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THE YOMIURI SHIMBUN
Players dressed in traditional Heian attire tested their skills at karuta, a New Year’s card game, in early January at a Kyoto shrine.
TOKYO >> A gathering for a karuta card-matching game traditionally played during the new year was held at Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto’s Higashiyama ward, the first such event in the three years since the pandemic began.
A group of karuta enthusiasts, dressed in the colorful costumes of the Heian period (794-late 12th century), paired up and played the traditional game Jan. 3 as people visiting the shrine for the first time this year looked on.
In karuta, cards — each of which depicts a description or word that is called out — are arranged in rows. The object of the game is to swipe away the matching card. The best players execute this with a stunning quickness of mind and hands.
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