Hanafuda cards were developed in Japan in the 1800s, originally marketed by Nintendo (at the time a card game company). They were created during Japan’s bans on gambling games and western cards. Modeled off of the Portuguese 48 card deck. They feature 12 sets of 4 cards, representing the 12 months in a year, each set has a flora associated with it, as well as some kind of special card. The Cards are highly illustrative and are used in a variety of games around the world.
In my deck I attempted to illustrate the classic cards with my own interpretation. I wanted to have each set create a full connecting image which was not present in the traditional Illustrations. As well as an updated but still simple style. The color schemes I tried to keep consistent but reflective of the set’s month and season.