Yakuhai

What is Yakuhai in Japanese Mahjong?

Yakuhai is a one-han yaku in Japanese Riichi Mahjong. It is one of the most straightforward yaku to achieve, since it only requires a triplet (or quad) of specific honor tiles that are considered “valuable” in the current game context. Yakuhai is a fundamental and easily accessible one-han yaku in Riichi Mahjong. It simply requires forming a triplet or quad of your seat wind, the round wind, or any dragon tile. Because it can be achieved with an open hand, yakuhai often provides a quick route to a winning yaku, though at the cost of revealing key information to your opponents. Whether used on its own or stacked with multiple sets and other yaku, yakuhai is a cornerstone of Riichi Mahjong strategy, useful for both beginners and advanced players aiming for fast hands or quick point gains.

How to Achieve Yakuhai？

Triplet (Pon) or Quad (Kan) of Certain Honor Tiles

The honor tile in question must be:

• Round Wind: The wind corresponding to the overall round (East round or South round, etc.).
• Seat Wind: The wind assigned to your current seat (East, South, West, or North).
• Any Dragon Tile (White, Green, or Red).

Each valid triplet (pong) or quad (kong) of one of these tiles is worth one han.

Open or Closed: Yakuhai is awarded whether your hand is open or closed. Unlike many other yaku, it does not require a concealed hand, making it a common and flexible way to score.

Additive Nature: You can combine multiple sets of yakuhai in a single hand. For example, if you have a pung of your seat wind and a pung of a dragon tile, each set is worth one han, totaling two han for those alone (plus anything else in your hand).

What is the Strategy and Risk of Yakuhai?

Fast Way to Score: Because yakuhai does not require a concealed hand, players often call (pung or kong) the relevant honor tiles early to secure at least one guaranteed yaku. This can make for a quick and aggressive style of play.

Value Variations Multiple Yakuhai: If you have, for instance, a pung of your seat wind and a pung of the round wind, that’s two separate yakuhai, effectively doubling the han from these sets.

Combining with Other Yaku: Yakuhai can be combined with other yaku such as all simples or all triplets to further increase the value of the hand.

Signaling to Opponents: Calling a pung of a wind or dragon right away loudly signals that you likely have yakuhai. Opponents may respond with a more defensive approach to avoid feeding you more needed tiles.

Defensive Considerations: While picking up an early pung or kong of your value tile can help you secure a yaku, you also reveal part of your hand’s structure. Savvy opponents may use that information to guess your next moves or to avoid discarding other tiles that might help you.

Common Scenarios

Seat Wind + Round Wind Combo: If the round is East and you are also seated in East, then East is both the round wind and your seat wind. A single triplet of East in this case provides two separate yakuhai for a total of two han from that one set—an especially strong advantage for the East player in the East round.

Dragon Tiles: Each dragon set (White, Green, or Red) is worth one han. Some players aggressively collect dragon tiles to quickly form a pon for an easy guaranteed yaku, even if the rest of their hand is incomplete.

Stacking Yakuhai: If you have multiple sets of yakuhai (e.g., a pung of East wind and a pung of White dragons), you get +1 han per set. This can rack up to a decently valued hand even without other complex yaku.