SINGAPORE – The cultural patrimony of a country can manifest in the most surprising ways. I was reminded of this recently at the Asian Civilisations Museum’s latest exhibition, Let’s Play, where I was stopped short by one particular artefact. 

It was a beautiful deck of more than 200 gilded playing cards, which came in its own lacquer carrying case. The Japanese literary card game, called Hyakunin Isshu, translates as One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each.