Yakuman Hands
There is a special set of hands so difficult to attain that they are worth the limit of points just for having them. The limit value, along with the hands themselves, are called yakuman (役満, or yaku-mangan 役満貫). Counts of han no longer apply to them. Some yakuman hands can themselves be combined to form multiple yakuman. Some conditions on the limit hands can render themselves double the value.
On the other hand, the han-limit is established at 13, which is counted as a yakuman value. Some yaku can be combined for it, using dora tiles if a hand has them. The value is called kazoe-yakuman (数え役満), or counted yakuman.
The thirteen orphans, four closed triplets and big three dragons are considered relatively easy to complete among yakuman hands and are collectively called "the three big families of yakuman" (Japanese: 役満御三家).
Some of yakuman hands may have respective names in some regions. The names used here mostly come from American publications, which are based on Chinese translations.
| Name | Japanese | Value | Closed/Open |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thirteen orphans | kokushi musou – 国士無双 / 国士無双１３面待ち (13 wait) | Limit / Double limit (13 wait) | Closed only |
| The Japanese name of the yaku, kokushi musou, means "a peerless distinguished person in a country." Along with seven pairs, this is the only hand that contradicts the requirement for a hand to have four melds and a pair. In a thirteen orphans hand, the player has one of each dragon tile, one of each wind tile, a 1 and a 9 (terminal) from each suit, plus any tile that matches anything else in the hand. If a player wins in a 13-way wait for the pair, the hand is worth two yakuman, which is called daburu (double) yakuman.
Other names for this yaku are shiisan yaochuu (十三么九) which means "thirteen of smallest numbers and 9's ," or its abbreviation shiisan yao (十三么). |
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| Four concealed triplets | suu ankou – 四暗刻 / suu ankou tanki - 四暗刻単騎 (single wait) | Limit / Double limit (single wait) | Closed only |
| A hand that has four closed triplets/quads. If the hand has two pairs left when it is one tile away from winning, it can only qualify with a tile drawn off the wall as a yakuman hand. In the case of a single-tile wait for the pair, the tile can either be self-drawn or won from another player's discard, and it is worth two yakuman. | |||
| Big three dragons | daisangen – 大三元 | Limit | Closed/Open |
| A triplet or quad of each type of dragon tile. | |||
| Little four winds | shousuushii – 小四喜 | Limit | Closed/Open |
| A hand consisting of three triplets/quads of winds and a pair of the fourth wind. | |||
| Big four winds | daisuushii – 大四喜 | Double limit | Closed/Open |
| A hand consisting of four triplets/quads of winds. It can be worth one or two yakuman in some rules. Little four winds (shousuushii) and this yaku are kinds of suushiihou (四喜和). | |||
| All honors | tsuuiisou – 字一色 | Limit | Closed/Open |
| A hand composed exclusively of wind and dragon tiles. | |||
| Big seven stars | daichisei – 大七星 | Double limit | Closed only |
| This is the seven pair variation to all honors. This hand adds one more yakuman towards all honors. | |||
| All terminals | chinroutou – 清老頭 | Limit | Closed/Open |
| A hand containing only 1’s and 9’s (terminals). | |||
| All green | ryuuiisou – 緑一色 | Limit | Closed/Open |
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| A hand containing only green tiles. Green tiles are: 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 of bamboo, and green dragons. Many of the Japanese sets exclusively color those tiles as green only. The other bamboo tiles of 1, 5, 7, and 9 have red paint on them, thereby not making them all green. Although the hand can include green dragons, it does not have to. | |||
| Nine gates | chuuren poutou – 九蓮宝燈 / junsei chuuren poutou - 純正九蓮宝燈 (9 wait) | Limit / Double limit (9 wait) | Closed only |
| A hand composed of 1-1-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-9-9 of one suit, plus any other tile of the same suit.
Regardless of the value of the extra tile, this is always a standard mahjong hand of four melds and a pair, as shown in the animation below. Worth two yakuman if the hand was waiting on nine different tiles (or otherwise called junsei chuuren poutou ), and the only possibility of that is if it had 1-1-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-9-9 and was waiting on 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9. |
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| Chariot | dai sharin – 大車輪 | Limit | Closed only |
| A hand composed of 2-2-3-3-4-4-5-5-6-6-7-7-8-8 of one suit.
Each of the numbered suits may also use special names for this hand:
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| Four chained triplets | suurenkou – 四連刻 | Limit | Closed/Open |
| A hand with four number triplets or quads in one suit with successive numbers. | |||
| Four kans | suu kantsu – 四槓子 | Limit | Closed/Open |
| Four quads in one hand, which can be open or closed. Normally, a hand is a draw when four quads are made by two or more players. However, when the four quads are drawn by one player, the play continues until the player claims a win (and yakuman) or a fifth kan is made by another player. | |||
| Eight consecutive wins | pārenchan – 八連荘 | Limit | Dealer only |
| A player wins eight times consecutively. The conditions of the hand depend on rules. The ninth and following winnings are often yakuman again, while some rules say the sixteenth is the next yakuman. It has nothing to do with the number of counters because the number increases when a hand is a draw. In some rules, no other yaku is necessary in the eighth winning. Some say the player must be a dealer from the first time. The player is always a dealer when the hand is accomplished. The hand is often optional. | |||
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