Game Pieces

Item number 1042/21 a-b from the MOA: University of British Columbia.

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Description

Two halves (parts a-b) of a cream coloured clam shell, used for kaiawase (貝合わせ), a shell matching game. The interiors are predominantly painted gold, and both have painted images of leaves, flowers and a partition-like structure, beside a horizontal band of green across the middle, representing a river. Polished natural shell exteriors.

History Of Use

Kaiawase (貝合わせ), or the game of matching shells, was originally played by court women during the Heian period (794–1185). The game was later played by different classes, and became popular during the Edo period (1603–1868). A complete set of kaiawase contains 360 pairs of shells around the same size. Each pair was decorated with images from literature or nature. The shells are divided into 2 groups; one group, ji-gai (地貝) is scattered on the floor; the other group, dashi-gai (出し貝) are produced by the participants, who compete in finding the correct counterpart on the floor. The winner is decided by obtaining the greatest number of matching pairs.