HANAFUDA

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We wouldn't have chosen the hanafuda cards as a topic, if there hadn't been decks that combine the East with the West. The following 2 decks were made in Japan. They have French suitcolours, English indices and a card with the international pattern in the corners, while the centre design is that of Hanafuda cards.
Combining a game for 48 cards with one for 52 cards is possible here, because each suit from the Hanafuda cards consists of 4 cards. Adding one extra suit to the Hanafuda deck does the trick. We find this suit on the Kings. Here it is depicted as Full Sun. Of course Hanafuda players will set this suit aside, when playing their game, while poker players will just look at the indices and French suits. For them the hanafuda images will probably be just another pretty picture.

The deck was printed and published in Japan ca. 1960 by the Universal Playing Card Co. 

In the Cary catalogue ( Vol. I, England # 28 ) the deck has been classified incorrectly under "England". There was a Universal Playing Card Co. in England too, but the use of this type of joker figure indicates that this deck was made by the Japanese company.