Hanafuda: Japan's 48-Card Calendar

Hanafuda means “flower cards.” Nintendo Museum describes Hanafuda as a card game played with cards depicting flowering plants associated with the seasons. The modern deck has four cards for each month from January through December, for a total of 48 cards.

That simple structure is why Hanafuda works so well as Japan Almanac’s editorial frame. The cards do not explain Japan by themselves, and they should not be treated as a universal key. But they do provide a disciplined way to move through the year: pine, plum, cherry, wisteria, iris, peony, bush clover, susuki grass, chrysanthemum, maple, willow, and paulownia.

The Twelve Suits

Each month has a plant, and each month has four cards. Those cards usually include a mixture of brighter, animal or object, ribbon, and chaff cards. Koi-Koi uses those classes in scoring combinations called yaku, while other Hanafuda games and house rules may classify or score some cards differently.

Japan Almanac is careful about this distinction. A card can be a historical object, a seasonal image, a game component, and a modern app asset at the same time. The claim you can make depends on which layer you are discussing.

Hanafuda And Koi-Koi

Koi-Koi is a two-player Hanafuda game. The Koi-Koi repository used for this site implements a 48-card deck, month-major card IDs, and Koi-Koi’s scoring categories. Its rules documentation also identifies places where point values and house-rule conventions vary. Japan Almanac uses those implementation notes to explain the app truthfully, but it does not treat a game default as a universal historical fact.

Why The Calendar Matters

The Hanafuda calendar is not the same as a modern botanical field guide. The August susuki moon card, for example, connects to moon-viewing imagery, while the 2026 Chushu no Meigetsu falls in late September on the Gregorian calendar. That difference is not a problem. It is the point: a traditional card calendar, a lunisolar observance, and a present-day itinerary can overlap without collapsing into each other.

How We Know

This guide relies on Nintendo Museum for the broad deck structure and on the Koi-Koi repository only for the exact card IDs, image provenance, and the current app’s internal rules. Claims about specific ceremonies, dates, and historical practices are sourced separately in the relevant monthly stories.

Complete Launch Data

January Hanafuda card: Pine, Crane and sun, Bright — **Crane and sun**Bright

January Hanafuda card: Pine, Poetry ribbon, Ribbon — **Poetry ribbon**Ribbon

January Hanafuda card: Pine, Pine chaff, Chaff — **Pine chaff**Chaff

February Hanafuda card: Plum blossom, Bush warbler, Animal/Object — **Bush warbler**Animal/Object

February Hanafuda card: Plum blossom, Poetry ribbon, Ribbon — **Poetry ribbon**Ribbon

February Hanafuda card: Plum blossom, Plum chaff, Chaff — **Plum chaff**Chaff

March Hanafuda card: Cherry blossom, Curtain, Bright — **Curtain**Bright

March Hanafuda card: Cherry blossom, Poetry ribbon, Ribbon — **Poetry ribbon**Ribbon

March Hanafuda card: Cherry blossom, Cherry chaff, Chaff — **Cherry chaff**Chaff

April Hanafuda card: Wisteria, Cuckoo, Animal/Object — **Cuckoo**Animal/Object

April Hanafuda card: Wisteria, Plain ribbon, Ribbon — **Plain ribbon**Ribbon

April Hanafuda card: Wisteria, Wisteria chaff, Chaff — **Wisteria chaff**Chaff

May Hanafuda card: Iris, Eight-plank bridge, Animal/Object — **Eight-plank bridge**Animal/Object

May Hanafuda card: Iris, Plain ribbon, Ribbon — **Plain ribbon**Ribbon

May Hanafuda card: Iris, Iris chaff, Chaff — **Iris chaff**Chaff

June Hanafuda card: Peony, Butterfly, Animal/Object — **Butterfly**Animal/Object

June Hanafuda card: Peony, Blue ribbon, Ribbon — **Blue ribbon**Ribbon

June Hanafuda card: Peony, Peony chaff, Chaff — **Peony chaff**Chaff

July Hanafuda card: Bush clover, Boar, Animal/Object — **Boar**Animal/Object

July Hanafuda card: Bush clover, Plain ribbon, Ribbon — **Plain ribbon**Ribbon

July Hanafuda card: Bush clover, Bush clover chaff, Chaff — **Bush clover chaff**Chaff

August Hanafuda card: Susuki grass, Full moon, Bright — **Full moon**Bright

August Hanafuda card: Susuki grass, Geese, Animal/Object — **Geese**Animal/Object

August Hanafuda card: Susuki grass, Susuki chaff, Chaff — **Susuki chaff**Chaff

September Hanafuda card: Chrysanthemum, Sake cup, Animal/Object — **Sake cup**Animal/Object

September Hanafuda card: Chrysanthemum, Blue ribbon, Ribbon — **Blue ribbon**Ribbon

September Hanafuda card: Chrysanthemum, Chrysanthemum chaff, Chaff — **Chrysanthemum chaff**Chaff

October Hanafuda card: Maple, Deer, Animal/Object — **Deer**Animal/Object

October Hanafuda card: Maple, Blue ribbon, Ribbon — **Blue ribbon**Ribbon

October Hanafuda card: Maple, Maple chaff, Chaff — **Maple chaff**Chaff

November Hanafuda card: Willow, Rain figure, Bright — **Rain figure**Bright

November Hanafuda card: Willow, Swallow, Animal/Object — **Swallow**Animal/Object

November Hanafuda card: Willow, Plain ribbon, Ribbon — **Plain ribbon**Ribbon

November Hanafuda card: Willow, Lightning, Chaff — **Lightning**Chaff

December Hanafuda card: Paulownia, Phoenix, Bright — **Phoenix**Bright

December Hanafuda card: Paulownia, Paulownia chaff, Chaff — **Paulownia chaff**Chaff

Sources

Try Playing Hanafuda!, Nintendo Museum. Accessed 2026-09-01. Used for the 48-card, 12-month Hanafuda structure and Nintendo Museum workshop context.
Koi-Koi - Rules & Variants, Koi-Koi repository. Accessed 2026-09-01. Used for the current Koi-Koi ruleset and house-rule disclosure.
Cultural Reference - Hanafuda & the Twelve Months, Koi-Koi repository. Accessed 2026-09-01. Internal topic map only; not treated as external factual authority.

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