Discovering a Rare Find—Twice!
A few weeks ago, on October 2nd, I was in Kyoto, Japan, to visit the newly opened Nintendo Museum (more on that experience will come in a future post).
The day before my museum visit, I had the privilege of being among the first to view a historic document recently uncovered by a fellow researcher: Nintendo’s earliest known advertisement, an astonishing 130 years old.
And a day after the museum visit, the discovery of a second copy of that document was truly remarkable.
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| The earliest known advertisement by Nintendo, 130 years old |
I was visiting Japan with fellow Nintendo historians and enthusiasts Florent Gorges and Fabrice Heilig. The night before the museum opening, we stayed at a special location in Kyoto: Hotel Marufukuro.
This was Nintendo's first stone-built headquarters, now renovated and remodeled as a hotel. On the second floor is a room called the "Nintendo DNA Library," which houses books and artifacts that tell the story of Nintendo’s history. We are honored to have our books—one by Florent and one by me, with contributions from Fabrice—displayed in this library.
Earlier that day, Fabrice had picked up the old book that is the center of this post from a Kyoto-based antiquarian bookshop.
The shop owner had contacted Fabrice, who lives in France, a year earlier about this book in his collection but, in the end, wasn’t comfortable selling it over such a distance.
Now that Fabrice was in Kyoto for the museum opening, he seized the opportunity to acquire it in person.
As the proud new owner of this historic find, he shared it with us in the library. There could be no better place for this unveiling than Nintendo's former headquarters, located on the very site where the company was founded back in 1889. Florent recorded a video of this moment, which you can find at the bottom of this post.
While visiting the Nintendo Museum the next day, I spoke with Japanese playing card aficionado Marcus Richert, who knew of a Kyoto bookseller offering a second copy of this rare book.
Barely believing our luck, Florent and I set off the following day to investigate. Finding even one copy was a rare stroke of fortune—but discovering two seemed almost unbelievable.
The bookseller’s website indicated they were open by appointment only, but since we couldn’t reach him, we decided to take a chance and visit anyway, as we would soon be leaving Kyoto.
Unfortunately, when we arrived at the address, it was closed, and no one was around.
We thought we’d hit a dead end, but a few hours later, the book antiquarian responded to our messages, and we arranged an appointment to see the book. He mentioned he would be out of town on business starting the next morning, so this really felt like the stars had aligned for us!
That evening, during a visit with Japanese Nintendo collector and author Isao Yamazaki, we had plenty to talk about.
The incredible discovery of not just one, but two copies of this special book was at the top of our list!
A 130-Year-Old Kyoto City Guide
Let’s take a closer look at our find. The book measures 19 by 13 centimeters and contains 246 pages.
It’s a guide to Kyoto titled The Complete 100 Selected Places in Kyoto (京都案内都百種全).
This is the second edition, which is "revised and expanded," published in December 1894.
The colophon at the back of the book provides additional details about the publishing dates.
It notes that the printing and publishing dates for the first edition were July 23, 1894, and August 28, 1894, respectively. For the second edition (the copy we have), the printing and publishing dates are listed as December 12 and December 16, 1894.
It’s this second edition that we’ve been particularly interested in, as this includes the Nintendo ad.
In the Japanese calendar, 1894 is Meiji 27—the 27th year of Emperor Meiji's reign (明治廿七年).
The preface (緒言) of the book notes, amongst others:
"...this guide is primarily aimed at merchants and industrial professionals..."
"... this book [also] serves as a guide for travelers and students who come to Kyoto, helping them accomplish their scholarly and recreational endeavors..."
"... many young people have gathered in Kyoto, competing for opportunities in foreign studies, and such pursuits have flourished greatly. In recent times, this book has come to serve as a guide for those navigating Kyoto..."
"... [this book] is expected to become the foremost guide for Kyoto, with support drawn from prosperous alliances formed in the northern capital..."
The "northern capital" refers to Tokyo, which had become the Japanese capital about twenty-five years earlier, replacing Kyoto, which had held that position for over a thousand years.
The preface also mentions that first edition "barely met the demand [...] and no copies remained by the time the second edition was released".
Kyoto at the End of the 19th Century
The first part of the book, and the reason it’s titled 100 Selected Places, is an overview of noteworthy locations in Kyoto, including temples, shrines, and architecturally significant buildings, organized by area within the city.
While most of the book consists of text and detailed illustrations, it also includes seven full-page photographs—all reproduced here. You may recognize some of the places they depict.
At that time, photography was still relatively new, and printed reproductions of photos were uncommon in books. Guides like this one were among the first to include photographs.
These photos were taken in the middle of the Meiji Restoration, which lasted from 1868 to 1912.
Japan began a massive transformation in 1868, marked by the Boshin War, where the emperor’s forces defeated the shogunate, leading to the Restoration of Imperial Rule.
In April, the emperor issued the Charter Oath, setting five guiding principles for Japan’s future: unity, knowledge-seeking, the abandonment of outdated customs, allowing all classes a voice, and embracing global openness.
In October, the capital moved from Kyoto to Edo, which was renamed Tokyo. These events sparked widespread reforms in industry, military, and education, marking Japan’s shift from a feudal society to a modern nation.
In 1889, a major milestone in Japan’s modernization was reached with the establishment of the Meiji Constitution. This was Japan’s first constitution, symbolizing the culmination of the Meiji Restoration’s political reforms. It laid the foundation for Japan’s government until the post-World War II constitution replaced it in 1947.
The Kyoto guidebook was published a few years after the constitution took effect, during a time of economic growth and modernization.
Although Kyoto was no longer the emperor's official seat, it retained its status as Japan's cultural capital, as it does today.
This drew many visitors to the city to study and enjoy its culturally significant sites, and a guidebook like this helped them navigate Kyoto.
Advertisements for Kyoto’s Businesses, Featuring Nintendo
Beyond showcasing Kyoto’s cultural sites, the book also serves as a guide to the city’s businesses, with advertisements spanning a wide array of industries.
Examples include: silk merchants, cotton fabric vendors, and kimono shops; lacquerware and pottery workshops; tea merchants, sake breweries, and miso makers; confectionery shops specializing in traditional Japanese sweets; swordsmiths, metal artisans, and hardware stores; traditional medicine sellers, herbalists, and doctors; apothecaries and vendors of Western-style medicines; publishers, bookshops, and woodblock printers; accommodations like ryokan (traditional inns) and restaurants; and stores for paper and stationery, umbrella and lantern makers, as well as shops selling imported goods and new Western items, such as clocks, watches and bikes.
One advertisement stands out in particular: a full-page ad by a card manufacturer, Nintendo, established just five years earlier in 1889. This is the oldest known advertisement of the company to date.
At the top of the page, the round "Marufuku" logo is displayed along with a statement that reads:
"We, marufuku, are the most motivated leader in manufacturing karuta [playing cards]."
"The best way to find out if our products are good or bad, is to try them!"
Below a drawn illustration of the Nintendo workshop and storefront is a description of its location: Kyoto, West End of Shōmen Bridge (京都市正面大橋西詰). To give context to this location, the edge of the bridge is also depicted in the image, though the Nintendo building was actually located one block further from the river on Shōmen-dōri.
At the bottom of the page, the company name, Nintendo (任天堂), appears in traditional Japanese style (like all text in the book), read from right to left.
In the picture, the Marufuku logo appears several times on the building, while a sign above the shop entrance reads: Original Karuta Manufacturer Nintendo (かるた製造元 任天堂).
The illustration depicts commercial activity within the Nintendo premises, with figures outside representing its location in a bustling business district.
Nintendo wasn’t the only Kyoto-based card manufacturer advertising in this guide. Another full-page ad appears for one of its competitors: Tamada Fukushōdō (玉田福勝堂).
Tamada’s marketing tone is bolder than that of Nintendo's, declaring:
"When it comes to karuta, Tamada's manufacturing is unmatched. Anyone who doesn’t know this must be a fool."
The ad includes an illustration of their shop, with large, prominent signs above the entrance.
A detail reflecting the period is the blend of old and new dress styles, with figures in both kimonos and top hats.
The final section of the book provides an extensive directory of Kyoto businesses, organized by category.
Under the category for card manufacturers (かるた製造), five companies are listed along with their locations:
- Tamada Fukushōdō (玉田福勝堂), Shōmenbashi Nishizume Minami-iri (正面橋西詰南入)
- Nintendo (任天堂), Shōmenbashi Nishii Hairi (正面橋西入)
- Akada Hanjirō (赤田半次郎), Kamogawa Suji Shōmen Agaru (加茂川筋正面上ル)
- Nakao main store (中尾本店) [commonly known as Nakao Seikadō, or 中尾清花堂), Shichijōhamaue San-no-miya-chō (七条濱上三ノ宮町)
- Usui Nikkagetsudō (臼井日月堂), Shōmenbashidōri Takase Higashi-iri (正面橋通高瀬東入)
Back Home After an Exciting Time in Kyoto
As you can imagine, this document has now taken pride of place in the Before Mario collection.
It serves as a physical representation of Nintendo's earliest days and provides a fascinating glimpse into Kyoto—the birthplace of Nintendo—during a period of vibrant transformation around the time of the company’s founding.
The document deserves an even more prominent display, and I’m planning to print an enlarged copy of the ad and frame it. Below, you can see the cleaned-up scan I created for this purpose.
Florent captured our memorable moment at Marufukuro in Kyoto in this video:
Finally, I’d like to extend my gratitude to Fabrice, Florent, and Marcus for their invaluable contributions in locating this book and for their generous help with this blog post, including information and translation support.
A post about my first stay at Marufukuro can be found here. And another old Nintendo document is covered here.
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