Torys Western Cards

Torys is a brand of “extra whisky” blended and bottled by Suntory Limited. To promote it, Suntory employed Ryohei Yanagihara to create a series of comic portraits of characters from the American Wild West. These include Jesse James, Calamity Jane, Annie Oakley, Buffalo Bill, and Billy the Kid. Davy Crockett and Geronimo appear on the Jokers. A different background colour has been used for each of the court cards and Jokers. There are small, additional touches on the Aces and some of the pip cards. An advert for Torys whisky is featured on the reverse.

Above: Torys Western Cards made by Nintendo PC Co. Ltd, Kyoto, Japan, 1967, for Suntory Limited. 52 cards + 2 Jokers in plastic box, in cardboard sleeve. Size: 71 x 95 mm. The illustration on the sleeve is simply a copy of the back design.

“Presumably the Japanese consider the Americans of the Wild West to be the greatest ever drinkers of whisky (or should I say "whiskey", since the Japanese shouldn't really spell it the Scottish way!)” - RS.