Nintendo produced 1960s promotional card set

Playing cards make ideal promotional items. They are small, relatively inexpensive, and, when made with high-quality materials, can still project a sense of quality and sophistication.

Nintendo company brochure - mid 1950s

One side of each card can be used for almost any message a company wants to convey: a product, a brand, or an eye-catching image, all printed in full color. And because playing cards are meant to be used again and again, the recipient is exposed to that message repeatedly over a long period of time.

For many playing card manufacturers, custom promotional decks have been an important part of their business. Nintendo, too, offered this service for decades, as this company brochure from the 1950s makes clear:

"Nintendo’s PR playing cards are a new and highly effective way to promote your company or shop through the enjoyment of card games. By placing your company’s logo or products on the cards and presenting them as gifts to retailers and customers, you can create a clever and memorable form of advertising that helps support your company’s continued success. We encourage you to make full use of Nintendo’s PR playing cards."

In fact, Nintendo still offers this service today. If you go to their Japanese website, you can find a page that explains the multiple options you have to order custom Nintendo playing cards, with a minimum order size of 3,000 decks.

The text on the site mentions:

"Would you like to make your own playing cards? We can create original playing cards just for you, with card patterns, materials, and case designs tailored to your needs. They can be used for a wide range of purposes, such as as souvenirs, promotional items, and other novelty goods. As the first manufacturer of playing cards in Japan in 1902, we deliver high-quality products."

Nintendo Japan website 2026

In today’s post, we will take a closer look at a fine example of a promotional deck produced by Nintendo in the 1960s for a well-known Japanese company and brand: Kanebo (カネボウ). At the time, Kanebo was an industrial conglomerate that had begun in spinning, later expanded into chemicals, and by the postwar period had diversified into businesses including textiles, cosmetics, and food.

Nintendo Playing Cards catalogue from 2001

I regularly encounter people who are surprised to hear that Nintendo is still in the playing cards business today, although mainly in its home market of Japan. They know that the company started by making cards long ago, but assume this stopped after Nintendo joined the video game boom.

The Nintendo product catalogue from August 2001 shown here, which is fully dedicated to playing cards, illustrates how the company’s involvement in this area continued into the 21st century.

Nintendo Playing Cards brochure (2001) back and front

The booklet is called the Nintendo Trump Collection, where “trump” refers to the Japanese term for Western-style playing cards.

Inside the catalogue are ten pages, roughly A4 in size, printed in full colour on heavy paper stock.

The introduction text acknowledges that the cards are a “traditional” product:

As we move from the analog to the digital age, in a time when many good old things are being lost, playing cards continue to be loved by people even today.

Their appeal lies in the fact that, with a bit of ingenuity, they allow for countless different games, and every time you play, they offer new discoveries and fresh surprises.

[...] Playing cards are an eternal tool for communication, loved across generations.

The catalogue presents the full Nintendo range of card designs available at the time.

Nintendo playing cards featuring Marilyn Monroe

Vintage company documents are a great resource for historians and collectors. Like this Nintendo Playing Cards report from the 1950s, which was covered in full in a previous post.

It shows the range of playing card designs offered by Nintendo at the time.

At the center of the page featuring 'PR cards' is a deck with one of the most iconic images to come out of the United States in the 20th century: Marilyn Monroe lying on a bed sheet.

Although the inclusion of this card in the company report confirmed it was part of Nintendo's product catalogue at the time, we had never seen an actual copy.

Until today!

This copy was recently discovered by Nintendo playing card collector Fabrice Heilig, and I acquired it on his behalf.

From Cards to Condiments: Nintendo’s Ads in a Disney Booklet from the 1960s

Disney's first animated feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (originally released in 1937), premiered in Japan in 1950. This release came shortly after the end of World War II, during a period when Japan was still under American occupation, and the Japanese public was eager for entertainment and exposure to international culture.

The success of Snow White in Japan paved the way for subsequent releases of the entire Disney catalogue in the country over the following decades.

In July of 1964, Disney's The Sword in the Stone was released in Japan, approximately seven months after its initial premiere in the United States.

The Japanese version of the film is titled The King's Sword (王様の剣).

The booklet shown here is a program that was likely handed out to moviegoers for free.

It measures 27.5 by 30 centimeters and has 28 pages, with eight pages printed in full color and the remaining pages in pink monochrome.

The booklet includes background information about the film, details of the production process, and information about the Disney company.

Additionally, the booklet contains numerous advertisements for Disney merchandise available in Japan, including one from a company very familiar to readers of this blog.

Nintendo Patriotic Cards from 1942 and 1943 (Aikoku Hyakunin Isshu / 愛國百人一首)

Nintendo has produced games since its inception in 1889 up to the present day, and we are used to associating them with leisure products that provide entertainment, some education, but mostly innocent excitement and fun. These products are typically devoid of religion, politics, or any belief system, which has contributed to Nintendo's eventual global appeal, crossing borders and cultures.

In today's post, we will take a look at a notable exception to this 'neutral' position: two games that played a role in Japanese government propaganda during the Second World War (1939-1945).

The expansionist policies and military actions of Japan in Asia and the Pacific started in 1931 with the invasion of Manchuria, a region in northeastern China. This was followed by the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937), the Japanese occupation of French Indochina (1940), and the full outbreak of the Second World War in Asia and the Pacific in December 1941 after the surprise attack by the Japanese on the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.

By December 1942, when the first of these games was published, Japan was a year into a broad and bloody world war affecting millions of people across a large area in Asia and the Pacific. Together with its Axis alliance partners, Germany and Italy, Japan was fighting the Allied forces comprising the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, China, New Zealand, Canada, the Netherlands, India and others.

At this time, the general public back home in Japan was enduring significant hardships due to the ongoing war. The economy was under strain, resources were scarce, and daily life was marked by sacrifices and increased militarization. Although the realities of the war's demands and the early signs of Japan's strategic difficulties, including air raids over Japan, were beginning to affect the population's outlook and daily experienc, propaganda efforts maintained a degree of public morale and support.

In this context, Nintendo and other card manufacturers contributed to such propaganda efforts, either voluntarily or through governmental and societal pressure, by producing so-called Aikoku Hyakunin Isshu (愛國百人一首) games: "One Hundred Patriotic Poems by One Hundred Poets".

Two Nintendo Patriotic cards sets (left and middle) from 1942-'43
and a 1943 book (right) covering the 100 poems included in these games

The Aikoku Hyakunin Isshu game is similar to the well-known Japanese card game Ogura Hyakunin Isshu (小倉百人一首), often shortened to just Hyakunin Isshu, which translates to "One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets."

The difference between Aikoku Hyakunin Isshu and Ogura Hyakunin Isshu is the "patriotic" part.

The Ogura Hyukunin Isshu game is based on a 12th-century anthology of one hundred poems (by one hundred different poets), compiled by Fujiwara no Teika (藤原定家), covering a wide range of subjects and styles. This anthology was intended to be a masterclass in poetry in general.

On the other hand, the Aikoku Hyakunin Isshu consists of one hundred poems (again by one hundred poets) selected specifically to promote nationalism and patriotism in Japan; they were intended to foster a sense of national pride and loyalty to the emperor.

Nintendo Aikoku Hyakunin Isshu (愛國百人一首) card set from December 1942

Apparently, in 1942, the Japanese public was asked to submit candidates for the set of Aikoku Hyakunin Isshu poems, from which a committee of well-known literary scholars, including Nobutsuna Sasaki (佐佐木信綱), selected the final set of one hundred. These were sanctioned by the Japanese government, more specifically, the Information Bureau (情報局), which can be seen as a (war-time) Ministry of Information and Propaganda.

The poems deal with the following topics:

• Nationalism and Patriotism
• Loyalty to the Emperor
• Sacrifice and Duty
• Military Valor and Honor
• Unity and Collective Effort
• Resistance Against Western Influence
• Historical and Mythological References

It is important to note that these poems were not originally written with propaganda in mind, as they all predate the Japanese period of military expansionist ambition. It is the specific selection and combination of these poems, and the way they were positioned and used, that turned them into a tool for propaganda.

This list of one hundred poems was printed in Japanese newspapers, published in books, and used as the basis for the Aikoku Hyakunin Isshu card game produced (in different forms) by a number of different card manufacturers. Here we see the versions made by Nintendo.

Nintendo 1950s Takarazuka cards with box

A couple of years ago, I reported about a set of vintage Nintendo playing cards from the 1950s, that had attracted my special interest. They were for the Takarazuka Revue, a Japanese theater company, and represented some of the earliest (possibly the earliest) Nintendo trump (トランプ) decks with a marketing purpose.

It is a beautiful set of cards, with full color pictures. That previous post can be found here.

Unfortunately, the deck that I had found at the time was missing the box. But that has since been corrected. Recently a version with box came into my possession, and you can see it here.

The box turned out to be just as nice as the cards themselves. It features branding for both Nintendo and the Takarazuka company.

Kyoto Souvenir Playing Cards, closer look part 2

We continue with the second part of detailed look at each of the individual cards in Nintendo Kyoto Souvenir playing cards from the 1950s. The first part can be found here.

Diamonds

The diamonds cards show a wide variety of landmarks and topics related to Kyoto:

• The Kamikamo Shrine (上賀茂神社)
• The Mifune Festival (三船祭)
• The Hozu Rapid (保津急流)
• The Golden pavilion (金閣寺)
• The Tower of Toji Temple (五重塔, 東寺)
• Maiko, Geisha Apprentice (舞妓)
• Kyoto Minami-za Theater (南座)
• The Ryoanji Temple (竜安寺)
• Kyoto Station (京都駅)
• Kyoto Prefectural Government (京都府庁)
• The Silver Pavilion (銀閣寺)
• City Hall (京都市役所)
• Gion Festival (祇園祭)

Kyoto Souvenir Playing Cards, closer look part 1

In this post we will take a closer look at the each of the individual cards in the 1950's Nintendo Kyoto Souvenir deck.

The virtual tour is split up over two posts. Here is the first half, with the spades and hearts. The other half, with diamonds and clubs, can be found here.

Let's take a tour around Nintendo's hometown!

Spades

Of course we start with the spades, in particular with the ace of spades. Besides this trademark card, the images on the cards cover the following landmarks and events in Kyoto:

• The Fushimi-inari Shrine (伏見稲荷大社)
• The Higashihongangi Temple (東本願寺)
• The Honnoji Temple (本能寺)
• The Tofukuji Temple (東福寺)
• The Katsura Imperial Villa (桂離宮)
• Maruyama Park (円山公園)
• Thirty-Three-Span Hall (三十三間堂)
• The National Art Museum (京都国立博物館)
• The Nanzenji Temple (南禅寺)
• The Kiyomizu-dera Temple (清水寺)
• The Tower of Sanpoin Temple (醍醐寺, 五重塔)
• Jidai Matsuri (時代祭)

Nintendo Souvenir Kyoto Playing Cards, at last

This is a story about a very special item in my collection, the Nintendo Souvenir Kyoto Playing Cards.

Nintendo's hometown Kyoto

Kyoto is famous for many things. Before Tokyo, it was the official capital of Japan for over a thousand years, and it is still considered the cultural capital. With hundreds if not thousands of historical sites, it is a major tourist attraction for domestic and foreign visitors.

Kyoto is also the town where Nintendo was founded by Fusajiro Yamauchi, 133 years ago. It has remained the heart of the company's operation to this day.

If you would check Mario's passport, and that of countless other Nintendo creations, you would find Kyoto as the place of birth.

A nice example of the tie between Nintendo and Kyoto is this photo taken at the start of the year in 1949. Nintendo was already sixty years old at the time.

The photo shows a group of (or all?) company employees posing in front of the gate of the Fushimi-inari Shrine, located in the Fushimi ward in the south of Kyoto. This shrine is a popular location to celebrate the start of the new year, one of the most important traditions in Japan.

The gate of this shrine can easily be recognized by the two fox statues standing on either side in front of it.

This photo is a great document of the company at the time. Unfortunately we do not know who all people are that we see here, in their best kimonos and suits. We suspect that the company president at the time, Fusajiro's successor Sekiryo Yamauchi, must be in it. As well as his grandson and future president Hiroshi Yamauchi. But we do not know for sure.

What is undoubtably clear, is that this is a company that is part of the fabric of the city of Kyoto. The two banners on either side of the picture state "Kyoto Nintendo" (京都任天堂).

This connection between Nintendo and Kyoto has remained strong ever since, as is also evident from the images below, taken from a Nintendo company guide from 2012.

Although the company's playfield has become global, Nintendo conducts that business from one place: Kyoto.

Nintendo Souvenir Kyoto Playing Cards

From the moment I first saw the content of the 1950s company report shown below, I have been searching for a particular set of Nintendo playing cards.

This deck, called Souvenir Kyoto Playing Cards, was presented in this document together with many other types of playing cards that Nintendo offered at the time. Of all the products included in this catalogue, this one intrigued me the most.

The concept of playing cards with photos aimed at tourists is not original in itself.

Nintendo Playing Cards catalogue from 1975

From their earliest beginnings well over a century ago, up until the present day, Nintendo has continuously been updating its range of playing cards, responding to trends and changes in customer taste, to sales successes and failures, as well as to new ideas by competitors.

Sales material provides great snapshots of what was available at a specific point in time. In today's post, we will take a look at Nintendo's offering presented in this Playing Cards catalogue from the mid 1970s.

The full-colour brochure is printed on heavy glossy paper. The publication date was July 1975.

Nintendo Playing Cards catalogue (front and back)

It is a single sheet, that has two folds to create six pages in total. When folded close, it is about A4 in size.

Nintendo Playing Cards catalogue (inside)

The image on the front shows a little porcelain statue of a couple playing music and singing. It would have been more appropriate if they had been playing cards, but the feeling of playful social interaction and style is portrayed well.

The top of the line products are shown underneath, with the most luxurious package version (with product code NAP 1505) taking centre stage.

The font used and the lily flower symbol print on the table cloth all add to the sophisticated, classic look they were clearly going for. The visual message: this is is not about toys, but serious fun for adults.

Most of the card decks included in the brochure are variations of the typical graphic, geometrical card back designs.

Nintendo playing cards price increase in 1976

The 1973 / 1974 global oil crisis hit the Japanese economy relatively hard, because of the country's large dependency on foreign energy, mainly in the form of oil. The resulting increasing energy cost caused a strong inflation that echoed on for years.

Like so many other Japanese manufacturers, Nintendo was forced to increase the prices for its products, as we can see in the message below called "guide to partial price revision of playing cards", date December 20th 1975.

The one-sided printed memo measures 18 by 25 centimeters.

Message from Nintendo to Distributors
(December 20 1975)

The message reads:

"Dear Distributor,

We would like to express our sincere gratitude for your continued patronage.

Now, due to the increase in raw materials and processing costs for playing cards, we have decided to revise the following prices for playing cards from January 21, 1976.

In any case, I would like to ask for your understanding and understanding of the circumstances."

This is followed by a table in which the changes are outlined.

Three types of cards are included in the price increase:

• Disney playing cards (ディズニートランプ)
• Ado playing cards (亜土 トランプ)
• Girl playing cards (少女 トランプ)

The 'Ado' cards are designed by famous illustrator Ado Mizumori (水森亜土).

Examples of the three types of effected cards are shown below, taken from a Nintendo product catalogue from July 1975, published a few month before the price change announcement.

For all three types the price is increased from 500 円 to 600 円, a steep 20% increase.

Hiroshima 1929 expo booklet with Nintendo ad

Today we will take a look at the booklet shown below, which is almost a century old. Inside we will discover a nice little nugget of Nintendo history.

The booklet is roughly B6 size (132 by 190 mm), contains 128 black and white printed pages, a color pullout and a color printed front and back.

The title is Great Hiroshima Guide (大廣島案内), which is printed in large red kanji on the front.

The sub title reads Showa Industry Expo Conference (昭和產業博覽會恊贊會), which is sponsored by Hiroshima City (廣島市主催).

As an aside, for those of you not familiar with the changes over time to the writing style of Japanese script, this booklet stems from an era when the custom was to write top-to-bottom and right-to-left.

Great Hiroshima Guide (1929) front page

The drawing on the front shows various landmarks of the city of Hiroshima, including Hiroshima Castle.

On the back we immediately recognize the Itsukushima shrine, located at the shoreline of the nearby Itsukushima island (also known as Miyajima).

Great Hiroshima Guide (1929) back page

The colofon at the back of the booklet indicates that it was printed in March of 1929. That is 94 years ago!

It also states that the booklet was not for sale (非売品).

The booklet was commissioned by the city of Hiroshima, in cooperation with the "Showa Industry Expo Association" (昭和產業博覽會恊賛會), and presumably handed out for free to (prospective) visitors of the expo.

The publisher and editor was Yakichi Ishikawa (石川彌吉).

Colofon

In the preface, the editor explains that the booklet covers the main attractions ("famous places") of the city of Hiroshima and surroundings, using "as many pictures as possible". Information about shops and products is "provided by advertisements".

Indeed, besides editorial content, more than half of the booklet is filled with advertisements.

Preface

At the front of the booklet, there is a very nice pullout map, printed on one side in color. When pulled out, it measures about 46 centimeters wide.

The front of this map shows a drawn aerial view of the city of Hiroshima, with indication of the tram lines and tram stops as well as the locations of the expo. The back shows a map of the greater Hiroshima area, with all railway connections.