most popular trading card games in japan

One set is for reading and the other is for grabbing. Uta-Garuta 歌ガルタ（うた） literally means 'poem cards,' and consists of 200 cards divided into two sets, each containing 100 waka poems. Karuta 歌留多（かるた） is the Japanese name for a card game introduced to Japan by Portuguese traders in the 16th century. And for the Japanese language learner, karuta also offers the perfect blend of procrastination and productivity, a way to work and play at same time.

Oddly enough, mastering karuta requires some of the same skills as mastering your average video game–a combination of lightning reflexes, memorization, and lots of time to waste. Long before Mario and Princess Peach's torrid love affair began, there was a type of Japanese playing cards called かるた or カルタ. But did you know that the multimedia Nintendo empire started out as a humble karuta company in 1889? That's right, not 1989, 1889. Nintendo has been a household name in the world over for the last 30 years, and their Pokemon franchise took the world by storm in the 90s.

Most popular trading card games in japan