Shousuushii

Shousuushii

Shousuushii (小四喜, しょうすーしー) is a yakuman where you have triplets of three wind tiles (East, South, West, or North) and a pair of the fourth wind. The name translates to “little four winds” or “small four winds,” distinguishing it from daisuushii (big four winds) which requires triplets of all four winds.

The mechanics of Shousuushii

Requirements

To achieve shousuushii, you must have:

• Triplets of three winds: Any three of East, South, West, or North
• Pair of the fourth wind: The remaining wind as your pair
• No other requirements: The fourth meld can be anything

For example: East-East-East, South-South-South, West-West-West (triplets), North-North (pair), plus any fourth meld.

The triplets can be open (pon) or concealed (ankou), yakuman value remains maximum regardless.

Comparison to Daisuushii

Shousuushii: Three wind triplets + one wind pair → Yakuman (8,000 base points)

Daisuushii: Four wind triplets → Double yakuman (16,000 base points in most rule sets)

Shousuushii is significantly easier to achieve because you only need a pair of the fourth wind instead of a triplet. However, this difference also makes it worth half the points of daisuushii.

Extreme Rarity

Shousuushii is one of the rarest yakuman because:

• 11 specific tiles needed: Nine tiles for the three wind triplets (3 each × 3 winds) plus two for the pair of the fourth wind
• Limited tile availability: Only four of each wind exist in the set, and you need 11 total wind tiles
• Opponent interference: Once you expose two or three wind triplets, opponents stop discarding winds entirely

Many players never achieve shousuushii even after years of play.

Strategic Considerations

Open Aggressively: Since the yakuman value doesn’t drop when open, calling pon on wind discards is essential. Self-drawing all wind tiles is virtually impossible.

Telegraph Early: With two wind triplets exposed, opponents recognize the shousuushii or daisuushii threat. They’ll hoard remaining winds, forcing you to self-draw the rest.

Yakuhai Foundation: Even partial wind collections provide yakuhai value. One or two wind triplets matching your seat/round wind contribute han, so incomplete shousuushii attempts still score decently.

Example: Shousuushii in a real hand

You call pon on East, South, and West winds as they’re discarded throughout the hand, forming three wind triplets exposed. Your hand now needs a pair of North winds plus one more meld to complete. You self-draw two North tiles over several turns, finally completing tenpai with North-North as your pair. When you win (by tsumo or ron), you reveal shousuushii (yakuman): East-East-East, South-South-South, West-West-West (triplets), North-North (pair), plus your fourth meld. You score a yakuman: 32,000 points as non-dealer or 48,000 as dealer (8,000 base points, paid at four times or six times base).