This site began its life as the Internet's only place where the Japanese three-player variation of mahjong was discussed in English.
However, it must be admitted that, whatever the merits of the three player game, when compared to traditional Japanese "four-player" mahjong, it has only a regional following. By contrast, traditional "four-player" mahjong is played throughout the whole Japanese archipelago.
Japanese-style mahjong is distinguished by certain features such as the Riichi rule, and the methodical placement of discard tiles one after the other.
The Japanese game, like mahjong elsewhere, admits of a great deal of variety.
I hope to upload more information about traditional Japanese mahjong in due course, along with an extensive overview of the numerous local variations to the rules and a section on Japanese mahjong terms.
In short, watch this space for further Japanese mahjong developments!
What's New?
MJ Glossary Page Uploaded.
Japanese Mahjong has its own specialized vocabulary.
The plethora of terms can be quite confusing to the beginner so I have set up a page here dedicated to explaining both the basic and the more advanced or optional terminology.
If you play Japanese mahjong computer or tv games you may find the vocabulary section helpful. I will add Kanji in due course!
D.H.
21st August 2007:
