Kokushi Musou Yakuman: The Thirteen Orphans Hand
Sep 22, 2026 · 5 min read
Kokushi Musou ("Thirteen Orphans") is one of the most famous yakuman, with a hand shape that's entirely different from a standard hand.
Kokushi Musou Requirements
You need ALL 13 terminal and honor tile types (1s and 9s in all three suits, plus all four Winds, plus all three Dragons) at least one of each, PLUS one duplicate of any of those 13 types as the pair.
The 13-Way Wait
If you already have one copy of all 13 of those tile types (no duplicate yet), you're tenpai waiting on ALL 13 of those tile types at once -- called the Kokushi 13-way wait, one of the most iconic tenpai shapes in mahjong.
An example Kokushi Musou hand -- 13 different terminal/honor types, plus 1 duplicate (1 Characters) as the pair.
Because it needs tiles from both extremes of the spectrum (every terminal AND every honor), Kokushi is almost always built from the very first turn -- if your starting hand doesn't have enough of these tiles already, it's usually not worth forcing.
Read about another rare yakuman.
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