Since the uta-garuta was made originally for memorizing the tanka of "Ogura Hyakunin Isshu" through the game, ue-no-ku and shimo-no-ku were written separately on the yomi-fuda and the tori-fuda, therefore, on some uta-garuta before the middle of the Edo period were not drawn even the portraits of the poets.
これは元来歌がるたが百人一首を覚えることを目的とした遊びであったためであり、江戸中期ごろまでは歌人の絵が付されていない読み札もまま見られる。