Shigure no Hyakunin Isshu

Top Columns Apps Japanese Waka List & Search

Hyakunin Isshu Apps

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Karuta Game
Real-Time Multiplayer

A real-time Hyakunin Isshu karuta game for up to 4 players from anywhere in the world. Play strangers via auto-matchmaking or challenge friends with a shared passphrase — and you can jump into a match already in progress, as long as it's still early on.
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Karuta Quiz
No Audio

Look at the upper-verse card and choose the matching lower-verse card — a karuta game with no audio, played purely by sight. You can filter questions by the five-color Hyakunin Isshu card sets (blue, pink, yellow, green, orange). Great for memorizing kimariji, too.

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Karuta Game
With Audio

Listen to the reading and grab the matching lower-verse card. Your time is shown after each round, so playing again and again to beat your best might just turn you into a Hyakunin Isshu master before you know it.
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Competitive Karuta
Battle Game
with Okurifuda

A competitive karuta game — clear all the cards on your side and you win. The okurifuda (card-passing) mechanic can swing the match dramatically, flipping the momentum in an instant. Enjoy a tense match that keeps you on edge until the very end. A smartphone-friendly version is also available.
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Competitive Karuta
Foul (Otetsuki)
Simulator

A page that simulates foul (otetsuki) calls in competitive karuta. Walk through 5 scripted scenarios — a blank card, the read card in your own territory, the read card in the opponent's territory, and more — to learn the otetsuki rules in a game-like way.
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Competitive Karuta
Kimariji
3-Choice Quiz

Card-flow practice combined with a 3-choice kimariji quiz. Cards are drawn evenly from each of the five-color Hyakunin Isshu sets. After each round, the game highlights the colors you're weakest at. Play twice or more and a graph tracks your reaction time over your last 20 rounds — handy for staying motivated.
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Competitive Karuta
Learning Kimariji
Through Card Flow

To grab cards even a moment faster in Hyakunin Isshu karuta, memorizing kimariji is essential. Tap a card to reveal its upper verse with the kimariji highlighted in red. Swipe left or right to move between cards.
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Competitive Karuta
Kimariji
Flash Training

Practice recalling kimariji as cards flash by one after another. Freely adjust the display time and number of cards, and repeat the same cards as many times as you like. Builds the reflexive ability to judge kimariji instantly — great for sharpening real match performance.
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Launch Fireworks
with Kimariji

Hyakunin Isshu cards flutter gently down the screen. Read the card and slide the platform beneath it, then choose the correct kimariji from three options — get it right, and a beautiful firework lights up the night sky! Answer correctly 10 times and the sky fills with fireworks.
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Jokotoba Dango
Hyakunin Isshu

Tap the falling jokotoba (preface) phrases in the correct order to skewer them and complete a dango. A fun, hands-on way to feel how jokotoba connect within a poem.
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Kaminoku Dango
Hyakunin Isshu

The lower verse is shown as the prompt — tap the upper verse's phrases in the correct order to skewer them and complete a dango. A fun, hands-on way to feel the connection between a poem's upper and lower verses.
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Shimonoku Dango
Hyakunin Isshu

The upper verse is shown as the prompt — tap the lower verse's phrases in the correct order to skewer them and complete a dango. A fun, hands-on way to feel the connection between a poem's upper and lower verses.
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Meet the Poets
Hyakunin Isshu

Arrange the five phrases in order to complete the poem. Finish it, and the poet appears to share a few words with you.
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Hyakunin Isshu
Daruma-Otoshi

A fresh twist that combines the daruma-otoshi tower game with the Hyakunin Isshu. Knock away the block with the phrase that feels off, and it's automatically swapped for the correct one. Spot every mismatch and complete the poem to clear the game!
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Spin & Discover Kakekotoba!
Hyakunin Isshu

Look at a Hyakunin Isshu poem, find the kakekotoba (pivot word), and tapclick it. Get it right, and the word spins around to reveal the two meanings packed inside it. A detailed commentary on the poem, seen through the lens of its kakekotoba, is also shown. Why not enjoy the world of these poems while discovering just how deep a single wordplay can go?
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Makurakotoba Master
3-Choice Quiz

A quiz featuring classic makurakotoba (pillow words) from classical literature — choose the word each one leads into from 3 options. Commentary included, so you can learn what each makurakotoba means, too.
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Hyakunin Isshu
Emotion Map

All 100 Hyakunin Isshu poems, read through the lens of emotion and plotted on a two-axis map: positive/negative (vertical) and inward/outward (horizontal). Love, parting, solitude, impermanence — get an intuitive view of the feelings reflected in each poem.

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Hyakunin Isshu
Word Frequency Map

A visualization of the words that appear across the Hyakunin Isshu — the more frequently a word appears, the larger it's displayed. Explore, through statistics and visuals, which words the poets turned to again and again to express their feelings.
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Hyakunin Isshu Visualized
TF-IDF Analysis

Each word in every poem is extracted and analyzed, placing poems that share a kinship close together and pulling apart the ones that don't. The hundred poems connect across the night sky, forming new constellations. See if you can find your favorite star (poem).
List of Hyakunin Isshu poets

Hyakunin Isshu
Poet Encyclopedia

An overview of all 100 poets featured in the Hyakunin Isshu. Sort and search by Japanese syllabary order, era, theme, the imperial anthology each poem was drawn from, and social rank or occupation.
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Memory Match
Upper & Lower Verse

A memory-matching game where you pair up matching upper- and lower-verse cards. Narrow practice down to 20 poems at a time from each of the five-color Hyakunin Isshu sets (blue, pink, yellow, green, orange). Might just double as brain training.
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Bingo Game
(With Audio)

A bingo game where you pick the lower-verse card matching the upper verse being read. Narrow practice down to 20 poems at a time from each of the five-color Hyakunin Isshu sets.
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Hyakunin Isshu
Memorize by Typing

【PC recommended】Type the lower verse that matches the upper verse shown, or type the kimariji of the upper verse that matches a given lower verse. Narrow practice down to 20 poems at a time from each of the five-color Hyakunin Isshu sets.
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Hyakunin Isshu
Memorize by Flick Typing

【Smartphone recommended】Type the lower verse that matches the upper verse shown, or type the kimariji of the upper verse that matches a given lower verse. Narrow practice down to 20 poems at a time from each of the five-color Hyakunin Isshu sets.
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Hyakunin Isshu
Upper Verse Recall

Only the upper verse is hidden. Look at the lower verse and try to recall the upper verse from memory, then click to reveal it. Check your answers at your own pace — useful for competitive karuta practice or test prep.
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Hyakunin Isshu
Lower Verse Recall

Only the lower verse is hidden. Look at the upper verse and try to recall the lower verse from memory, then click to reveal it. Check your answers at your own pace — useful for competitive karuta practice or test prep.
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Hyakunin Isshu
Omikuji Fortune

Randomly draws one poem from the Hyakunin Isshu and reveals your fortune for the day, inspired by that poem.
Kimariji mind map

Hyakunin Isshu Kimariji
Mind Map

A study tool that organizes all 100 Hyakunin Isshu poems by their kimariji. Visually sorted from one-character kimariji to six-character kimariji, with links through to each poem's full commentary page.
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Kimariji Memory Tips
Message Board

Kimariji can be tough to memorize. This page is a message board where you can share your own mnemonics and memorization tips. We'd love for you to post your own unique way of remembering them!
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Hyakunin Isshu
Audio Player

Plays the Hyakunin Isshu readings back to back. Play them in order or shuffled at random. Click a poet's name to jump to that poet's page.
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Utamakura &
Hyakunin Isshu Locations

A map of utamakura (scenic places celebrated in waka poetry) and locations connected to the Hyakunin Isshu — places worth visiting someday. Click an icon on the map to see a photo and description.

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Hyakunin Isshu
Relationship Diagram

A relationship diagram plotting all 100 Hyakunin Isshu poets by era, from the Asuka and Nara periods through the Kamakura period, with lines showing connections like parent–child, romance, mentor–student, and rivalry.