Mahjong Compendium

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Modern riichi / yonma

red fives, 1970

Cross-comparison

corroborated — two or more independent sources agree on the facts that define this variant

SourceTilesHandFlowersScoringPayout
[1]13613, out on 14come with the sets but are not used in playbase points times fan; most easily scored from a memorised chartwinner only
[2]13613—point and pattern; fu and han/yaku; minimum 1 yaku, maximum yakuman—
[3]136 (34 unique types, 4 copies each)13, winning hand 14not used; modern sets come with four red five dora tiles, whose use is optionalhan from yaku and dora, plus fu from hand composition; at least one yaku required to win—
  • [1] discards placed in orderly rows
  • [2] length 2 rounds, dead wall 14
  • [3] names the four-player game yonma (四麻) against the three-player sanma. Dates the modern riichi variant to the 1960s, with the explosion in popularity after 1969 and online play from Tenhou in 2007. It does not date red fives to 1970 as the chart does
  • [4] standardised in Japan and South Korea, prevalent in video games, with riichi and dora as its unique highlights and discards arranged by order in front of each player
  • [5] THE CHAIN IS INCOMPLETE: lists seven Amano rulesets — 1952 Hochi, 1957 Tokyo, 1958 Unified, 1963 Olympic, 1967 Modern, 1971 New modern, 1978 New hochi. The chart carries only the first, second and fifth. The chart's 1970 date for this node sits beside Amano's 1971 New modern rules, which it does not mention

Reading it

Three sources now agree on 136 tiles, a 13-tile hand and no flowers in play, and riichi.wiki adds the han-and-fu structure and the one-yaku minimum. The chart's 1970 date for red fives is still uncorroborated: riichi.wiki confirms red five dora exist and are optional but dates the modern variant only to the 1960s, with the popularity surge after 1969.

Sources

  1. Sloper, Tom. "FAQ 2b: Identifying a Mah-Jongg Variant." Sloperama. cross-check checked 2026-09-18

    Tile counts, hand sizes, flower handling and scoring for roughly 50 named variants. Primary source for most leaf nodes in this chart.

    https://www.sloperama.com/mjfaq/mjfaq02b.html

    Also cited on: Chinese archaic, Chinese pre-classical, Chinese classical, Shanghai / Hong Kong new style, Hong Kong old style, Modern HKOS and 43 more · bibliography #1

  2. Mahjong Wiki. "Japanese Modern Overview." mahjong.wikidot.com. canonical checked 2026-09-18

    Cited as the source for individual nodes in the chart's node table. Carries no bibliography or per-claim citations of its own; see the appendix on tracing the wiki.

    http://mahjong.wikidot.com/rules:japanese-modern-overview

    Only cited here · bibliography #48

  3. Japanese Mahjong Wiki. "Japanese Mahjong." riichi.wiki. supporting checked 2026-09-18

    Arrival in Japan in 1909; the post-1969 popularity surge; Tenhou.net in 2007.

    https://riichi.wiki/index.php?title=Japanese_mahjong

    Also cited on: Japanese classical / arushiiaru, Houchi rules, Sanma · bibliography #11

  4. Wikipedia. "Mahjong." cross-check checked 2026-09-18

    The main article's regional-variations section, which describes most branches of this tree independently of the chart's own sources.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahjong

    Also cited on: Chinese classical, Hong Kong old style, Taiwanese style, Singapore style, Filipino style, Vietnamese classical and 6 more · bibliography #54

  5. Japanese Mahjong Wiki. "Daizo Amano." riichi.wiki. cross-check checked 2026-09-19

    Biography and complete ruleset list for 天野大三 (1904-1982): the 1952 Hochi rules and the police incident, and the seven rulesets he authored between 1952 and 1978. Read through the Wayback Machine.

    https://riichi.wiki/Daizo_Amano

    Also cited on: Houchi rules, Modern rules · bibliography #72

  6. Yuria (Hassouhatsu Club). "A Brief History of Japanese Mahjong." Krakow Chombo Club, 2 Aug 2026. supporting

    Arushiiaru rules and scoring; Amano Daizou; the Houchi Shinbun serial of 11 Nov - 5 Dec 1952; the 1957 Tokyo rules and 1967 modern rules; bazoro; the Federation's 2016 acceptance of riichi.

    https://chombo.club/en/blog/2026/08/02/a-brief-history-of-japanese-mahjong/

    Also cited on: Japanese classical / arushiiaru, Houchi rules, Tokyo rules, Modern rules, WMPA / WMF · bibliography #10

  7. Wikipedia. "Japanese Mahjong." supporting

    The riichi declaration, dora, furiten and ordered discards.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_mahjong

    Also cited on: Japanese classical / arushiiaru, Sanma · bibliography #12

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