With video!
Sorry, Inu x Boku SS fans – not that Karuta. No, this is the game – and
today was my first chance to see it played live. The SF Karuta Society held an
exhibition today as part of the Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival
(last day tomorrow, stop by if you’re close) the largest Japanese festival in
the US.
The footage below is two 16 year-olds, members of the club. The boy is a
Class A player, and they didn’t say the girl’s rank but she’s only been playing
for a year.
This first video shows the setup. As this was an exhibition match, it was
played with a smaller deck and abbreviated memorization time.
Arata-like speed on the arm swing!
Very nice comeback by the young lady here to set up the “Taichi vs. Nishida” finish, though he holds her off for the
win. Note that the “Chihaya Furu” card is one of the last two remaining
cards.
And finally, I can’t help but notice what the club uses for their logo
marinasauce
April 22, 2012 at 8:02 amThanks for sharing this! After watching Chihayafuru, I could only imagine what the game looked like in real life. I was surprised at how much longer it seemed to be between readings when a card had to be moved. I also couldn't help but smile seeing the guy move his arm around and make a practice swing :p
admin
April 22, 2012 at 8:05 amDude was serious – he did not want to lose to that girl, exhibition or no. He had a huge lead and she caught up and brought it down to the "Tachi vs. Nishida" scenario.
Arabesque
April 22, 2012 at 8:09 amWell, the show might have not sold a lot but
''And finally, I can’t help but notice what the club uses for their logo''
It's the small victories that count at the end of the day! 😀
Too bad this wasn't done on a Tuesday, because then it would've been perfect 😛
And no matter how many times I watch it, I'm still amazed at the speed these arms are moving at. Woah
Anonymous
April 22, 2012 at 10:29 amAhh the nostalgia~ hehe he actually looks like Arata aswell. Enzo did you give Karuta a shot for yoursef, maybe you could be the new Taichi one day 🙂
queen_tiria
April 22, 2012 at 11:11 amSeeing that reminds me of just how much I miss the Taichi Tuesdays T_T
SQA
April 22, 2012 at 12:13 pmNeeds more Peking Duck. 🙂
Ishruns
April 22, 2012 at 1:35 pmGE you are awesome. It's great to know that Karuta and appreciators of the sport exist not only in Japan, although this may dent Chihaya's idea that if she became the best in Japan, then she's the best in the world.
Loved the logo.
admin
April 22, 2012 at 5:11 pmI think Karuta in the US is still very much in the beginning stages, and I doubt there are any threats to the Queen or Meijin here. I should also note that the language of choice at the club seems to be Japanese, not English.
I don't think I'll be trying Karuta anytime soon – I don't have time to blog it, never mind do it…
Smoe
April 23, 2012 at 11:44 pmAwesome. BTW should there be a Chihiyafuru tag on this post?
admin
April 24, 2012 at 12:08 amIndeed, I thought I had one.
Nadavu
June 14, 2012 at 11:43 pmthere still isn't one, which made finding this post again pretty hard..