8 articles · read in order

Japanese Riichi

Japanese riichi mahjong: the yaku requirement, the riichi declaration, furiten, dora and red fives, han and fu scoring, yakuman and the professional leagues.

1Japanese Riichi

Riichi Mahjong Explained

Riichi is Japan's form of mahjong: 136 tiles, no flowers, a mandatory scoring element called a yaku, the riichi declaration, dora bonus tiles and a deep defensive game built around reading discards.

2 min read

2Japanese Riichi

Yaku: The Scoring Patterns You Need to Win in Riichi

In riichi mahjong a hand must contain at least one yaku to win. Here are the most common ones — riichi, tsumo, all simples, pinfu, dragon and wind triplets — and the bigger patterns worth chasing.

2 min read

3Japanese Riichi

Declaring Riichi

Declaring riichi means announcing that your closed hand is one tile from winning. It costs a 1,000-point deposit and locks your hand, but it gives you a yaku and the chance of bonus tiles.

2 min read

4Japanese Riichi

Furiten: Why You Sometimes Cannot Win on a Discard

Furiten is riichi's most important defensive rule: if any of your winning tiles is in your own discards, you cannot win on someone else's discard. It is what makes reading discards possible.

2 min read

5Japanese Riichi

Dora are bonus tiles that add han to a winning hand. The dora indicator in the dead wall points to them, kongs reveal more, riichi winners check the ura-dora underneath, and red fives are dora by design.

2 min read

6Japanese Riichi

Han and Fu: How Riichi Hands Are Scored

Riichi scoring combines han, from yaku and dora, and fu, from the hand's composition and wait. Together they give a base value that is multiplied for dealer and non-dealer wins, up to the mangan limit and beyond.

2 min read

7Japanese Riichi

Yakuman: Riichi's Limit Hands

Yakuman are the rarest, most valuable hands in riichi: thirteen orphans, four concealed triplets, big three dragons, all honours, all green, nine gates and more, each worth the maximum score.

2 min read

8Japanese Riichi

Professional Mahjong in Japan and the M.League

Japan has professional mahjong organisations with entrance exams, title matches and televised games. Since 2018 the M.League has run a team competition with corporate sponsors and large online audiences.

2 min read