Salmon playing cards

To quote from the poor English text on the backs of these cards, the salmon is a “misterious fish which return to their mother river”. Thirteen different photographs have been used to depict the life cycle of the salmon. These are captioned in Japanese. The designs are repeated on the same card in each suit. All the images are in horizontal format. A fine specimen appears on the back against a red background.

Salmon forms an important part of the Japanese diet. Annual salmon consumption in Japan was 420,000 tons in 2013!

Above: Salmon playing cards made by Nintendo, Japan, c1985. 52 cards + 2 Jokers in plastic box. Size: 58 x 89 mm.