Defensive Karuta

Defensive karuta is a style of karuta focused on defending the cards on your side. It is often a more passive type of play that could be said to be about not making mistakes and playing to the strength of your own layout, which should give a slight advantage in memorization/comfort compared to the opponent’s layout.

However, just as offensive karuta players still defend their side, defensive players can still attack the opponent’s side, so neither playstyle is simply about one side or the other.

Advantages:

• easier to memorize your own side
• defending cards can make you feel safe and secure, ensuring mental stability
• shutting down an offensive karuta player with defensive karuta can allow you to seize momentum and go on the offensive more easily/with more confidence
• by preventing your side from being attacked, it is harder for your rhythm and memorization to be interrupted by cards that are sent over
• you can create special plans of attack for the cards on your side more easily, since you have full control over their placement
• it is not exactly “necessary” for the cards on your side to be read; some of them should eventually be read, and as long as you are ready for when they are then the “luck” of which cards are read is not that important

Disadvantages:

• it is hard to apply pressure on the opponent until you start attacking
• if your defense is broken too many times, it can be mentally taxing and you may fall apart, especially if you are not used to having cards sent because your defense is usually good
• you cannot control the cards that are read on your side, and are not sending cards, so in a sense it is less flexible than offensive karuta
• it can be hard to launch a comeback if you never gain any momentum