Urashima Tarou Playing Cards by Bloom & Room One (Kickstarter)https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bloomplayingcards/urashima-tarou-playing-cardsCustom playing cards set in an underwater kingdom of Japanese folklorePrice: $12 (Origami Edition in Blue or Black), $18 (Louver Edition in Green or Velvet), $64 (Collector Set with all four decks), $82 (Half Brick Set), $124 (Ultimate Set)
Current funding level: already funded
Kickstarter ends: Tuesday, January 7, 2025
I love quality playing cards with a high degree of customization, novelty, and quality, and this new Kickstarter project from Bloom Playing Cards ticks all the boxes.
The creator: Bloom Playing Cards & Room One CardsBloom Playing Cards is one of the sub-brands of Room One Cards. Room One Cards is based in Asia, and is the creator of three main brands: Room One Cards, Bloom Playing Cards, and Anti-Faro Playing Cards. With the help of Kickstarter they've already produced ten different projects of custom playing cards, which have been well-received by the playing card community.
Aside from a high amount of originality and lavish quality, another notable feature of Room One is that they have their own printer. I've personally sampled decks from their Roots range with the three main stocks they use (270gsm = Sleight Stock, 290gsm = Afflux Stock, and 300gsm = Elite Stock) and been impressed with their quality and handling.
Urashima Tarou is the fourth project under the Bloom label, and follows the success of three previous projects: Hyakki Yagyo Playing Cards, Samurai Otter Playing Cards, and The Fox's Wedding Playing Cards (my personal favorite so far!). All of these are unique and charming in their own way, and the Room One team has come up with something special again with Urashima Tarou.
The theme: the Urashima Tarou fairy taleIf you Google Urashima Tarou, you'll learn that he's the main character in a Japanese fairy tale which dates back to the 8th century. He's a kind-hearted fisherman who rescues a turtle, who returns the favor by inviting Taro to the Dragon Palace, where he meets the princess Otohime. Tarou and Otohime fall in love and enjoy their time together below the sea.
When Taro returns to his parents, he's shocked to discover that over 100 years have passed and he has been presumed dead. Otohime also gives him a jewelled box which she instructs him not to open, but when he does so, he immediately transforms into an old man. The transformation from youth to old age and the fleeting nature of time are key themes of the story, and also of these new playing cards.
The decks: Louver Edition and Origami EditionThe Urashima Tarou Playing Cards come in two main editions, the Louver Edition (available in Green or Velvet) and the Origami Edition (available in Blue or Black). The Origami Edition is the standard version of the deck, whereas the Louver Edition comes with extra features and is the real showpiece.
Special FeaturesThe lavish tuck box of the Louver Edition is the real highlight, and captures the idea of Tarou's transformation from youth to old age with a special mechanism that I've personally not seen in a custom deck before. Torou is pictured as a young man, but when you trigger the mechanism on the tuck box, he changes into an old man. As the project says, "
This duality reflects the fleeting nature of time, reminding us of life's impermanence and the delicate balance between dreams and reality." As well as being a meaningful theme, the way this has been executed with the tuck box is also clever and novel on the level of aesthetics.
The Louver Edition has the added luxury of using foil on the card faces for a truly sophisticated and stylish look. The court cards depict the key characters from the Urashima Tarou story, and include a young and an old Tarou, the princess, and others.
The deck is also billed as being a transformation deck, which usually means that the pips on the number cards are incorporated into artwork. I don't know that I would consider these to be true transformation playing cards, since the pips don't really seem to function as part of the art. But it is true that all the number cards have fully custom artwork and images, and this gives each number card a unique and visual appeal that you won't find in a standard deck of cards.
I also love the fact that the card backs have a flip-book animation feature in the Louver Edition. When flipping your thumb through the cards, you see an animated image that pictures the moment that Tarou opens the jewelled box, and triggers his instant aging.
Both the Louver Editions also come with patterned gilded edges for extra luxury.
The tuck box of the Origami Edition isn't like your ordinary deck either. It has a special folding mechanism inspired by Japanese origami, which is attention grabbing in its own way. The card backs in the Origami Edition have a simpler design, based on the pattern of a sea turtle shell - appropriate given the storyline.
Louver Edition (Velvet)
Louver Edition (Green)
Origami Edition (Blue)
Origami Edition (Black)
ExtrasBox sets are also available for collectors, containing one of each deck, or half a dozen decks, or complete with special extras.
There's a special secret hidden into a special half-brick set. If you place the tuck boxes of half a dozen decks together (2x Blue Origami, 2x Black Origami, 1x Velvet Louver, 1x Green Louver), the artwork cleverly combines to create a single polyptych image.
There are also special items such as a metal Urashima Tarou collector coin, a metal bookmark, a puzzle, and stickers. Previous decks from Bloom are also available as add-ons.
I've been very impressed with the output and quality of Room One Cards, and the decks I've seen so far have been fantastic. This is another splendid project that incorporates artistic creativity with an original theme, a luxurious look, innovation, and quality.
Kickstarter link
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bloomplayingcards/urashima-tarou-playing-cards
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