History of Karuta

Karuta started as a matching game painted on shells over 1,000 years ago in Japan. Poems were painstakingly painted on pairs of shells, and players rushed to match them. This game was so special that it was treated as a luxury item reserved for the wealthy. It was even included in bridal dowries.

Karuta finally became a game for the masses when Portuguese merchants introduced printed "carta" or cards to Japan in the 16th century. Since then, Karuta has become a national past-time enjoyed by generations of children and adults a like. 

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This seemingly simple game also has a rich history of teaching people who were historically excluded from formal education. First, the alphabet used in Karuta (called hiragana) was adopted by women as a means to read and write because the more "elite" characters (called kanji) were reserved for men - who used to be the only ones allowed to access higher education. Second, Karuta was used at local temples to teach poor children (who also had no access to schools) how to read.

In this way, Karuta planted seeds of literacy throughout Japan through play and fun. Since then, myriad of topics have been taught through Karuta, from history to space.