Kabufuda

Kabufuda are a family of Japanese playing cards used for gambling games such as Oicho-Kabu, most strongly associated with the Kansai region of Japan. The cards descend from mekuri karuta, a lineage of Japanese playing cards that ultimately trace back to playing cards brought to Japan by Portuguese traders in the 16th century. Over the 18th century the deck simplified into a single suit, since the games played with kabufuda do not use suits to distinguish cards the way Western decks do. A standard kabufuda deck holds 40 cards, numbered one through ten with four copies of each number, plus a small number of specially decorated cards, such as a red pin card and a gold four card, that serve special functions in particular games. The core objective in Oicho-Kabu and related games mirrors baccarat: players try to build a hand whose value comes as close as possible to nine. The word kabu is thought to derive from a Portuguese term for a stake or wager, underlining the cards' long association with gambling. Related wagering card traditions using Korean tujeon cards and Indian Ganjapa cards show how this style of game spread along historical trade routes across Asia.