noun
Refers to the craft material made from paper and paste, as well as objects made from it, such as traditional dolls and masks.
この張り子の虎はとても精巧にできている。
This papier-mâché tiger is very intricately made.
子供たちは張り子のお面を作って遊んだ。
The children made papier-mâché masks and played with them.
noun
non-dealer (in card games)
Slang used in card games, especially in contexts like mahjong or hanafuda, to refer to a player who is not the dealer. Derived from the dealer being called 親 (おや) and the non-dealer 子 (こ), with 張り子 literally meaning 'sticking child'.
See also: 子 (こ)
麻雀で、張り子は親よりも点数が低い。
In mahjong, the non-dealer scores lower than the dealer.
花札では、張り子が
In hanafuda, when the non-dealer wins, the dealer changes.
Literally 'stretched paper' or 'pasted paper', from 張る (to stretch/paste) and 子 (a nominalizing suffix). The card-game sense is slang, likely from 張る (to stick) + 子 (child), referring to the non-dealer 'sticking' to the dealer.