Workshop · the cabinet's people
Ohishi Tengudo
Kyoto's historic handmade hanafuda and karuta maker
Ohishi Tengudo (Oishi Tengudo) is a Kyoto-based maker of traditional Japanese playing cards and games, including hanafuda, karuta, go and shogi. According to the company, it was founded in 1800 during the Edo period under the name Minatoya by Oishi Kuranosuke. Because hanafuda and many other karuta were then illegal for gambling, the business operated under the cover of a rice merchant, producing and selling the cards strictly under the counter. If the 1800 founding date could be independently verified, it would make Ohishi Tengudo the oldest continuously operating card manufacturer in the world — though, given its illicit origins, documentary evidence is scant.
The name "Tengudo" was most likely adopted after hanafuda was legalised in the middle of the Meiji era, when the cards were sold in Tokyo through a reseller. The firm is also credited with a lasting innovation: stamping the 20-point cards in some decks with a gold mark — the origin of the "gwang"/"hikari" marks still seen on modern Korean hwatu cards — some of which were exported to Korea before the Second World War.
Today Ohishi Tengudo continues to make its cards by hand in Kyoto and positions itself as a custodian of traditional Japanese pastimes, producing lines such as Ogura Hyakunin Isshu karuta and its premium Kourin Karuta, revived from a Genroku-era design by the artist Ogata Kōrin.
Style signature
Handcrafted, Kyoto-made hanafuda and karuta in the classic Japanese tradition, prized for premium materials and craftsmanship; the workshop's historic gold-stamp on high-value cards became a defining feature of Korean flower-card decks.
Notable works
- Hanafuda (Japanese flower playing cards)
- Ogura Hyakunin Isshu karuta
- Kourin Karuta (premium line revived from an Ogata Kōrin design)
- Go and shogi sets
Questions about Ohishi Tengudo
What is Ohishi Tengudo?
Ohishi Tengudo is a historic Kyoto maker of handmade Japanese playing cards and games — hanafuda, karuta, go and shogi. The company says it was founded in 1800 as a rice merchant called Minatoya that secretly produced gambling cards, and it still makes its cards by hand today.
Is Ohishi Tengudo the oldest card maker in the world?
Possibly. The company dates its founding to 1800, which would make it the oldest continuously operating card manufacturer in the world — but because hanafuda production was illegal and hidden at the time, there is only scant evidence to confirm that date.
Why is Ohishi Tengudo historically important?
Beyond its claimed 1800 origin, Ohishi Tengudo is credited with introducing the gold stamp on 20-point cards. Decks carrying this mark were exported to Korea before World War II, and it became the source of the "gwang"/"hikari" marks still found on modern Korean hwatu cards.