Sasuraibito Tarot Deck Review

​Deck Title – Sasuraibito Tarot
Creator/Artist – Stasia Burrington
Publisher - Independent
Purchased - 2019

Introduction

The Sasuraibito has been a successful indie and is now in its 5th printing. It's often included in top 5 tarot decks videos on Youtube. So what's so special about the Sasuraibito Tarot? Well it's difficult to put your finger on one thing. It's got the full package; beautiful images, great card stock, fabulous packaging but I didn't purchase this deck until recently because I'm not all that into Japanese art.  Having seen the images frequently however, I decided to pick up a copy. According to the author the word Sasuraibito most closely translates to 'the wanderer'. According to Google translate, it most closely translates to 'wretched person'. I guess  some things can be lost in translation. Here's what else you'll find in the Sasuraibito Tarot....

What's Good?

• Images are sweet and lovely and unusual and in some cases scary. A perfect mix and, as mentioned, inclusive and diverse. They're Rider-Waite inspired but with enough differences to keep it interesting. They are fairly minimal as well with the focus mostly being on one person in the card. There are no busy backgrounds
• Great card stock, easy to shuffle with reversible backs and gold edging 
• Good quality packaging, the two piece box is a lovely shade of mink brown with some gold foil stamping and the word Sasuraibito in Japanese writing on the end 
• A guidebook is included inside the box, no images of the cards inside but well-written meanings and information included about why some images have been chosen

What's Bad?

• The cards have a slim black border that really isn't an issue but if you were looking for something to complain about, the footer with the card name and number on there is quite large. Being optically challenged, for me this is a plus not a minus. It doesn't have any shrinking effect on the images 

Stand Out/Favourite Cards

I'd heard the deck was diverse. With its origins in Japanese art, what really surprised me, was it's the first deck that accurately represented my pale blue/neon white celtic skin! Nice to be included.

The aged wanderer in The Fool card is such a joyful departure from the traditional young man setting out on a journey. The woman emerging from a cacoon of blankets  shows the Judgement card from a different angle, more emerging than being called upon. I love the tiny hearts showing where gentleness and love are working like on the arm of the person in Strength card and also above on the Queen of Cups forehead. The sepia tones in the Death card are just beautiful. Sad but peaceful. 

One of the most striking cards in the deck is the Devil card. He's a handsome chap but the clever way his eyes have been painted makes it feels like he's watching you. It's a gaze that feels uncomfortable verging on the creepy. He doesn't need horns and a forked tail to scare the living daylights out of me! 

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Summary

​This is the best deck for…anyone who likes Japanese art and Buddhist ideas. But it isn't just limited to that. If you want images that are not too busy and great production quality in a deck, this is a real winner in my opinion. 

Where to Buy?

Little Red Tarot if you're in the UK ​littleredtarot.com/product/the-sasuraibito-tarot/
or Etsy www.etsy.com/uk/listing/502680632/the-sasuraibito-tarot-78-card-deck-and?ref=hp_rv-3&bes=1