The Ukiyoe Tarot Deck

Measurements: 2.5 x 4.45 inches, or 63 x 113 mm.

Back of card: Solid maroon, with a gold/red water swirl with leaves & flowers, very different from the front. Can be inverted.

Booklet included: Yes, a substantial 61 pages, 2.25 x 4.25 inches, or 58 x 108 mm.

Publisher: US Games. Made & printed in Japan by Angel Co. Ltd.

Comments: From notes by Stuart Kaplan of US Games:

"For many years I have admired the beauty and simplicity of ukiyoe art, with its handsome figures, casual poses, striking colors and nobility of style.... The original artwork for each Ukiyoe Tarot card measures approximately 7" x 10" [17.9 x 25.5 cm]"

The swords shown on the cards are ceremonial swords used in duels and battles. The batons are ceremonial scepters used by Buddhist priests. The coins are similar to those of the Edo period (1600-1868). The characters on the coins spell out, "Angel Playing Cards", the company that prints the deck. Cups are hand-lacquered bowls used for drinking saki.

Ukiyoe art was a production of the Edo period. The word itself is of Buddhist origin & means, "this wretched world". The goal was to show the "floating world" of pre-industrial Japanese urban life, life as lived under the feudal shoguns. Many of the finest examples of the art were erotic in nature (as are many of the finest examples of all art, come to think of it). The booklet enclosed with the deck devotes several pages to the history of Ukiyoe art during the Edo period.

In organization, this is otherwise a typical tarot deck with the usual major & minor arcanas. Face cards are King, Queen, Knight & Page.

A beautiful deck.

The Astrology Center of America

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Tel: 410-569-2670; Fax: 410-569-1386; Toll-free (orders only): 800-475-2272

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