Idea' Roppo posted this link
http://www.city.kobe.jp/cityoffice/...meihn/o56.htm
There is a picture of a woodblock box circa 1580-1600
The Portuguese arrived in Japan about 1543 and took their playing Cards with them. The Japenese skilled in woodblock printing apparently copied them?
Now looking at the Mamluk cards that influenced the TdM from a site about cards I read..... All this is found in most Tarots, in Northern Italian patterns an in the now extinct Portuguese pattern....
What I was wondering is, does anybody know if that extinct pattern is in Japan Museums? and if that is known was there four Courts including a female as I cannot tell from the picture of the box that roppo showed us? It looks like there were four courts. Many thanks for any information ~Rosanne

[Moongold]

Rosanne ~ the link does not work now .

[Moongold]

Ah..... Here it is ......

[Rosanne]

Ah Poo Bah! It works on the the 'Just an idea thread' Thanks Moongold I will try and understand what I have done wrong .
Anyway anyone who can help me might look on the thread just mentioned and see what I meant to tell you hehe. I am obviously not computer literate enough to transfer links eh? ~Rosanne aka chumpy Charlie!
Edited to add You are a godsend to woman kind Kate- thank you!!!

[roppo]

Hi Rossane,

It is generally agreed that the Portuguese Dragon cards were finally transformed into more Eastern styled Unsun Karuta by the mid 17th century. The main reason for this change was the persecution against Christianity, I believe. For the detailed information I recommend Andy Pollett's page
http://it.geocities.com/a_pollett/cards9.htm
Now we have a complete set of Tensho Karuta printed from the woodbox of Kobe.
http://www.kyu-teikyo.ac.jp/cityinfo/cartax/tensho.jpg

Another interesting picture we see in one of National Treasures of Japan. It's called "Matuura Byobu", a big screen made in c.1650 which depicts joyful young women playing with many exotic goods including Unsun Karuta.
For a full view --
http://www.lopinet.de/lib/kunstgem/p...=664&bnum=3268

and Karuta details --
http://kaokaosama.hp.infoseek.co.jp/ukiyoe/7.jpg

Presently several hundreds of Japanese still play Unsun in Hitoyoshi, a distant rural city in Southern Japan -- a living fossil.

[Moongold]

Thanks Roppo. There is much there to take in. Fascinating.

[Rosanne]

Thank you Roppo, I have bookmarked the site. I have the answer I wanted about the Courts there as well. ~Rosanne

[Cerulean]

1. Mt. Hood Playing cards' links no longer work.

2. However I managed to locate Unsun Karuta as a booklet and replica by the authors Virginia and Harold Wayland and Alfred Ferg, who also were referenced in the Apache Playing card pattern thread.

http://screenfoldpress.com/unsunkaruta.html

I am glad to find the set retails for about $25.00 for U.S. customers...

I wish there were other options that didn't cost $500.00 for unsun karuta--but this was the only link of vendors outside of Japan that I was able to find as of July 2007.

--------------------------------

Original thoughts below:

Then I take it, Karuta's manifestation into Hana Fuda is perhaps a 'cousin' of the original game? There are closer manifestations of Karuta as a pattern as a historical playing game?

I'm off to explore, so may correct the questions and thoughts later.

I do know in a Japanese timeline, 1889 is when the grandfather of the Nintendo games publishing company started publishing flower cards of Hana Fuda...I do believe Nintendo still publishes some cards, along with electronic games.

Online, Mount Hood has information on a manifestation in the Hana Fuda pattern, current perhaps more as gambling games in Japan, Korea and China...more likely though, places such as Hawaii or California, the flower cards not a family game, it is associated with gambling.

Thank you Roseanne and Roppo and others for filling a 'missing link' in my notebooks...this is a question that I never dreamed of asking--thinking it never went any further than the first port of Nagasaki! I've been only following the 48 card manifestation as far as Latin-suited patterns that might have come into the new world via the Portugese and Spanish (Cadiz reprints)...

I've been exploring further south and am interested in the more Southern prefectures for my own study of regional aspects of Shinto...(no doubt I am getting my geography wrong, so please excuse)...now I can look for regional games as well.

Regards,

Cerulean

[Cerulean]

Roseanne asks:

Now looking at the Mamluk cards that influenced the TdM from a site about cards I read..... All this is found in most Tarots, in Northern Italian patterns an in the now extinct Portuguese pattern....
What I was wondering is, does anybody know if that extinct pattern is in Japan Museums? and if that is known was there four Courts including a female as I cannot tell from the picture of the box that roppo showed us? It looks like there were four courts. Many thanks for any information ~Rosanne


Andy's Playing Cards to the rescue on the Portugese pattern (as opposed to the Japanese link posted earlier):

http://playingcards.freewebpages.org/cards83.htm

"Another well-known feature of the Portuguese deck was the use of a female knave, called sota (as its Spanish male equivalent). Its traditional look was that of a young woman wearing a large gown, richly embroidered on its front part.
In decks up to the early 19th century, this personage never wore a crown, therefore, its rank could not be mistaken with that of a queen. However, in some of the latest decks, particularly the ones printed outside Portugal (see also the following paragraph) a crown appeared over the head of the female court, actually promoting it to a higher rank, i.e. second to the king."

One of my favorite Spanish card sets has the female page, as well.

Also, one of the most beautiful card sets that I have seen:

http://www.wopc.co.uk/japan/unsun.html

If you are fortunate enough to own the out-of-print U.S. Games Ukiyoe Tarot, you will see the Angel Playing card company's artist was very influenced in the courts from these patterns...and it makes that first tarot deck of mine to seem more beloved and retro than I first imagined...

Cerulean

[Bat Chicken]

This is really interesting - thanks for this info....