The Japanese Flower Calendar
The Japanese are one of the most flower
conscious people of the world. Not only is their culture and literature
rich in flower lore and legend, but they also developed the more than 1,000
year old symbolic flower art of Hana-ike (flower arrangment), or
Ikebana (arranged flowers). So deep is the attachment to flowers
in the Japanese that even the oldest and most popular card game in Japan,
Hana-garuta (or Hana Fuda), a sort of bridge-poker, played
with 48 cards, has twelve suits representing the symbolic Japanese Flowers
of the Months. Only the month of August has no flower emblem: its symbol
is the Hill Crest over which the August Moon, emblem of good fortune, rises.
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Pine
(Matsu)
January
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Plum
(Ume)
February
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Cherry
(Sakura)
March
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Wisteria
(Fuji)
April
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Iris
(Ayame)
May
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Peony
(Botan)
June
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Mountain
Clover
(Hagi)
July
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Hill
Crest
(Oka)
August
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Chrysanthemum
(Kiku)
September
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Maple
(Momiji)
October
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Willow
(Yanagi)
November
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Paulownia
(Kiri)
December
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If you could read Japanese and
were interested in the Flower Card Game (Hana Fuda), then you may want
to visit the following site:
Basically, Hana Fuda is a hybrid of
"fishing game" and "Mah-jong." The players (2 to 4) are required to pair
up the cards on the table to those in their hands, yet making the best
combination for highest scores. It is a gambling game, so I won't say much
about that here. However, I know Nintendo has been planning to make a Hana
Fuda game. You may check it out from them. |
