The Studio Ghibli classic turns out to be a perfect motif for Japan’s centuries-old “flower cards.”
It really speaks to the talent of Studio Ghibli’s artists that the vast majority of the mystical creatures appearing in its anime films are entirely original creations, yet so aesthetically polished that many viewers assume they must be based on legitimate Japanese folklore. Ghibli’s highly cultivated design sensibilities just seem to immediately mesh with traditional Japanese imagery, and that aesthetic harmony is on display once again in a gorgeous set of hanafuda playing cards featuring the cast of director Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away.
Hanafuda literally translates as “flower cards,” and the full set of is divided into twelve suits, one for each month of the year and represented with seasonal flora. While this visual variety makes any hanafuda deck beautiful to look at, the Spirited Away set gets extra appeal by including several memorable employees and patrons of the anime’s magical bathhouse. Protagonist Chihiro appears in the April/cherry blossom suit, with Haku auspiciously gracing January/pine. Stern-faced witch Yubaba glowers from one of the December/paulownia cards, and also appears with a more tender expression peering into a cup of sake for September/chrysanthemum (or is that her sister, Zenibaba?). Meanwhile, No-Face hangs out under the bough of a tree for November/willow.
▼ Boh, transformed into a mouse, shows up on one of the June/peony cards.
▼ Each of the 48 cards has some sort of nod to the film, such as Haku, in his dragon form, silhouetted against the moon for August/Japanese pampas grass, or Chihiro’s father stuck as a pig on the same July/bush clover card that traditionally has a wild boar.
If you’ve never played hanafuda before, fear not, as the cards come bundled with bilingual English/Japanese instructions. Even if you never use them for their ostensible purpose, though, the cards make for elegant interior decorations, and at a compact 5.4 centimeters (2.1 inches) long, can be used to spruce up even compact living spaces.
The set, which comes packaged in a hard case, is priced at 3,240 yen (US$29) and can be ordered online from Village Vanguard, Donguri Kyowakoku, or Amazon Japan.
Sources: Village Vanguard, Donguri Kyowakoku
Top image: Donguri Kyowakoku
Insert images: Village Vanguard, Donguri Kyowakoku
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