Beginner’s Guide
A step by step guide for the absolute beginner
Whether you arrived at competitive karuta from Chihayafuru, the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu, or any other media or circumstance, this guide will outline the steps needed to play the game in full.
Everything listed here is free and has a good track record of turning prospective players into competitors. Just remember: it’s never insurmountable! The nature of memorisation (especially with spaced repetition) means that there will be an ebb and flow to the process. Take everything at your own pace and you’ll see just how manageable it is.
01
Hiragana
While it might seem daunting at first, hiragana is both the easiest of the three Japanese syllabaries to learn and fundamental to playing competitive karuta!
The poems are written on the cards using hiragana, which means that, in order to begin learning the full game, you’ll need to have memorised each of the 46 characters.
There are a huge number of online resources to help with this process, but we recommend this well-travelled guide by Tofugu.
02
Karuta Basics
This little guide will explain how the game works.
It’s important to know the most fundamental rules of competitive karuta in order to know what more you will need to learn, and why.
03
Memorising the Kimariji
The kimariji – the ‘recognisable characters’ – are how you’ll link the first verse of the poem to the second, and so the reader’s voice to the cards on the playing field.
Unfortunately, there’s no way around the memorisation process. This is the biggest hurdle for prospective players, but there’s open air on the other side, we promise!
KarutaSRS is a spaced repetition system that will take you through learning the kimariji at your own pace. If you enter one correctly, it will progressively lengthen the time between future memorisations of the same card, embedding it into your long-term memory. Multiple club members have used it to great success.
04
Play!
Of course, everyone is welcome to play at the London Karuta Club regardless of how much they’ve learnt (see our FAQ for more), but after following these steps you’ll be able to play against anyone and everyone!
Join our WhatsApp group to find out about the next session.
Questions?
If you have any questions or queries about the game or the club, feel free to message us in our WhatsApp group, on our socials, or by email!