"The Kyoto Deck"/"The Gion Deck" by Yuji Murakami and Masuda
Suggested Retail USD$54.00 each
Available from your favorite dealer
In a Blink: 9 Out of 10

"The Kyoto Deck" and "The Gion Deck", both by Yuji Murakami and Masuda, are among the cleanest, easiest, force decks out there, but lose more to cultural differences than any issue with the methods themselves.

We'll get to that in a little bit. First, let's take a look at these little wonders. At their most basic, the decks -- and their handling -- look something like this:

A deck is shown to be mixed and then is shuffled by the performer, who gives the deck to the spectator for further shuffling. The spectator stops shuffling the deck at any time, then deals cards facedown one the table, one at a time, stopping whenever they feel like it. At that point, they've stopped on a force card.

That's the basic handling of "The Kyoto Deck"; "The Gion Deck" is pretty much the same except two different cards can be forced.

Both decks have a ton going for them: they are extremely practical, there are no difficult sleights to worry with, no angle issues, no memorization, and no rough/smooth. Looking at the presentation, the displays with these decks are very fair and the handling quite open.

Unfortunately, the one thing that sets these decks apart from other force decks -- a completely hands-off handling where the spectator shuffles the deck -- is just not possible in these parts.

It's that cultural thing I said I'd hit on later. Well, now's the time.

The most enticing pieces of these decks is pulling out the deck, handing it to a spectator, letting them shuffle and cut to their heart's content, and still having them end with a force card. While this is not only possible but beautifully done in these decks' native Japan, it's going to be all but impossible in my native US of A.

Why? Simple: most people here shuffle here either riflle shuffles or overhand shuffles; only a Hindu shuffle can be used on these decks to pull off their most beautiful of forces. Hindu shuffles just aren't that used over here by your average spectator, and these decks cannot be modified to be used with those other shuffles. So while that dreamy handling is available in Japan, in the US the handling looks something like this:

The performer produces a deck, which he shows front and back, allowing the spectators to see the cards are already mixed. The performer proceeds to shuffle the deck then, when finished, places it before a spectator to cut. The spectator does so, noting the card cut to as their card. Of course, that's the force card.

And with that, this deck doesn't sound all the much more special over a few other decks on the market (or even a couple of sleight-based workings).

This is not to say that "The Kyoto Deck" and "The Gion Deck" are bad; I'm quite enamored with them to be honest because of the flexibility in forces these things bring (cut, count, deal, dribble... you get the idea). But minus the "hands-off" approach, these decks fall in my estimation and land next to Casbahs and Prophecy Packs and Svengalis and Pop-Eyed Poppers. In other words, they're great decks, but not as great as they could be to elevate them to the miracle or "have-to-have" class.

Do I recommend these decks? If you don't already have another method in your arsenal to pull off what these decks do, then, yes, I recommend them wholeheartedly. They are clever, workable, and will get the job done. If you've already got another working going for you, then you'll likely still be happy with it after you purchase these.

After all, they're good stuff, if just a little less powerful on this side of the Pacific.

"The Kyoto Deck"/"The Gion Deck" by Yuji Murakami and Masuda
In a Blink: 9 Out of 10

Practicality: 8
These are force decks, so you know how that goes, but with the exception of not being examinable and eating up some pocket space, there's no issues of practicality here (and, with a little thought, you can probably work out a few effects using the decks anyway).

Workmanship:10
The decks are exceptionally well-made in Bicycle stock.

Documentation: 8
The documentation, on DVD, is thorough, almost exceedingly thorough, when it comes to teaching the use and the various handlings that are possible with these decks. The only drawback is the "performance only" section of "The Gion Deck" DVD which really would have benefited from being taught.

Effect: 10
It's all in what you do with it, of course, but an easy and open handling, coupled with some nice displays of normalcy, can add some punch to whatever it is you do afterwards.

Presentation: 10
Again, it's all in what you do with it, but these are very clean, very simple force decks that will help you create some knockout magic.

Shane

Available direct from your favorite dealer. Dealers, please contact Murphy's Magic Supplies, Inc. toll-free at 1-800-853-7403 or visit Murphy's Magic Supplies website.