Joudo-Sugoroku 1400

User summary: 浄土双六 (Joudo-Sugoroku) is a traditional Japanese game originally produced during the Muromachi period (1336 to 1573) and later developed into Tobi-Sugoroku in the Edo Period (1603 to 1868). As with the later Tobi-Sugoroku (and Mawari-Sugoroku), the original designers' and illustrators' names are lost to history.

Joudo-Sugoroku is themed on the Buddhist tradition of re-incarnation. Joudo means 'The Pure Land', that is the celestial realm or pure abode of a Buddha. The players are human souls, wandering through the many Hells, gradually gaining enlightenment through training and meditation, to finally ascend to the Pure Land.

Game-play is based upon the text in the squares on the scroll. The players roll dice (labelled in Chinese text for the numbers 1 to 6) and move as instructed, so a player does not move from one square to an adjacent one, but instead jumps across the network. (Sugoroku means literally 'double-six').

An edition has been produced by 望月哲史 (Satoshi Mochizuki) for Plenluno (プレンルーノ) and uses the classic artwork and language of the "Sugoroku Ruiju" game held in the collection of the National Museum of Japan in Tokyo, but also updated into modern language. The game is produced as a large sheet poster, with additional playing pieces, and is available at Spiel 2016.

The game is played by 1 to 8 players, aged from 5+ years and takes around 20 minutes to finish. It's a roll-and-move racing game using dice, with mythological and educational themes.

Game description from the publisher: 江戸時代に遊ばれていた「飛び双六」の現代語訳版です。 日本の東京国立博物館に収蔵されている「双六類聚」を現代語に翻訳しました。 人間界から出発し、地獄を巡り、修業をして悟りを開き、仏になることを目指す双六です。 江戸時代、お寺などで遊ばれていた双六です。 400年以上前のものの復刻版です。 盤面は仏教の死後の世界を表しています。 地獄をさまよったり、修行や瞑想をしたりして、悟りを開いて仏を目指します。 輪廻転生を繰り返し、仏を目指しましょう。