Honroutou (混老頭)
Every tile is a terminal or honor — always pairs with toitoi or chiitoitsu.
How Honroutou (混老頭) works
Honroutou (all terminals and honors) is a 2-han yaku where every tile in the hand is a 1, a 9, or an honor.
No simples (2-8) and no middle chows can appear — every tile is drawn from the thirteen terminal and honor tile types. Because no chow can be built from those tiles, the hand is necessarily all triplets plus a pair or seven pairs, so honroutou always arrives together with toitoi (2 han) or chiitoitsu (2 han), making 4 han its practical floor. It keeps full value open. Going one step purer converts it into a yakuman: all honors is tsuuiisou, all terminals is chinroutou.
- •Only 1s, 9s, and honors — a single simple tile anywhere breaks it.
- •Structurally forced to combine with toitoi or chiitoitsu, so it effectively starts at 4 han.
- •Retains full value open; the all-honor and all-terminal versions are separate yakuman.
Honroutou (混老頭) — FAQ
Why does honroutou always come with another yaku?
Terminals and honors can't form chows, so a standard honroutou hand is automatically all triplets (toitoi) and a pair hand is automatically seven pairs (chiitoitsu). Either companion adds its own 2 han.
When does honroutou become a yakuman instead?
Drop the honors and it's chinroutou (all terminals, yakuman); drop the number tiles and it's tsuuiisou (all honors, yakuman). Honroutou is the mixed version of those two.