''Kabufuda'' () are Japanese playing cards used for

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three el ...

games such as ''

Oicho-Kabu is a traditional Japanese card game that is similar to Baccarat. It is typically played with special ''kabufuda'' cards. A ''hanafuda'' deck can also be used, if the last two months are discarded, and Western playing cards can be used if the ...

''. ''Kabufuda'' cards, like the related ''

hanafuda are a style of Japanese playing cards. They are typically smaller than Western playing cards, only , but thicker and stiffer. On the face of each card is a depiction of plants, ''tanzaku'' (短冊), animals, birds, or man-made objects. One sin ...

'' ("flower cards"), are smaller and stiffer than Western

playing cards A playing card is a piece of specially prepared card stock, heavy paper, thin cardboard, plastic-coated paper, cotton-paper blend, or thin plastic that is marked with distinguishing motifs. Often the front (face) and back of each card has a f ...

. A deck contains 40 cards, with designs representing the numbers 1 through 10. There are four cards for each number. Like hanafuda, kabufuda is a descendant of mekuri karuta. Since suits are irrelevant in kabu games, all decks became single-suited during the 18th-century. Like in

baccarat Baccarat or baccara (; ) is a card game played at casinos. It is a comparing card game played between two hands, the "player" and the "banker". Each baccarat coup (round of play) has three possible outcomes: "player" (player has the higher score ...

, the object of most ''kabu'' games is to get a total closest to nine. Early ''kabufuda'' decks had three ranks of

face card In a deck of playing cards, the term face card (US) or court card (British and US), and sometimes Royalty, is generally used to describe a card that depicts a person as opposed to the pip cards. They are also known as picture cards, or until the e ...

s but since they have no value, only the jacks were kept. Kabu is believed to derive from the Portuguese slang ''cavo'' meaning a stake, bet, or wager. Closely related are the ''gabo'' games played with Korean

tujeon Tujeon (, literally ''fighting tablets'') are the traditional playing cards of Korea used in the latter half of the Joseon dynasty. They are also known as tupae (, literally ''fighting cards''). Composition A deck typically contains forty, sixty ...

cards and the Indian

Ganjapa Ganjapa ( or, ଗଞ୍ଜପା) are the traditional playing cards from the Indian state Odisha. It can also refer to the trick-taking card game that they are used for. It is played with circular shaped Pattachitra painted cards. Originated in th ...

game of ''komi''.

References

External links

Kabufuda cards (image)
Japanese card games Playing cards {{japan-culture-stub