A personal review of “samurai Kaou” playing cards.
Its Designs
Each card describes profiles and portraits of 52 Japanese historical warlords, with their hand-written signature “Kaou”. Kaou is a stylized signature used from the Heian to the Edo period in Japan. Even today, there are several courses to learn how to create your own Kaou in calligraphy.
I tried a combination of this deck with “Japanese Wa Tarot”. Perfect match, isn’t it!? Since the playing card decks can be used as a substitute for tarots’ minor arcana, you can enjoy your own tarot with any playing card decks you like.
Overview/Features
The size is 58mm x 89mm in actual size. Two jokers are included in this deck.
Personal Impressions
What I like
Because the Kaou itself is highly designed signature, every card is quite fun to watch. Being able to witness the handwriting of historical figures is simply exciting. I appreciate such a maniac product like this being published!
What I don’t like
The paper quality is thin, but that is an OK level and this deck can be used with no problem, easy to shuffle.
Where to buy
I purchased it in Yodobashi shopping site (as of March 2020). This deck is also handled at Manufacturer’s site. I don’t see any other market place for this deck so far.
Wrap Up
This is enjoyable deck as the collection of Kaou rather than as a playing cards deck. Since you can see 52 warlords’ Kaou all together in a compact size, this deck could be a quick reference guide for those who are interested in Kaou and calligraphy, as well as for those who are interested in the handwriting of warlords. Moreover, it is lower price compared to guidebooks! In this opportunity I’m going to deepen my understanding of Kaou.
