from top to bottom:
株札^[2]
下の句かるた^[3]
歌がるた^[4]
いろはかるた^[5]

Wikipedia [ja|en|de]

「かるた」 is a loanword from Portuguese (“carta”) and a term used to describe several types of Japanese card games. Compared to western type playing cards (known in Japan as 「トランプ」) the cards of かるた-type games are usually a bit thicker (image[1]).

The origins of かるた lie in western playing cards, which were introduced to Japan by Portuguese traders during the mid 16th century. As a result, there are several games that fall under the category of かるた which resemple western playing cards and rules (for example insofar as cards are divided into suits).
Later, the concept of かるた was merged with the matching principle of 貝合わせ, which gave rise to a new type of game with the folling basic design:
    - there are two sets of cards A, B
    - each card in set A has a matching card in set B
    - given some information from a card in set A, the goal is to identify the matching card from
      set B
歌がるた and いろはかるた are two distinct sub-groups which will be the focus of this page. Games which stem from かるた prior to the influence of 貝合わせ are listed under その他 (“others”).

Image sources:
[1] ouji-day.jugem.jp
[2] commons.wikimedia.org
[3] photozou.jp
[4] photozou.jp
[5] commons.wikimedia.org

Note:
This page will be riddled with Japanese words since ローマ字 are evil.

歌がるた cards
licence: CC BY-SA; author: Tarek Saier

Wikipedia [ja|en|de]

Games that fall under the category 歌がるた use cards that are based on poems. Most commonly used is the 小倉百人一首, an anthology of 100 短歌.

For each poem there is one 読み札 and a matching 取り札.
    - 読み札 usually contain a depiction of the poet, his name and the whole poem
    - 取り札 usually contain only the 下の句 (written in ひらがな and w/o any 濁点)

There are many ways to play with 歌がるた cards. Some of those are described in more detail further down.

Features that several ways of playing have in common will be explained here and referred to where applicable:

- 決まり字
    The first syllable that uniquely identifies a poem. There are, for example, two poems in the
    百人一首 that start with 「う」
    65: 「うらみわび・・・」
    74: 「うかりける・・・」
    but have different second syllables. Therefore 「ら」 and 「か」 respectively are 決まり字 for
    those poems.

- 出札
    The 取り札 that currently has to be identified.

- 自陣 and 敵陣
    Refer to the own and oponent's portion of the playing field in games where 2 parties compete.

送り札 example
licence: CC BY-SA; author: Tarek Saier

- 送り札
    In games where players are assigned a set of 取り札 which they have to empty, a 送り札 is a card
    being sent to the 敵陣.
    送り札 occur when a player takes a card form the 敵陣 (shown in the illustration on the right) or
    in case of お手つき (see below).

- お手つき
    Refers to a playing mistake — usually due to misidentifying the 出札; usually resulting in a
    送り札.

- 読み手
    Most 歌がるた games require a designated reader to recite the poems written on the 読み札. This
    person is called 読み手.

- Reading & card taking
    The usual progression in most 歌がるた games is as follows:
    (1) the reader randomly picks a 読み札 and recites the poem
    (2) one of the players takes the matching 取り札
    (–) repeat until a player has won

Schema 散らし取り
licence: CC BY-SA; author: Tarek Saier

Wikipedia [ja|en|de]



    
Players
    
arbitrary number


    
Cards
    
100 読み札, 100 取り札


Prepapration
The 取り札 are scattered on the floor/a table, the players are positioned around them.

Game
Standard reading and card taking.

End
After all cards have been picked, the player with the most cards in their posession wins.

Schema 源平合戦
licence: CC BY-SA; author: Tarek Saier

Wikipedia [ja|en|de]



    
Players
    
2 teams of arbitrary size


    
Cards
    
100 読み札, 100 取り札


Prepapration
Each team receives 50 取り札 which they arrange in 3 rows in front of them.

Game
Standard reading and card taking.
送り札 in case of お手つき or when a card from the 敵陣 is taken.

End
The team which first clears all their 50 cards wins.

Wikipedia [ja|en|de]

A variation of 源平合戦 where at any given time only one player of each team is playing.
A player change happens when:
- 10 or 20 読み札 have been read
- a card on one's team's side gets taken by the opponent

Schema 五色百人一首
licence: CC BY-SA; author: Tarek Saier

Wikipedia [ja|en|de]



    
Players
    
2


    
Cards
    
20 読み札, 20 取り札


Prepapration
五色百人一首 card decks separate the 百人一首 into 5 sets of 20 cards. Each set of cards has a distinct color. For a single match one of those sets is chosen. Each player receives 10 of the
20 取り札.


Game
Standard reading and card taking.
In case of お手つき the player who committed it places one of the cards they got so far face down next to the remaining field cards. The player who is able to take the next 取り札 additionally receives aforementioned face down card.

End
The game end after 17 読み札 have been read. The player with more cards in their posession wins.

Schema 競技かるた
licence: CC BY-SA; author: Tarek Saier

競技かるた field (detailed)
licence: CC BY-SA; author: Tarek Saier

払い手 w/o touching the 出札
licence: CC BY-SA; author: Tarek Saier

Wikipedia [ja|en|de]



    
Players
    
2


    
Cards
    
100 読み札, 50 取り札


General information
競技かるた is an organized competitive sport. Official information can be found on the website of the 全日本かるた協会. A few pointers:
- 競技規程 (PDF)
- 競技規程細則 (PDF)
- 競技会規程 (PDF)
- 昇段基準
Furthermore, the 埼玉県かるた協会 released a guidebook: 競技かるたハンドブック.

Prepapration
50 of the 100 取り札 are randomly chosen, each player receives 25 which they arrange in 3 rows and separated into a left and a right half. An example with additional information on field size and かるた lingo is given on the right.

Game
Before the reading begins players are given 15 minutes time to memorize card positions.
Standard reading and card taking. Note:
    - since there are only 50 取り札, yet the reader draws from all 100 読み札,
      half of the cards read will have no 出札. These are called 空札.
    - in official matches of high ranked players a certified reader must be used.
送り札 in case of お手つき or when a card from the 敵陣 is taken.
お手つき are:
    - touching a card in the 陣 in which the 出札 is not located
    - touching any card in case of a 空札
Legitimate ways to “take” the 出札 are:
    - touching it directly
    - pushing it out of the 陣 (払い手)
Since cards are aligned directly next to each other it is allowed to push out a whole row of cards as long as it contains the 出札.

End
The player to first clear their 陣 wins.

Wikipedia [ja|en|de]

Wikipedia [ja|en|de]

Schema 坊主めくり
licence: CC BY-SA; author: Tarek Saier

Wikipedia [ja|en|de]



    
Players
    
arbitrary number


    
Cards
    
100 読み札


Prepapration
Only the 読み札 are used and only the poets depicted on them are relevant for the game.
Stack all 100 読み札 face down and place them in arms reach of all players.

Game
Players take turns drawing the top card from the main stack.


    
Card illustration:  
    
Effect:


    
Normal male
「普通の人」
    
Add card to personal stack


    
Monk
「坊主」
    
Loose all cards


    
Female / noble
「姫」 / 「貴族」
    
Add card to personal stack,
get all cards others lost,
draw another card

Note: Local variations of rules are common.

End
When all 100 読み札 have been drawn, the player who has the most cards wins.

Schema 青冠
licence: CC BY-SA; author: Tarek Saier

Wikipedia [ja|en|de]



    
Players
    
2 teams of 2 players each


    
Cards
    
100 読み札


Prepapration
Only the 読み札 are used and only the poets depicted on them are relevant for the game.
Shuffle 読み札, each player recieves 25.
Players that form a team sit opposite of each other.
Cards are classified as follows:
    - 天智天皇
    - 持統天皇
    - men that wear a
        - 黒冠
        - 色冠
        - 縦烏帽子
        - 横烏帽子
        - 矢五郎
    - women
    - monks

Game
The dealer starts by placing one of their cards in the middle. If the player to his right has a card of the same group (see above), they play it and then play a new card of their choosing. If they do not have a card of the same group, they pass and the person to their right plays a new card.
天智天皇 and 持統天皇 are special cards. Both of them can be used in stead of a member of any other group. When 天智天皇 is played, the following person automatically passes. When 持統天皇 is played only 天智天皇 may be played, otherwise the player has to pass.

End
The first person to loose all their 25 cards wins.

Wikipedia [ja|en|de]

Wikipedia [ja|en|de]

Wikipedia [ja|en|de]

Wikipedia [ja|en|de]

花札: Wikipedia [ja|en|de]
天正かるた: Wikipedia [ja|en|de]
うんすんカルタ: Wikipedia [ja|en|de]
株札: Wikipedia [ja|en|de]

家族合わせ: Wikipedia [ja|en|de]

General:
- illustrations available as SVG (contact)

Goodies:
- ちはやふる (漫画) (アニメ)
- 『百人一首』 くもん出版, 1987. ISBN 4-87576-390-5
- Karuta: Sports or Culture? (essay)
- New Zealand Kyougi Karuta Association (flickr account)