The Story of April Heuksari – Wisteria, a Bird, and Grass Ribbons
“The April card looks like it has black beans hanging all over it, doesn’t it?” Yes, it does look that way. The April Hwatu (Korean flower cards) card is said to be the most confusing picture of all. In Korea, it is called Heuksari (Black Clover). Today, let’s follow these black berries and the bird to find out what they really are.
April Animal (bird)
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April Ribbon (Grass Ribbon)
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Is Heuksari really wisteria?
In Japanese Hanafuda, April is known as wisteria (fuji, 藤). Wisteria is a climbing vine whose purple blossoms hang down like bunches of grapes, and in Korea they bloom around late spring. In Korean Hwatu, though, it is commonly explained that this long hanging shape looked like the branches of a bush clover (ssari), which is how it got the name ‘Heuksari’ (Black Clover). There are several theories about the exact origin of the name, so it is hard to say for sure.
Hidden pictures: the April Animal
- A bird with yellow and red wings is flying by. In Japan, it is said to be seen as a bird like the little cuckoo (hototogisu).
- Hanging from the drooping branch, round black berries seem to grow in a bunch like grapes.
- In one corner, a white cloud-like curve is hiding.
From the picture alone it looks like berries are growing, but it is explained that they were originally a simple drawing of blossom clusters. That is why ‘black flowers that look like berries’ are the charm of this card.
The other two cards: two Junk
April has one bird (Animal), one Ribbon (Grass Ribbon), and two Junk. The two Junk cards are full of black clusters only, so at first it is hard to tell which month they belong to. A tip: remember that ‘black clusters + empty sky’ means April.
April Junk
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April Junk
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What the April cards do in the game
- Bird (Animal): When the three birds of February, April, and August come together, it is Godori. When Godori is completed, 5 points are added.
- Grass Ribbons: Collecting all the Ribbons of April, May, and July adds 3 points.
- Mission: For the “Catch Godori” mission, you succeed by capturing the three Animals of February, April, and August, and a score multiplier is applied. There is also a “Complete the Grass Ribbons” mission.
If you’d like to know more about Godori, please read The Story of Godori. The April bird is the middle piece of Godori, so it is well worth grabbing.
An anecdote: the day the April Animal got away
There is a story about a player aiming for Godori who proudly captured the April bird first, only to have the opponent capture the August bird. “Why did this bird have to fly in alone and help someone else?!” they said, and laughed for a long while. That is okay. When one round ends, another begins, and the birds fly in again next round.
