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with these poems that they do not need to hear the entire half of the stanza read, but frequently only the first word.
The Kokin Garuta, or the game of Ancient Odes, the Genji Garuta, named after the celebrated Genji (Minamoto) family of the middle ages, and the Shi Garuta are all card-games of a similar nature, but can be thoroughly enjoyed only by well-educated Chinese scholars, as the references and quotations are written in Chinese and require a good knowledge of the Chinese and Japanese classics to play them well. To boys who are eager to become proficient in Chinese, it often acts as an incentive to be told that they will enjoy these games after certain attainments in scholarship have been made. Having made these attainments they play the game frequently, especially during vacation, to impress on their minds what they have already learned. The same benefit to the memory accrues from the Iroha and Hiakunin Isshiu Garuta.
Two other games are played which may be said to have an educational value. They are the Chiye no Ita, and the Chiye no Wa, or the “Wisdom Boards” and the “Ring of Wisdom.” The former consists of a number of flat thin pieces of wood, cut in many geometrical shapes. Certain possible figures are printed on paper as models, and the boy tries to form them out of the pieces given him. In some cases much time and thinking are required to form the figure. The Chiye no Wa is a ring-puzzle, made of rings of bamboo or iron on a bar. Boys having a talent for mathematics, or those who have a natural capacity to distinguish size and form, succeed very well at these games and enjoy them. The game of Checkers is played on a raised stand or table about six inches in height. The number of go or checkers, including black and white, is 360. In the Sho-gi, or game of chess, the pieces number 40 in all. Back-gammon is also a favorite play, and there are several forms of it. About the time of the old New Year’s when the winds of February and March are favorable to the sport, kites are flown, and there are few sports in which Japanese boys, from the
