Japanese Mahjong (Japanese: 麻雀, 麻将 or マージャン; mājan), also known as Rīchi Mahjong, is a variation of mahjong. While the basic rules to the game are retained, the variation features a unique set of rules such as rīchi and the use of dora.
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Japanese mahjong is usually played with 136 tiles that do not include the flower and season tiles.[1][2] The tiles are arranged in four walls that are two stacks high and 17 tiles wide, and are placed in front of the players. Tiles are organized into four suits: Pin (circles), Sou (bamboo), Wan (characters), and Tsū (honour tiles). Honour tiles are further divided between Wind tiles and Dragon tiles. Some rules may have red number 5 tiles which work as dora so they earn more han value.
| Īpin | Ryanpin | Sanpin | Sūpin | Ūpin | Ryūpin | Chīpin | Pāpin | Chūpin |
| Īsou | Ryansou | Sansou | Sūsou | Ūsou | Ryūsou | Chīsou | Pāsou | Chūsou |
| Īwan | Ryanwan | Sanwan | Sūwan | Ūwan | Ryūwan | Chīwan | Pāwan | Chūwan |
| Ton (East) |
Nan (South) |
Shā (West) |
Pei (North) |
| Haku | Hatsu | Chun |
In the Japanese scoring system, two factors are considered: the han value and fu value. If the han value is five or more, then the fu value is no longer necessary. A winner acquires points based on these values, which correspond to a points-value table.
Yaku are specific combinations of tiles or conditions that yield value of hands. When scoring, each yaku has own han value, and the han works as a doubler. A hand needs at least one yaku. Yakuman are limit hands which are hard to get, and in some variations multiple yakuman are applied.
Declaring rīchi means declaring a ready hand, and is a kind of yaku. A player may declare ready if a hand of the player needs only one tile to complete a legal hand, that is, a hand with a required combination of tiles, and the hand must be concealed, in which case the player can win on a discard.[3] Upon declaring ready, the player may no longer change their hand except forming hidden quads. The player must pay a buy in fee.
As a possible rule, the player can choose to reveal the hand winning more points if successful, which is called ōpun rīchi (open rīchi). In that case, the player shows only the tiles that are related to waits, or reveals all the tiles in the hand depending on rules.[4] The declaration increases the yaku count allowing the player to score extra points.
Dora tiles are bonus tiles, and a player gets additional value if a final hand includes them. Each dora tile adds han value, and thus scores doubles. Dora are not regarded as yaku. Dora tiles are determined for each round by exposed tiles from the dead wall,[5] and in some rules they are marked through a game (see Red 5 tiles). In the event when a player makes a quad, an additional tile from the dead wall is flipped to indicate an additional kind of dora tile. In three player mahjong, dora can be a specific tile such as the North Wind. These should not be confused with Flowers and Seasons which are not used in most Japanese versions anyway.
In some rules, up to two of the number 5 tiles for each suit are replaced with red 5 tiles which work as dora themselves. In addition, if a dora indicator on a stack is number 4 of that suit, they can get extra han value.
There are distinctions between winning from the wall and winning from a discard. When going out, players call out "tsumo" (自摸 or ツモ, self-drawn) or "ron" (栄 or ロン, picking up a discard), and not the name "mahjong". In the case of tsumo, the other three players share responsibility of paying out points, according to the scoring table. For ron, the player who discarded the tile pays for all the points.
In the sacred discard rules which are also called furiten (振聴 or フリテン), a winning tile can only be drawn from the wall in the following cases. There are three rules which can be simultaneously valid in a game:[6]
For all of these rules, in case discards were called to make open melds and are not in the discard piles, the rules still work for such discards.[8]
Depending on rules, when a quad is made, the number of tiles in the dead wall is kept to be 14 by reserving the last available tile as a part of it, or the number decreases at that time.
A game ends when a player's score became zero or below zero, or only when it became below zero. Some rules allow a game to continue even when it became negative value.
At the end of a match, players are often given bonus points or penalties depending on their place.
A game usually ends when the Southern fourth round is over. If the points of the top player are below 30,000 at the time, it continues to Western rounds (西場) in some rules. The situation is called shānyū (西入; entering West). The prevailing wind becomes West. Northern rounds (北場) come next in the same way. Depending on rules, they are followed by Eastern rounds again or instead White, Green and Red dragon rounds and again Eastern rounds.[9]
In an optional rule called yakitori (焼き鳥), if one did not win a hand in a match, that player pays a penalty.
At the start of a match, each player has a mark called "yakitori māku (mark)" (焼き鳥マーク) on the table, and a player flips their own after winning a hand.[10] Chips or coins are also used as substitutes, and they are often removed instead of being flipped.
In an optional rule of wareme (割れ目, ワレメ; fissure, split), the player in front of whom the wall was split to indicate the end of the dead wall acquires and pays double the normal points. They are doubled after the points of honba are added.[11] It is often especially called oya-ware (親割れ; parent's [dealer's] wareme) when the player is the dealer.
Players can make a meld by calling for another player's discard. They reveal the meld on the table, and then make their own discard. Closed quads also need calling out and revealing.
Players can make an open sequential meld by calling out "chī (吃 or チー)" using a tile discarded by the left player, who is prior in order. Players place the meld to face up on the table, usually on the right side of their hands, with that discard placed sideways at the leftmost position of the meld so that players can realize what tile was taken from the left discard pile.
Players can make an open meld of same three tiles by calling out "pon (碰 or ポン)" using a tile discarded by any other player. Players place the meld to face up on the table with one of those tiles placed sideways so that players can realize from whom the discard was taken.
There are three types of quads and players call out "kan (槓 or カン)" for all of those types. After making a quad, players need a supplemental tile to draw from the end of the dead wall.
Players can make a closed quad by calling out "kan" using same four tiles in their hand. They reveal the meld on the table usually with the inside two tiles faced up and the outside two tiles faced down.
Players can make an open quad by calling out "kan" using another player's discard and the same three tiles in their hand. They reveal the meld on the table with all the four tiles faced up, with one of those tiles placed sideways so that players can realize from whom the discard was taken. Players cannot make the type of meld using open melds of three tiles.
Players can make an added open quad (kakan; 加槓) by calling out "kan." They can add a self-drawn tile or a tile already in their hand to an open meld of same three tiles.[12] The tile is usually added sideways on top of the sideways tile in the open meld.
The precedence order to pick up a discard is that the first is ron (winning), the second is kan or pon, and lastly chī when two or more players need the same discard. Kan and pon cannot happen at the same time.
There is a three player version called sanma (三麻). Two player mahjong is also found as video games.
This variant is featured in anime and manga series such as Akagi, Saki and Mudazumo Naki Kaikaku.