Japan high school karuta player aims for the top as tournaments return after hiatus
July 11, 2021 (Mainichi Japan) ISHIKAWA Every summer, Shiga Prefecture s Oumi Jingu shrine holds the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu competitive karuta card game s national high school championships. The event is also called the Karuta Koshien a reference to the high school baseball tournaments that draw huge national attention each year. While the coronavirus pandemic led to the event s cancellation last year, this March, a voluntarily organized replacement tournament, the Etoile Cup, went ahead. There, 17-year-old Mahiro Hayashi came out champion and made her first appearance at the top of karuta s competitive scene for high schoolers.