Mahjong CompendiumTokyo rules

Proto-mahjong › Chinese classical › Japanese classical / arushiiaru › Houchi rules › Tokyo rules

Tokyo rules

1957, 1-han minimum

Sources

Sources

The documents this entry rests on, as published. Each can be opened and checked; nothing in this part is anybody’s reading of them.

  1. Encyclopedia Japanese Mahjong Wiki. "Tokyo rules." riichi.wiki. cross-check checked 2026-09-19

    https://riichi.wiki/Tokyo_rules

    AI summary A full treatment of the 1957 ruleset 東京ルール / 全一飜縛り麻雀: equipment, play, scoring and yaku, including that it has no kandora or uradora. Read through the Wayback Machine.

    for this variant Read in September 2026; riichi.wiki now answers 403, so it was not re-read. Its mangan grades match the headings in Amano's 1960 book, and its statement that the rules had no ura-dora agrees with the Chombo Club and Japanese Wikipedia putting ura-dora in 1967. Its zoroba (each 1 or 6, or a pair summing to 7, adds a han) differs from the Chombo Club's (doubles add one or two han), and neither cites a text

    Only cited here · bibliography #73

  2. Guide Yuria (Hassouhatsu Club). "A Brief History of Japanese Mahjong." Krakow Chombo Club, 2 Aug 2026. canonical checked 2026-09-18

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

    chart’s note 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.

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

  3. Rulebook Osakabe Shin'ichi 刑部進一. 『標準麻雀の第一歩』 (First steps in standard mahjong), with a preface by Amano Daizō 天野大三. Kin'ensha, 1958. 218 pp. cross-check checked 2026-10-08

    https://ndlsearch.ndl.go.jp/books/R100000002-I000000981825

    AI summary A primer whose chapter on yaku compares 'the three great rules' and lists the Tokyo rules' new yaku (p. 110). Its appendix prints the three rulesets then current: the Federation rules (p. 181), the Houchi rules (p. 191) and the Tokyo rules (p. 208). The National Diet Library's digital copy is open to registered users; its contents list is public.

    for this variant Contents list only. It shows the Tokyo rules in print by 1958 as one of three current rulesets, beside the Houchi rules they were merged with that year. Its appendix is the nearest text of the rules found

    Only cited here · bibliography #294

  4. Rulebook Takahashi Hiroshi 高橋博. 『麻雀・役のガメリ方』 (Mahjong: how to build big hands), with a recommendation by Amano Daizō 天野大三. Kin'ensha, 1958. 183 pp. cross-check checked 2026-10-08

    https://ndlsearch.ndl.go.jp/books/R100000002-I000000982214

    AI summary A book on building scoring hands by a writer who shares a chapter with Amano in Amano's 1957 book. It has chapters on small and large mangan and a section on the all one-han minimum (オール一飜縛り, p. 95). The National Diet Library's digital copy is open to registered users; its contents list is public.

    for this variant Contents list only. A second writer uses the name オール一飜縛り in 1958 and keeps the small and large mangan that the Chombo Club gives the 1957 rules

    Only cited here · bibliography #298

  5. Rulebook Amano Daizō 天野大三 and Amano Yōichi 天野洋一. 『麻雀新戦術 : リーチ・ドラ牌・ゾロ場の戦い方 特別付録リーチ麻雀『統一ルール』『報知ルール』和程図解表』. Bunkaidō, 1960. 170, 52 pp. cross-check checked 2026-10-08

    https://ndlsearch.ndl.go.jp/books/R100000002-I000001013857

    AI summary A tactics book whose supplement charts the winning hands under the riichi 'unified rules' and the 'Houchi rules', and whose last section is the 1960 revision of the one-han minimum rules. The National Diet Library's digital copy is open to registered users; its contents list is public.

    for this variant Contents list only, re-read for this node. It post-dates the 1958 merger, but its grades match riichi.wiki's for the Tokyo rules. It puts chūren pōtō beside the choumangan, written 超満貫, not 数満貫

    Also cited on: Houchi rules · bibliography #293

  6. Guide Asami Ryō 浅見了. 「競技麻雀の歴史」 (A history of competitive mahjong). 麻雀祭都. cross-check checked 2026-10-08

    https://mjradio.web.fc2.com/majansite-mirror/rekisi23.html

    AI summary How the Japan Mahjong Federation, founded in 1929, adapted Chinese rules for play without stakes. It lists how those early rules differed from today's: all three players paid, the limit was four han, and there was no riichi, dora, furiten or one-han minimum. Read through the Mahjong Radio mirror of the dormant original.

    for this variant Undated, and it cites no sources. It shows what the one-han minimum and furiten rules changed, but not when; it does not mention 1957 or Amano

    Only cited here · bibliography #299

  7. Encyclopedia Wikipedia (Japanese). 「日本牌棋院」 (Nihon Haikiin). cross-check checked 2026-10-08

    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E7%89%8C%E6%A3%8B%E9%99%A2

    AI summary The Japanese article on Amano Daizō's body, which also covers Amano (天野大三 redirects here): the 1952 Houchi rules, the police report and his break with the Japan Mahjong Federation, and his later rulesets of 1957, 1958, 1967, 1971 and 1978. Read at revision 105555739.

    for this variant Re-read at revision 105555739 for the 1957 rules; the passage has no citation. It is a source the chart does not cite, and the only source read that says what became of the Tokyo rules' new yaku

    Also cited on: Houchi rules, Modern rules · bibliography #286

  8. Rulebook Amano Daizō 天野大三. 『麻雀の高等戦術』 (Advanced mahjong tactics). Ikeda Shoten, 1958. 270, 19, 36 pp. cross-check checked 2026-10-08

    https://ndlsearch.ndl.go.jp/books/R100000002-I000000977127

    AI summary A tactics book with a chapter on the 'all one-han minimum' (オール一飜縛り) that opens with the rule's history. A furiten chapter ends with the Tokyo rules' provisions (p. 216), and appendices cover Chinese mahjong literature and Japan's competition rules. Reprinted until 1972. The National Diet Library's digital copy is open to registered users; its contents list is public.

    for this variant Contents list only. In 1958 Amano's own book ties the name オール一飜縛り and a furiten provision to the Tokyo rules. That fits the Chombo Club's account of a furiten change, but the text that would say what the provision was could not be read

    Only cited here · bibliography #295

  9. Rulebook Amano Daizō 天野大三. 『麻雀の始め方』 (How to begin mahjong). Seichōsha, 1959. 320 pp. cross-check checked 2026-10-08

    https://ndlsearch.ndl.go.jp/books/R100000002-I000000993436

    AI summary A primer with a chapter on the han minimum (縛理, p. 226), a recorded game under the Tokyo rules (p. 267) and an appendix printing the 日本麻雀標準規定, 'also called the Houchi rules' (p. 285). Reissued in 1966 as 『麻雀の始め方戦い方』 with the modern rules in the appendix instead. The National Diet Library's digital copy is open to registered users; its contents list is public.

    for this variant Contents list only. Amano still used the Tokyo rules for a model game in 1959, a year after the merger

    Only cited here · bibliography #296

  10. Journalism Amano Daizō 天野大三. 「麻雀（東京ルール）」 (Mahjong: Tokyo rules). 『面白倶楽部』 (Omoshiro Kurabu), Kōbunsha, February, March, May and July 1958. cross-check checked 2026-10-08

    https://ndlsearch.ndl.go.jp/books/R100000002-I000000002888-d1834075

    AI summary Amano's mahjong column in a popular monthly magazine. It is headed 「麻雀」 in issues of 1957 and January 1958, 「麻雀（東京ルール）」 in four issues of 1958 (February p. 299, March p. 207, May p. 287, July p. 379) and 「麻雀講座」 later that year. The National Diet Library's digital copies are for its premises only; the issues' contents lists are public.

    for this variant Contents lists only; the pages are for NDL premises. A popular magazine carried the Tokyo rules under that name in the first half of 1958, before the merger into the unified rules

    Only cited here · bibliography #297

  11. Rulebook Amano Daizō 天野大三. 『麻雀の打ち方 : リーチの実戦譜』 (How to play mahjong: riichi game records). Tōto Shobō, 1956. 246 pp. cross-check checked 2026-10-08

    https://ndlsearch.ndl.go.jp/books/R100000002-I000000972182

    AI summary Amano's manual in two parts, the general game and riichi, with appendices printing the 1953 standard riichi rules (the Houchi rules) and the Japan Mahjong Federation's 1955 rules. The National Diet Library's digital copy is open to registered users; its contents list is public.

    for this variant Contents list only, re-read for this node. Amano wrote about a one-han minimum and new yaku in 1956. The Chombo Club's 'for the first time' may overstate what was new in 1957, and the name 'all one-han minimum' suggests the change was applying the minimum to every hand

    Also cited on: Houchi rules · bibliography #292

AI-generated

Analysis

Written by an AI model from the sources above. It is a reading of them, not a source in its own right: every figure in it points back to a numbered source, and where the two disagree, the source is right.

Assessment

Confidence
documented a published ruleset or rule description exists and is cited
Evidence
corroborated two or more independent sources agree on the facts that define this variant

Cross-comparison

What each source was read to say, set side by side. The numbers are the sources above.

SourceTilesHandFlowersScoringPayout
[1]———a riichi bet costs 100 points; all tenbou are worth a tenth of their usual value and players start on 20,000; hands are graded kazumangan, shoumangan, hanemangan, daimangan and, for chuuren poutou, choumangan—
[2]—a yaku needed to win, for the first time; large and small mangan kept; chūren pōtō in a category of its own, choumangan, worth four mangan—zoroba introduced, with han added to a win from the dice roll; as the page describes zoroba, doubles of 2 to 5 added one han and double 1 or double 6 added two—
[3]—a section on the Tokyo rules' new yaku (p. 110), after a comparison of the three main rulesets (p. 105)—the riichi chapter has a section headed 'the riichi fee is one hundred points' (リーチ代は一百符, p. 100); the contents do not say which ruleset it follows—
[4]—mangan hands in two grades, small mangan and large mangan———
[5]—four rare grades of limit hand in turn: 数満貫 (kazoe), 跳満貫 (hane), 倍満貫 (bai) and 超満貫 (chou), followed by the five standard shapes of chūren pōtō———
[6]———in the early Federation rules all three players paid, even on a discard, and the limit was four han—
  • [2] in 1957 Amano published 'All 1-Han Shibari', also known as the Tokyo rules
  • [1] names the ruleset 東京ルール, also 全一飜縛り麻雀 (all iihan shibari), and dates it to 1957 with Daizo Amano as author. Crucially it states there is NO kandora and NO uradora in these rules, which is negative evidence that both arrived later. Its han-from-dice mechanic — each 1 or 6 rolled, or any pair summing to 7, adds a han, re-rolling until at least one is added — is the early variable form of what later became a flat bonus, and the page notes that this zoroba does not count towards the one-han minimum
  • [2] In 1957 Amano published 'All 1-Han Shibari' (オール一飜縛り規程), also known as the Tokyo rules (東京ルール). Furiten was extended to both tiles of a two-sided wait when only one of them had been discarded. The 1967 modern rules then brought rounding of fu, bazoro, oka and ura-dora
  • [7] In 1957 Amano issued the 「オール一飜縛り規程」, known as the Tokyo rules. Most of the new yaku it proposed stayed local, but the one-han minimum is now standard. In 1958 he merged the Houchi and Tokyo rules into the 「日本麻雀一飜縛理規程」, the 'unified rules'
  • [3] The appendix prints the three great rules of modern mahjong (現代麻雀三大ルール): the Federation rules (p. 181), the Houchi rules (p. 191) and the Tokyo rules (p. 208), which run to the end of the 218-page book. Preface by Osakabe and Amano
  • [8] A chapter on the all one-han minimum (オール一飜縛り) opens with how the rule changed (ルールの変遷, p. 107) and covers who may claim a one-han hand and how calls fare under it. The second of two furiten chapters ends with the Tokyo rules' provisions (p. 216). Appendices cover Chinese mahjong literature and Japan's competition rules
  • [9] A chapter on the han minimum, minipoints and counters (縛理・陸符・積符), a recorded game under the Tokyo rules, and an appendix printing the standard rules, 'also called the Houchi rules'. The 1966 reissue, 『麻雀の始め方戦い方』 (pid 2510913), keeps the Tokyo rules game but prints the modern rules (二ゾロ場麻雀規程) in the appendix
  • [10] Amano's column in the monthly 面白倶楽部 is listed as 「麻雀」 in issues of 1957 and January 1958, as 「麻雀(東京ルール)」 in the issues of February (p. 299), March (p. 207), May (p. 287) and July (p. 379) 1958, and as 「麻雀講座」 later in 1958
  • [4] A section on the all one-han minimum (p. 95) in the chapter on abandoning a big hand. Recommendation by Amano
  • [11] A section on the one-han minimum (p. 75) in the chapter on tenpai and winning, and one on 'new yaku I would like to add' (p. 125), both a year before the Tokyo rules
  • [5] Followed by the 1960 revision of the one-han rules (p. 171)
  • [6] The Japan Mahjong Federation, founded in 1929, standardised Chinese rules for play without stakes. Asami lists nine ways those rules differed from today's, among them side payments, no riichi or dora, no furiten, and no one-han minimum: a hand with no han could win, for little

Reading it

The sources agree on the label: in 1957 Amano Daizō issued the 「オール一飜縛り規程」, the 'all one-han minimum' rules, known as the Tokyo rules (Chombo Club, Japanese Wikipedia, riichi.wiki). Print from the period backs the name and the timing. In 1958 a primer by Osakabe Shin'ichi printed the Tokyo rules beside the Federation and Houchi rules as the three current rulesets. Amano's column in the magazine 面白倶楽部 ran under the heading 'Tokyo rules' from February to July 1958, and both Amano and Takahashi Hiroshi wrote sections on the 'all one-han minimum' that year. Only their contents lists could be read, so none of them gives the 1957 date or the text of the rules. Japanese Wikipedia says the minimum became standard while most of the new yaku stayed local, and that in 1958 the Houchi and Tokyo rules were merged into the unified rules. The Chombo Club's 'for the first time' needs care: Amano's 1956 book already has a section on the one-han minimum, so what was new may have been applying it to every hand. The dice bonus is unsettled, because the Chombo Club and riichi.wiki describe zoroba differently. Still wanted: the rules text in Osakabe 1958 and Amano's 1958 chapter on the rule.

Looked for, not found

  • Tournament rules A ruleset for general play, not an event's rules. No tournament run under the Tokyo rules turned up in NDL Search, CiNii or web search
  • Law No source connects the 1957 rules to any law, so no law text was looked for
  • Historical The period writing found (Amano's books of 1956-61, Osakabe 1958 and Amano's 1958 magazine column) is filed as rulebook and journalism. No memoir or diary of the period turned up; the 1983 biography 『立直一代』 is wanted under Houchi rules
  • Scholarship CiNii Research found nothing on the Tokyo rules or the one-han minimum (2026-10-08)
  • Forum Not searched: Reddit and BoardGameGeek refuse automated readers. A 2002 thread on Asami Ryō's board (yogo23) touches the one-han minimum but not 1957
  • Commercial Not searched: no parlour or platform plays the 1957 rules
  • Organisation The Nihon Haikiin, which issued the rules, has no site. Japanese Wikipedia says its parlour closed about 2020
  • Collection Not searched: no object is tied to the 1957 rules

Known, not yet read

Sources that look worth having but could not be read for this entry. If you can reach one, it can be read and added. Every variant’s list is gathered on Missing sources.

  • Official rules Amano Daizō, 「オール一飜縛り規程」 (the Tokyo rules), as printed in Osakabe Shin'ichi 刑部進一, 『標準麻雀の第一歩』 (Kin'ensha, 1958), appendix from p. 208 — The nearest text of the rules found. It would settle the new yaku, the furiten rule, zoroba and the mangan grades
    Where: https://dl.ndl.go.jp/pid/2486074. Tried: Contents list read 2026-10-08. The pages are open to registered users of the NDL's individuals' service, a restriction the site sets
  • Rulebook Amano Daizō, 『麻雀の高等戦術』 (Ikeda Shoten, 1958), chapter 6 「オール一飜縛り」 from p. 107 and 「東京ルールの規程」 at p. 216 — Amano's own history of the rule and the Tokyo rules' furiten provision
    Where: https://dl.ndl.go.jp/pid/2485200. Tried: Contents list read 2026-10-08. The pages are open to registered users of the NDL's individuals' service
  • Rulebook Amano Daizō, 『新しい麻雀の打ち方 : 入門からリーチ戦術まで』, Kin'ensha, 1957, 330 pp. — Amano's book from the year the rules were issued; reissued in 1958 and 1959
    Where: https://ndlsearch.ndl.go.jp/books/R100000002-I000000971892. Tried: NDL Search lists the book with no digital copy (2026-10-08)
  • Journalism Amano Daizō, 「麻雀（東京ルール）」, 『面白倶楽部』 (Kōbunsha), February, March, May and July 1958 — The rules explained in a popular magazine month by month while they were current
    Where: https://dl.ndl.go.jp/pid/1834075 (and pids 1834076, 1834078, 1834080). Tried: Contents lists read 2026-10-08. The NDL restricts the pages to its own premises
  • Official rules The first publication of the 「オール一飜縛り規程」 in 1957 — None of the sources read says where or when in 1957 the rules first appeared
    Where: Unknown. The likeliest places are Amano's 1957 columns in 面白倶楽部 (pids 1834070-1834073) and his 1957 books. Tried: NDL Search and CiNii Research (2026-10-08) gave no separate publication

Where it was searched

Every place the search checklist names for this variant’s languages, and what each gave, including nothing. The last full pass was on 2026-10-08.

Names searched: Japanese 東京ルール, オール一飜縛り規程, オール一飜縛り, 全一飜縛り麻雀, 全一飜縛り; English Tokyo rules, All 1-Han Shibari, all iihan shibari.

22 places searched
  • General web search — 2026-10-08. One extended Japanese query (東京ルール 麻雀 天野大三 1957 一飜縛り) returned Japanese Wikipedia's 日本牌棋院 and 麻雀のルール, Wikiwand and Weblio copies of them, the NDL record of 『標準麻雀の第一歩』, NPM's competition rules, a Yahoo! 知恵袋 question on the 1978 new Houchi rules and a note.com column on 縛り by ネマタ (the last three unread). A standard Japanese query for オール一飜縛り / 全一飜縛り found nothing on the 1957 rules. A standard English query (Tokyo rules, 1957, Amano, one-han minimum) returned only English Wikipedia's Japanese mahjong and game-listing pages
  • Wikidata — The API answered 429 on 2026-10-08. No item is expected: no Wikipedia edition has an article on the ruleset. Japanese 東京ルール is a 404, and the rules are covered under 日本牌棋院
  • Wikipedia, in every declared language — Japanese 日本牌棋院 re-read at revision 105555739, first through the raw-wikitext endpoint while the API answered 429, then through the API. 一飜縛り, 一翻縛り and 縛り (麻雀) redirect to 麻雀のルール#一飜縛り, which defines the rule (dora do not count; nearly every ruleset uses it) but gives no history or date. 東京ルール has no article. English Wikipedia's Japanese mahjong history section says nothing on Amano or the 1957 rules
  • The sources' own references, and who cites them — Japanese Wikipedia's passage on 1957 and 1958 has no citation in revision 105555739, and the Chombo Club names no sources. One round was followed instead through the National Diet Library, into the 1956-61 books by Amano and his circle (see ndl). Second-round leads, unread: Amano's 1971 『「現代ルール」による図解麻雀入門』 (pid 14874285), his 1961 『リーチ・ドラ麻雀の新戦術』 (pid 2496063, section 全一飜縛りの競技, zoroba), his 1961 『麻雀の一般戦術』 (pid 2492763, printing the 1960 revision of the one-han rules at p. 345), and the 1983 biography 『立直一代』, wanted under Houchi rules
  • Internet Archive full-text search — Not searched: the sources are Japanese print of the 1950s, catalogued and digitised by the National Diet Library
  • Wayback Machine — Not needed: Asami's dead site was read on its mirror, and every other source read is live
  • Google Books — Not searched: the NDL contents lists covered the same 1950s books, and the Books API answered 429 from the research environment on 2026-10-06
  • HathiTrust full-text search — Not searched: Japanese popular print of the 1950s, held by the National Diet Library
  • WorldCat — Not searched: the National Diet Library holds the Japanese print sources
  • Scholarly indexes — Not searched beyond CiNii (see ja-scholarship); OpenAlex answered 429 from the research environment on 2026-10-06
  • YouTube — Not searched: a 1957 ruleset known through print and superseded in 1958
  • English-language forums — Not searched: Reddit and BoardGameGeek refuse automated readers
  • Mahjong reference sites — riichi.wiki's Tokyo rules page, read for this node in September 2026, now answers 403. The Mahjong Wiki was not re-searched; the Houchi pass found its Japanese overview silent on Amano. Asami Ryō's 麻雀祭都 through its mirror, 2026-10-08: the 規則, 歴史, 歴史(rekisi) and 用語 indexes list no page on the Tokyo rules or the one-han minimum. rekisi23 (競技麻雀の歴史) was read. rekisi07 (立直の歴史, which dates the Houchi rules to December 1952) and yogo23 (ナシナシ＆アリアリ, a 2002 board thread dating kansaki to the 1960s) were seen and have nothing on 1957
  • App and platform listings — Not searched: no app plays the 1957 rules
  • English-language newspaper archives — Not searched: a Japanese domestic ruleset of 1957
  • Statutes published in English — Not applicable: the rules were played only in Japan
  • Yahoo! JAPAN search — Yahoo! JAPAN has no open search API, so the general search tool's Japanese queries stood in (see web-search). Unread leads: ネマタ's note.com column TCG麻雀 第31回「縛り」 and a Yahoo! 知恵袋 question on Amano's 1978 new Houchi rules
  • National Diet Library — NDL Search, 2026-10-08. Title searches for 東京ルール returned only municipal 'Tokyo rules' (waste, emergency care), and 一飜縛 / 一翻縛 returned nothing. Full-text 'any' searches for 東京ルール 麻雀, 一飜縛り and オール一飜 found Osakabe 1958, Amano 1956, 1958 and 1959, Takahashi 1958, Amano 1961 and four 1958 issues of 面白倶楽部 carrying Amano's column 「麻雀(東京ルール)」. The magazine's adjacent issues (pids 1834070-1834084) were checked. The contents list of Amano's 1957 『新しい麻雀の戦い方』 (pid 2484293) has no Tokyo rules entry, though it has chapters by others on furiten and chūren pōtō. His 1957 『新しい麻雀の打ち方』 has no digital copy. Book pages are for registered users and the magazine is for NDL premises only
  • Japanese scholarship — CiNii Research, 2026-10-08: no results for 東京ルール 麻雀, 一飜縛り or 一翻縛り. 天野大三 brings up only his books and a 1951 article, 「牌が語る「人生の道」」. J-STAGE not searched
  • Japanese professional leagues — Not searched: the professional leagues play rules descended from the 1967 modern rules, and the Nihon Haikiin has no site. NPM's competition rules came up in web search and were not read
  • Japanese community writing — Asami Ryō's 麻雀祭都 read through its mirror (see mahjong-references). Niconico Pedia refuses automated readers and was not searched
  • Japanese statutes — Not searched: no source connects the 1957 rules to any law

In the tree

Descends from Houchi rules, as the source chart draws it.

Descends into

← back to the tree