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Sakigiri: discarding early
Sakigiri means discarding early a tile likely to become dangerous when keeping it is worth less than the future safety you seek.
The principle
Sakigiri is an anticipatory choice: discard now a tile that is still playable but may become dangerous when an opponent reaches tenpai. This line gives up some flexibility in your own hand, so compare it with the ukeire lost.
Rule and example
A tile you discard stays in your river. If it later becomes one of your winning tiles, you are furiten across the whole wait and cannot ron. For defense against others, an early discard is not automatically safe later: safety still depends on the specific opponent.
What changes
Sakigiri is most relevant when the isolated tile adds little, opponent evidence is already threatening and another discard keeps nearly the same efficiency. Without those conditions, throwing a useful tile early may simply slow the hand.
Rules references
- Tenhou rulesReference profile used for game mechanics and scoring.
- WRC Rules 2025International rules compared whenever their options differ from Tenhou.