What is Hyakuninisshu?

Hyakunin Isshu is a classical Japanese anthology of one hundred Japanese waka by one hundred poets. Waka is classical Japanese poetry composed in combinations of five- and seven-syllabled lines. There were several different forms of waka in ancient times, but most styles gradually disappeared except for tanka, the dominant style of waka composed in 5-7-5-7-7 syllabled lines. It can also refer to the card game which uses a deck composed of cards based on the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu. It was compiled by Fujiwara no Teika (1162-1241) while he lived in the Mt. Ogura’s villa, Sagano district of Kyoto. There are several methods of playing the game that are relatively less demanding and thus are easier to play. Due to the simplicity of some of the rules, it has been a popular game amongst the general public. Games are sometime played in official national competition.