Sengoku

There are theme decks, and then there are decks that earn their theme. This deck (Sengoku) belongs firmly to the latter category. It is a deck of 52 cards plus Jokers that does not simply borrow Japanese imagery as decoration. It builds its entire visual world around one of the most consequential and dramatic periods of Japanese history.

Above: Jokers showing a wide battle panorama.

The deck takes its name and its narrative backbone directly from the Sengoku Jidai, the "Age of Warring States", conventionally dated from the outbreak of the Ōnin War in 1467, which shattered the central authority of the Ashikaga shogunate, through the fall of Osaka Castle and the destruction of the Toyotomi clan in 1615.

For a century and a half, Japan fractured into a patchwork of rival domains ruled by competing daimyō, whose armies fought continuously for land, resources, and political supremacy. It was in this crucible that the professional samurai class matured, shinobi became associated with the period’s military traditions, and Portuguese traders introduced firearms that permanently altered the shape of Japanese warfare. The era's chaos was ultimately resolved by three successive unifiers: Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu. Their campaigns laid the groundwork for over two and a half centuries of Tokugawa peace. This period is called SENGOKU.

The deck opens with an information card recounting this history and establishing the project’s historical purpose.

Above: The deck box and an information card back.

The deck box and an information card back show the Sengoku title, Elokhin Art branding and a visual glossary of period arms and equipment.

The card back has an olive, charcoal and rust lattice with golden rosettes, each with eight petals, echoing the lacing of samurai armour.

Every rank of the deck reinforces the theme rather than merely illustrating it:

• Ace cards: show nobori banners among blossoming plum branches, each marked with a clan mon.
• King cards: show armoured commanders, with the King of Diamonds represented as a robed civil official. In the photographed copy, the King of Diamonds also has a plain white field without the plum-blossom background seen on the other kings.
• Queen cards: show courtly women in flowing kimono, paired with a falcon, shamisen, drum and rabbit.
• Jack cards: are marked with a Cyrillic letter rather than the Western 'J' and show a shinobi, foot soldier, retainer and attendant. The Jack of Hearts appears to have a different background treatment from the other Jacks.
• Pip cards: use small circular medallions and symmetrical arrangements, including a hidden dog vignette on the Ten of Clubs.
• Jokers: unfold into a wide battle panorama inspired by ukiyo-e with a mounted general, cavalry and distant arrows.

The scans show visible differences in the photographed copy, including the plain field behind the King of Diamonds and the background treatment of the Jack of Hearts. These are recorded as features of this copy; the available evidence does not establish that they are printing errors.

Collectors and players drawn to historical and military playing cards, as well as anyone interested in the visual language of the Sengoku period, will find this deck worth seeking out for the shelf as much as for the table.