Showa Note’s Japanese Pokémon karuta box line, organized by era with box-art and card-photo upload slots.
Brand:Showa NoteFormat:45 kana pairs / boxEra:1997 → ongoingRegion:Japan onlyCatalogue:Era boxes
About the Line
Pokémon karuta boxes pair reading cards with picture cards. Each era tile below opens a checklist and has upload slots for box art and card photos.
Box composition. The current Showa Note box (JAN 4901772670650) lists its contents as 45 picture cards (絵札), 45 character cards (字札), 2 supplementary cards (補助札) and one hiragana chart. That is 45 kana pairs, not 46 — the run is あ to を with no ん. This is confirmed for the current box only; it has not been separately verified for the older era boxes, so treat the vintage counts as unconfirmed.
Era Boxes
Era overview · box art and card checklists
BOX ART
1997 · Showa NotePokémon Karuta (Original)First Karuta box from the Kanto / Red & Green era. Pikachu, Charizard and other Gen 1 starters on the lid. Rarest of the line on the second-hand market.View Checklist →
~2003 · Showa NotePokémon AG Karuta · Ruby / Sapphire EraAdvanced Generation update with Hoenn starters on the cover.View Checklist →
BOX ART
2006 · Showa NotePokémon DP Karuta · Diamond & PearlConfirmed box. Sinnoh starters and Dialga / Palkia on the lid. Often the cheapest vintage Karuta box to find loose.View Checklist →
BOX ART
2010–2012 · 3 printingsPokémon BW Karuta · "Best Wishes!"Printing-separated research archive. The exact 2012 orange-floral box has 14 verified identities; 31 remain visibly open rather than borrowing cards from the different 2010 or 2011 boxes.View Checklist →
2016–2018 · Showa NotePokémon Sun & Moon KarutaThree known Alola-era printings. The 2018 Zeraora / Necrozma cover has a complete 45-card checklist.View Checklist →
BOX ART
~2019–2020 · Showa NotePokémon Sword & Shield KarutaGalar starters and Zacian / Zamazenta on the cover.View Checklist →
BOX ART
2023 · Showa NotePokémon Scarlet & Violet KarutaConfirmed current-print box (item codes 674729001 / 674729002). Paldea starters and Koraidon / Miraidon on the cover.Set details →
Locked · checklist not complete
BOX ART
Reprint · Showa NotePokémon Karuta · "Pikachu & Friends"Evergreen edition that mixes generations on the cover with Pikachu as the centrepiece. Multiple printings exist.View Checklist →
BOX ART
Variants / OtherOther Karuta BoxesAny Pokémon Karuta box that doesn’t fit one of the era slots above — movie tie-ins, regional exclusives, departmental store gift sets, etc. Use this tile to surface unlisted variants.View Checklist →
Year-Dated Boxes
Showa Note’s annual boxes · each year is its own set
Why these are listed separatelyThe modern boxes are named by year, not by game era, and the contents change every year — the あ card is Zorua in 2024, Fuecoco in 2025 and Chikorita in 2026. They are therefore separate sets, not reprints of one another.
BOX ART
2026 · Showa Noteポケモンかるた 2026JAN 4901772670650. Its あ card is Chikorita (チコリータ), read from the maker’s contents photo — each year is a different set.Set details →
Locked · checklist not complete
BOX ART
2025 · Showa Noteポケモンかるた 2025JAN 4901772670636. Its あ card is Fuecoco (ホゲータ), read from the maker’s contents photo — each year is a different set.View Checklist →
BOX ART
2024 · Showa Noteポケモンかるた 2024JAN 4901772670582. Its あ card is Zorua (ゾロア), read from the maker’s contents photo — each year is a different set.View Checklist →
Individual Cards
46 hiragana × N boxes · per-card grids
Card gridsEach box page has its own card grid and upload slots.
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Karuta Box or Loose Cards
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