Kyoto Souvenir Deck

Kyoto was the capital city of Japan from 794 AD until 1868 and is often called the thousand year capital. Thousands of tourists flock to this significant cultural city and have done for many decades. Nintendo was founded in Kyoto in 1889 and they still operate from it even today. Sometime between 1953 and 1957, a sixteen page product catalogue entitled, Nintendo Playing Cards Report was produced. This detailed intro to the company featured products including Hanafuda cards, Western style decks in various sizes and designs, promotional decks, which could be customised for your business, trick decks and this deck, a souvenir one aimed directly at the up and coming tourist industry.

The style of the cards, oval photographs in pastel shades was already a dated format in some countries in the western world, particularly North America, but this was something of a revelation in Japan. The cards form a window into a country in the fifties, only opening up to the tourist industry, after the horrors of the Second World War. Nintendo clearly wanted to show that Japan was a place to visit as a holiday destination, with a lot to offer.

Above: Kyoto Souvenir playing cards produced by Nintendo, mid-1950s

The cards themselves would have originally been in a tax wrapper, with an example card on the outside of this. This example has an additional four of spades with a corner cut off for this purpose. The box is decorated with basic black ink drawings of expected elements of Japan; a couple of pagodas, a lady in traditional kimono. The pips are represented on the box, clearly with not much thought, since we have a red diamond and club and a light blue spade and heart! See the box►

There is one joker featuring three impish characters, which I have seen on other Nintendo decks (see example here).

The Ace of Spades is also familiar, sporting a standard design of Nintendo for this card. There doesn't appear to be a particular plan over the pastel shades with the deck. They are as follows:

• SPADES - 2 to 10 - PINK, Court Cards - YELLOW
• HEARTS - A TO 10 - BLUE, Court Cards - YELLOW
• CLUBS - A TO 7 - PINK, 8 TO K - YELLOW
• DIAMONDS - A,2 - YELLOW, 3 TO 10 - BLUE, Court Cards - YELLOW

Each card, barring the Ace of Spades, has a legend informing us what we are seeing. The photo range includes; temples, scenery, statues, shrines, a university, dolls, maidens, museums, bridges, ornaments, a festival, mountains, government buildings, geisha girls and many more.