noun
hana-awase (hanafuda game)
A specific hanafuda game. The term can also refer broadly to hanafuda matching games in general, but this sense is the named game.
See also: 花札
花合わせは花札を使った遊びの一つです。
Hana-awase is one of the games played with hanafuda cards.
noun
hanafuda matching game (general)
Dated term for any hanafuda game where players match cards from their hand with cards of the same suit on the field. Games like hachi-hachi and koi-koi are also used.
昔は花合わせという言葉で、花札のいろいろな遊び方を指した。
In the past, the word hana-awase referred to various ways of playing hanafuda.
noun
flower-comparing contest (Heian period)
Historical Heian-period contest where participants compared flowers. Also written as 花競べ.
See also: 花競べ
花合わせは平安時代の宮中行事で、花の優劣を競った。
Hana-awase was a Heian-period court event where people competed over the quality of flowers.
Compound of 花 (flower) and 合わせ (matching, comparing). The hanafuda game sense derives from matching flower cards; the historical sense from comparing flowers.