oicho-kabu

• oichokabu

Borrowed from Japanese おいちょかぶ (oicho-kabu). Compound of オイチョ (oicho, “the 8 card”) + カブ (kabu, “the 9 card”), borrowed from Portuguese oito (“eight”) and Portuguese cabo (“end”, for being the highest card) respectively.

• IPA^(key): /ˌɔɪ.t͡ʃoʊˈkɑː.buː/
• Rhymes: -ɑːbuː

oicho-kabu (uncountable)

1. (card games) A traditional Japanese gambling game similar to baccarat and the Korean game seotda, played with kabufuda or hanafuda cards, where the goal is to achieve a hand scoring as close to 9 points as possible.
   • 1965, Studies of Broadcasting, number 3, Theoretical Research Center, Radio & TV Culture Research Institute, Nippon Hoso Kyokai, page 125:

     In the history of speculative amusements ranging from a sort of roulette gambling in the streets (densuke gambling), oicho kabu (a type of gambling), down to Pachinko, horse races, and bicycle races, new developments such as motor-boat races and automobile races appeared in the early 1950s.

   • 2010, Mark Hersberger, chapter 9, in Tokyo Lives, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 68:

     Their game is oicho-kabu, played with hanafuda, or flower cards.

   • 2011, Stephen L. Mallory, “The Yakuza” (chapter 8), in Understanding Organized Crime, Jones & Bartlett Learning, →ISBN, page 139:

     The term Yakuza is derived from a Japanese card game, Oicho-Kabu, which is played similarly to the American card game of blackjack.

   • 2013, Nagaru Tanigawa, translated by Paul Tuttle Starr, The Surprise of Haruhi Suzumiya, volume 2, Yen Press, →ISBN:

     Couldn't we play with hanafuda cards instead? I asked. I had a decent amount of experience with oichokabu or koi koi thanks to playing with my mom's family in the countryside.

   • 2013, Jay Kristoff, “Crescendo” (chapter 47), in Kinslayer, St. Martin's Publishing Group, →ISBN:

     He'd won the hat from a city boy in a game of oicho-kabu three days ago and he was terribly proud of it, strutting in front of her like an emerald crane in a courting dance, laughing as hard as split lips would let him.