About this Blog

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About this Blog

    I started this blog to give people a resource in English on the Hyakunin-Isshu poems, their authors, and the poem's meanings, along with tips on how to memorize the cards in order to play Competitive Karuta (Kyogi Karuta). I hope by bringing together background on the poems with information that can help beginner Karuta players, I might inspire poetry enthusiasts to try out the game, or give Karuta players new insights about the poems and poets. 

About the Author

Omi-Jingu in Shiga
    I was first introduced to the world of Competitive Karuta the same way most people living outside Japan were: through the anime "Chihayafuru". When I first watched the anime, I was fascinated by the game, but honestly never thought I'd ever be able to play it myself. 
   
    In 2014, I was accepted into the JET (Japan Exchange and Teaching) program and assigned to teach English at a school in Shiga Prefecture. Shiga just happens to be home to Omi Jingu, the place where top-tier Karuta competitions are held, such as the National High School team competitions and the annual Queen and Meijin matches. 

    I had the extreme good fortune of being able to join Otsu's Karuta club, Akinotakai, around August 2018. By chance, this was mere months before the first ever international team tournament for Karuta was to be held at Omi Jingu. Through the encouragement of my club's leader, who was also an organizer for the event, I was able to participate in the first "Sekai Taikai" and this historic moment also became my first experience playing in an official Karuta tournament. 

Me (right) facing off against a member of Karuta France's team

    I was able to practice Karuta in Japan for a full year before I returned home to the U.S., and in that time managed to reach the level of D-kyu (now, also called ichi-dan) by winning an official tournament. 

    In 2020, a large scale international Karuta event was scheduled to be held in Japan in May, just before the Summer Olympics were slated to be hosted in Tokyo. However, the pandemic of course suspended these events. 

    Luckily for myself, at the start of the pandemic, I again had the extreme good fortune of having well-organized friends, who decided to start hosting Karuta practices virtually. Thanks to Facebook, and the app "Competitive Karuta Online", we were able to practice regularly over video chat. As more people from around the world joined our online group, and I met more people starting the game for the first time, I was once again reminded of the power of this game to excite people and bring them together. It's my greatest hope that more people will read this blog and get interested enough to try the game themselves!

References
    The English translations for these poems come from a book written in 1917 which is currently in the public domain. 
Title: Hyakunin-Isshu (Single Songs of a Hundred Poets)
Author: Clay MacCauley
Publisher: Kelly and Walsh, 1917

    Most information regarding the meanings of the poems and the history of the authors comes from the following Japanese illustrated children's book which I have translated into English. 
Title: 百人一首大辞典
Author: 吉海直人
Publisher:西東社, 2017
Available on Amazon (Japan)

Additional information on the poets are from Wikipedia.

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