'The Japanese name for "poem cards" is _Uta-Karuta_. Strangely enough, the term "Karuta" is not Japanese. It is of European derivation, being the same as the word "Carta" (card in modern English). There had existed poem shells before poem cards came into use. One half of a short poem was written inside one half of a shell, and the other half of the poem inside the other half, there being usually one hundred shells with different poems written in them. The game was to find the one half of the shell which belonged to the other. The shells were often richly decorated, as one may see from the remnants of old ones. A little more than three hundred years ago, when the Island of Hirado was the trading port for Dutch and English vessels, the European traders brought with them their cards with which they were in the habit of playing. The Japanese who happened to see them seem to have thought that the shape of those cards had some novelty and were more simple than their shells. They, therefore, substituted cards for shells, and hence the original name "Carta" came to be used by us. I will now explain the game of "poem cards"; it is played at the time of the New Year, generally by young girls. There are two sets of cards. One half of short poems is written each separately on one set, and the other half is written in the same manner on the other set as at poem shells. One set is either thrown in the middle of the players or dealt out in equal numbers. While one person is reading the first part of a poem, each of the players picks up a card on which the other half of the same poem is written, or turns it upside down, when the numbers are equally divided, as the case may be. In the one method, whoever has picked up the most is the winner. In the other, if one were slow in turning over her card and it were picked up by another of the party, she would have as penalty a card from the one who had picked hers up. Thus the one who has turned all her cards upside down first would be the first winner, and one who has any cards left unturned at the end, is the last loser.' --'Surely you must have some kinds of cards played more seriously,' said one. --'We have another game called "flower cards."' --'What's that like?'