Classical Japanese poetry on playing cards — in English? It seems like an odd mix. But when you add tales of love and betrayal and brilliant translation, you get a heart-thumping card game like no other.
"It's a world's first," says Peter MacMillan, translator and creator of Hyakunin Isshu English Karuta. "By playing this card game you learn the essence of Japanese culture. It's also an excellent tool for learning both the English and Japanese languages. And it's fun."
MacMillan's idea for his version of the karuta (Japanese playing card) game began to form after he translated the classical anthology of Japanese waka poems "Ogura Hyakunin Isshu" ("One Hundred Poems, One Poem Each"). This was published by Columbia University Press in 2008 and garnered MacMillan several top translation prizes. His other translations include "The Tales of Ise," which was published by Penguin Books in 2016 and was nominated for the PEN International Poetry Translation Prize.