Nintendo’s Many Video Game References to Hanafuda (and Karuta)
I really doubt this list is complete, though I did my best to include as much as I could. If I find more stuff I’ll add it, and feel free to leave a comment if you can think of anything yourself!
Update 4 September 2022 – added Pikmin Bloom
Update 22 October 2022 – added more pictures of the hanafuda boxes because they have neat art!
Update 21 December 2022 – added Super Mario Maker (thanks Dweight!)
Update 22 December 2022 – added Club Nintendo Picross (thanks u/SuperNinjiGalaxy!)
Update 21 February 2023 – added Club Nintendo Picross Plus’ Hyakunin Isshu
Update 24 July 2023 – added the Pikmin 4 Talisman of Life series of items (thanks siderinc!)
Update 14 August 2023 – added a Nintendo instagram post (thanks siderinc!)
Update 8 September 2023 – Added Pikmin Finder
Update 7 January 2024 – Added The Super Mario Bros. Movie and SimCity DS
Update 15 January 2024 – Added Tomodachi Collection
Update 26 January 2024 – Added the Anoyoroshi design from Nintendo Kōshiki Guidebook: Doubutsu no Mori+ 任天堂公式ガイドブック どうぶつの森+.
Update 28 January 2024 – Added the Korean and Japanese DSi menu icons for Clubhouse Games Express: Strategy Pack and the DS menu icon for Touch de Tanoshimu Hyakunin-Isshu: DS Shigureden
Update 17 March 2024 – Added the Pikmin Bloom Flower Card 2024 Decor Pikmin. Also added some more notes to Clubhouse Games
Update 12 April 2024 – Added the Pikmin Garden Coloring Pages
Update 4 May 2024 – Added Nintendo Company Guide 2006 (Thanks Naveed Mohebbi!)
Update 15 August 2024 – Updated Game Boy Camera after reading the Game Boy Camera Funtography Guide
Update 28 November 2024 – Added some more Game Boy Micro faceplates after learning of their existence. Added a section about hanafuda and karuta at the Nintendo Museum. Added the Pikmin Karuta section from the Nintendo Magazine 2024 winter edition. Added the Pikmin 4 Planet Karut. Added information about the Shigureden museum
Appearances in Nintendo Games
Game Boy Camera Japanese version has this picture in the B Album
In the American version, there is this image
When you send an image through a link cable, the final screen is
Pikmin 2 had you collecting real-life items, including a hanafuda deck https://www.pikminwiki.com/Talisman_of_Life
Hanafuda is available to play in both Clubhouse Games …games (as well as Clubhouse Games Express: Strategy Pack and the Japan only like, reduced version of clubhouse games called Daredemo Asobi Taizen). In the DS versions, it is called Koi-Koi, as that is the actual name of the game, and hanafuda is the name of the cards.
On the main menu for Daredemo Asobi Taizen there is a hanafuda card, but in Clubhouse Games and the Japanese re-release, there are not:
The Japanese and Korean versions of Clubhouse Games Express: Strategy Pack both include hanafuda cards in their DSi menu icons (The North American and European versions have different games in them):
This card shows up in Quite Puzzled microgame from the Japanese version of WarioWare: Touched! (It was replaced by a western playing card in the international versions)
SimCity DS – The Bowser Castle landmark can be unlocked by entering the word “Hanafuda” on the password screen – https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/ds/935403-simcity-ds/faqs/49560
Tomodachi Collection – Is a treasure your Mii can give to you
Club Nintendo Picross Extra Puzzle 14 is some Hanafuda cards! Huge thanks to u/SuperNinjiGalaxy for pointing this out!
Super Mario Maker has a placeable bird chirping sound effect, complete with hanafuda imagery! Huge thanks to my friend Deadweight for pointing this out!
There were a bunch of Hanafuda items added to Animal Crossing Pocket Camp
In Super Mario Odyssey, Bowser’s Kingdom Sticker features some Mario themed hanafuda cards. Also its industry is hanafuda cards according to the in-game map – https://www.mariowiki.com/Bowser%27s_Kingdom
The Nintendo Labo Variety Kit house has this picture of Napoleon from one of Nintendo’s hanafuda deck boxes
One of 9-Volt’s microgames in WarioWare Gold is based on hanafuda https://www.mariowiki.com/Hanafuda
These hanggliders in Mario Kart Tour are based on a real deck Nintendo produced, see below
Pikmin Bloom
In March 2024 they added more types!
Plus some Mii outfits
Some of the Pikmin Bloom real-life events they held (https://www.pikminwiki.com/Event#Live_events), had hanafuda on the event decorations (in this photo it’s to the left of the Switch Logo):
Pikmin 4’s Talisman of Life series
Left to right: Talisman of Life (Crane), Talisman of Life (Cherry Blossom), Talisman of Life (Moon), Talisman of Life (Rain), Talisman of Life (Phoenix)
Pikmin Finder – Talisman of Life (Crane) just like in Pikmin 4
Digital Appearances in Other Nintendo Stuff
Nintendo Kōshiki Guidebook Dōbutsu no Mori+ 任天堂公式ガイドブック どうぶつの森+ has this design called Anoyoroshi, the name of the card
Streetpass Mii Plaza got a hanafuda themed speech bubble
Swapnote got hanafuda themed stationery
There were also four hanafuda 3DS themes (plus a Nintendo history one)
Hanafuda – https://youtu.be/luOe_bTo-z8
Mario Hanafuda – https://youtu.be/q3t2o_a0xyo (I love the Mario theme remix here : )
Club Nintendo Hanafuda – https://youtu.be/i8SAOq9qGWk
Pokémon Hanafuda – https://youtu.be/aO7lTu_0t8c?t=33
Tokaigi 2015 “Nintendojo” Original Theme – 闘会議2015「任天道場」オリジナルテーマ – There was a special event called Tokaigi 2015 Nintendojo where if you beat one Dojo Master you won this exclusive theme! For more info (in Japanese) about this event check out https://tokaigi.jp/2015/booth/nintendojo.html.
Nintendo’s Line Account made this calendar for January 2016, and used the other image for their background that month
Nintendo Japan wallpapers
The Super Mario Bros. Movie has a small reference to hanafuda by naming a street “Hanfuda Ave” on the map used in the in-movie promotional video
And then to get a little meta the guidebook to The Super Mario Bros. Movie that Nintendo put out also references hanafuda… by talking about this easter egg, which is how I found out about it
On 13 August 2023 Nintendo of Europe posted this photo to their social media accounts which has a sneaky hanafuda card on the shelf in the background! Thank you siderinc for showing me! How fun 🙂
On the Pikmin Garden Let’s Try web page, they added a hanafuda-themed colouring page in April 2024.
Real-life Hanafuda Merchandise
The Game Boy Micro got some hanafuda faceplates. These next two were shown off at E3 but I don’t know if they ever actually released:
Lastly for Micro faceplates, I saw this one in an ad but can’t find any photos of it
And so did our other faceplate wearing system, the new 3DS!
Hanafuda themed keychains that you got from pre-ordering Giftpia in Japan
Nintendo Company Guide 2006 – Thanks Naveed!
Nintendo Company Guides 2014, 2015, 2019 Huge thanks to http://blog.beforemario.com/ for documenting these!!
The entire 2014 book is based around hanafuda with many of Nintendo’s old toys drawn in hanafuda art, I highly recommend checking out the post at http://blog.beforemario.com/2014/05/a-closer-look-at-nintendos-2014-company.html to see all the photos! Here’s a sample
My Nintendo Europe offered postcards based on the Napoleon Mario deck (they also sold the deck itself at the same time) https://my.nintendo.com/rewards/70604724dabc9845
The Nintendo Museum in Japan has so much hanafuda and karuta-related materials both in its marketing as well as at the museum that I cannot comprehensively include every time it is referenced. Therefore, here is a sampling of different times and ways you can experience hanafuda at the Nintendo Museum.
There are hanafuda cards on the play ticket each visitor receives:
There are hanafuda and other types of karuta on display in the museum
One of the exhibits at the museum is Craft Room: Let’s Make Hanafuda! and Play Room: Try Playing Hanafuda! From the website copy:
“Using a specially made kit, visitors will get to make their own Hanafuda playing cards. Select the month with your favorite pattern out of the 12 months, and then color, fold, and paste together the 4 Hanafuda playing cards. Visitors can take home the Hanafuda playing cards they’ve made.”
“Visitors can play Hanafuda while the rules are explained. Based on “hana-awase,” one of the most popular versions of Hanafuda, this Hanafuda experience uses image recognition and projection technology and allows even first-timers to play easily.”
These activities were mentioned in Nintendo Magazine 2024 winter edition in a tour of the museum:
A store display for hanafuda and Hyakunin Isshu decks
They sell exclusive decks of hanafuda with gold foil in the printing, called 花札（鳳凰）/ Hanafuda (Phoenix)
Hanafuda are on many types of merch sold at the museum shop:
All photos from https://www.ndw.jp/nintendomuseum-240925-shop3/
Nintendo themed Hanafuda Decks
You can find a list of hanafuda decks that Nintendo has produced here:
https://nintendo.fandom.com/wiki/Japanese_playing_cards
Of course, the best ones are the video game themed ones
We have the Mario Napoleon set
Better images at https://www.mariowiki.com/Mario_Hanafuda that link also pointed out these two promo images that have teeny little hanafuda cards, what a treat
The box
Pokémon hanafuda deck – this set also got heavily merchandised with keychains, pins, and coasters
This set of Pokémon x Mario cards
Kirby also got a Hanafuda set ^^
Finally, Club Nintendo offered another set of Mario themed hanafuda cards – This set is unlockable to use in Clubhouse Games 51 Worldwide Classics!
Karuta
Nintendo opened a museum for Ogura Hyakunin Isshu (a famous type of karuta) called 時雨殿 Shigureden in 2006. There was an interactive exhibit where you could use a special buttonless DS console to learn more about the poems on the cards. The rest of the museum seems more typical, with cards and information displayed behind glass.
In Kirby Super Star Ultra there is a sub-game based on karuta card games, a different kind of Japanese playing card
https://kirby.fandom.com/wiki/Kirby_Card_Swipe
There was a first party DS game based on the karuta card game uta-garuta called タッチで楽しむ百人一首 DS時雨殿 Touch de Tanoshimu Hyakunin-Isshu: DS Shigureden
https://niwanetwork.org/wiki/Touch_de_Tanoshimu_Hyakunin-Isshu:_DS_Shigureden
(thanks Torchickens 💚)
Its DS menu icon also features the cards! Very cute 🙂
Club Nintendo Japan made an Animal crossing Karuta deck
In Club Nintendo Picross Plus, puzzle 94 is Hyakunin Isshu, a type of karuta
In Pikmin 4, the player character you create is from Planet Karut
and in Japanese is from カルタ星 Karuta Hoshi / Planet Karuta
The Nintendo Museum has an interactive exhibit for Hyakunin Isshu, a kind of karuta
They also sell special decks with gold backings called 百人一首（鳳凰）Hyakunin Isshu (Phoenix), in addition to regular decks
On page 38 and 39 of the English version of the Nintendo Magazine 2024 winter edition, and on page 42 and 43 of the Japanese version, there is a feature in which they created poems for karuta cards for each type of Pikmin:
More resources for the exceptionally interested
For more general information about hanafuda and where it’s showed up in video games over the years (and where I got a lot of info from) https://nintendo.fandom.com/wiki/Hanafuda
Both NoA and NoE have PDFs of how to play Koi-koi currently up on their websites:
https://www.nintendo.com/consumer/downloads/hanafuda_en.pdf – NoA
https://cdn02.nintendo-europe.com/media/downloads/other_1/my_nintendo_store_3/MyNintendoStore_Manual_Hanafuda_MarioCards_UKV.pdf – NoE
Play Nintendo Japan got a short webcomic about hanafuda
https://www.nintendo.co.jp/kids/sp/160525/hanafuda01/index.html
It has this cute art of Mario and Toad playing!
If you’re interested in Nintendo’s history with card games in general I recommend this post!
http://blog.beforemario.com/2013/11/nintendo-iroha-karuta-part-1.html?m=1
If you enjoy this stuff, I personally loved reading the Wikipedia article about karuta, which explains the many kinds of Japanese card games and where they came from : D https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karuta
There’s a bunch of not Nintendo hanafuda video games floating around too, I’m not that concerned with them, but you can find lists here https://nintendo.fandom.com/wiki/Hanafuda or here https://www.giantbomb.com/hanafuda-card-games/3015-7399/games/ if you’re interested though. I support that decision.
Bonus non-Nintendo hanafuda sighting (this is my list I make the exceptions): The Hatsune Miku Project Diva games that have Close, Open, Demons and the Dead – In the music video, there are hanafuda cards scattered on the ground
If you would like to use my lists for any reason (make a video, add it to a wiki, build on it and make your own list, anything at all), you are free to do so! No need to credit if you don’t want. I would be so happy if you want to be a link to sharing silly gaming knowledge to even more people. All I ask is that if you make anything, please share it with me because I would love to see 🙂 Please note I don’t own the images anyhow, they’re all from eBay or Mercari unless otherwise cited
Thanks for witnessing!
