Publication Facts and Rating (0 to 5 stars) "At-a-Glance"

Publisher: Tsuchiya-Shoten (Japan)
Publication Year: 1989
Number of cards: 22
Quality of artwork -- 3 stars
Usefulness for meditation/pathworking -- 3 1/2 stars
Readability (Divination) -- 4 stars
Symbology -- 2 1/2 stars
Value to Collectors -- 3 1/2 stars

General Commentary
Perhaps because of its status as "history's most popular tarot deck," the classic Rider-Waite tarot has given rise to an enormous number of imitators. So it should be no surprise that A.E. Waite and his illustrator, Pamela Coleman Smith, have their admirers on the eastern side of the Pacific as well. Oka and Sugimoto's "Shiwase no Mai" tarot (with accompanying book, written in Japanese) is a prime example of "Asian tarot in the Western style." The original imagery and "oriental flavor" of the Amano and Moonprincess Himiko tarots (both reviewed previously) are nowhere to be found here. Instead, we see Waite's vision revisited, complete with the standard "occidental cast of characters."

Keiko Sugimoto's illustrations largely follow Smith's execution of the Majors' symbolism, although with obvious differences in artistic style. On the whole, I found Sugimoto's work to be somewhat less appealing than Smith's, yet still competent and enjoyable and perhaps even a bit more attractively "updated" in places. In addition, the colors in the Shiwase no Mai tarot are brighter and more varied, but this is presumably due to eighty years of advances in the printing industry; Sugimoto is not bound by the publishing limitations that would have faced Smith at the turn of the previous century.

Since I do not read Japanese and am therefore unable to translate Marina Oka's book, I can only render my opinions based on the cards alone. From that standpoint, I would personally recommend this deck, but not necessarily as any sort of "better alternative" to the tried-and-true Rider-Waite tarot itself. Because its adherence to the Waite / Smith standards, it should be a very "comfortable" deck for most readers -- it might even make a good "beginner's deck." The cards themselves are sized about the same as a standard Rider-Waite, and are printed on sturdy, flexible high-gloss stock that should stand up well to repeated handling and shuffling. However, it is a majors-only deck, so those who prefer to read with 78 cards would find the Shiwase no Mai tarot lacking in this fashion.

The Shiwase no Mai probably holds somewhat more interest as a collector's item. Having never been imported by any mass-market distributor in North America (or Europe, to the best of my knowledge), it is unlikely to be found in the hands of many Western collectors. It is not a limited-edition publication, however, so it should not difficult to obtain in Japan and some other Asian countries.

For those who are interested in collecting and / or studying a wide variety of Rider-Waite reprints and imitations, the Shiwase no Mai tarot should provide some interesting "food for thought." Many of the differences are subtle, but striking upon reflection. For example, The Tower card closely mimics Smith's overall design, with a lightning bolt striking the "crown" of the tower, which falls away as two figures tumble to the ground and flames shoot out of each of three windows. But in Oka and Sugimoto's version, the perspective is changed so that the viewer appears to be at the bottom of the scene looking up, and the tower itself bows as it sweeps upward. These "adjustments" give the card a much more imposing and "dynamic" look. Purists, however, will note that Sugimoto either changes or fails to incorporate some of Waite's more subtle symbolism, such as the numerically significant falling yods ("droplets of flame") surrounding the tower. Waite uses twenty-two, representing the qabbalistic paths connecting the sephiroth of the tree-of-life glyph; Sugimoto (perhaps under Oka's direction) uses only seven. Similar differences can be found on all of the Shiwase no Mai cards, thus preventing it from being branded as nothing more than a completely unoriginal "rip-off" of Waite and Smith's work.

The Shiwase no Mai tarot, like many of the Japanese tarots I've seen, is packaged in a nice "shelf box;" the book and foam-lined tarot casing slip easily inside. As of this writing (1/7/01), the set is available on-line to Western buyers -- at a very reasonable price -- from Sasuga Books.

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Guest review copyright 2001 by Jeannette Roth
Used with permission