Jikaze
| 東 3 局 | 西家 23100 点 |
|
| 北家 24000 点 |
 |
南家 24000 点 |
| 東家 27900 点 |
 1 1
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Jikaze 「自風」, or seat winds, are assigned to each player at the start of the game. There are four seat winds: East 「東」, South 「南」, West 「西」, and North 「北」. After the dealer fails to repeat the hand, each player's seat wind rotates in that order.
Your seat wind determines your physical position and turn order. East is always the dealer, who begins play and receives special bonuses. Relative to East: South is to the right, West is across, and North is to the left. When a hand starts, players take turns in counter-clockwise order, i.e. East -> South -> West -> North. Seat winds also have a few other properties, such as determining which wind tile is a yakuhai - see below for details.
Rule overview
At the start of the game, each player is assigned a wind seat. A number of methods can be used to determine it; different organizations and tournaments have their own systems.
Properties of your seat wind:
- East is the dealer.
- Seat wind determines play order: East is first, South is second, West is third, North is fourth.
- Your seat wind rotates, assuming no renchan occurs. This means that your position at East 1 determines when you will be dealer. At East 1: the East player will be the first dealer, South will be the second dealer, and so on.
- Your seat wind affects the value of wind tiles. A wind tile that matches your seat wind is yakuhai.
- Tie-breakers: Some rulesets use your seat wind in East 1 to determine ties. Assuming tiebreakers are used: when a tie occurs The East player at East 1 has priority, followed by South, then West.
Yakuhai
A wind tile that matches your seat wind becomes a yakuhai to you. This means:
If your seat wind is also the round wind, it becomes a double wind. A triplet of a double wind is worth 2 han. A pair of a double wind may be worth 2 or 4 fu, depending on the ruleset.
Orientation relative to self
In addition to wind designations, three terms are used to designate other players relative to oneself. They are:
- Shimocha 「下家」, or player to the right
- Toimen 「対面」, or player across
- Kamicha 「上家」, or player to the left
The relative positions of each player do not rotate as the winds rotate. This means that the player to your right will always be to your right, no matter which winds you two are.