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Fusajiro Yamauchi

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Fusajirō Yamauchi
山内 房治郎
1st President of Nintendo
In office
23 September 1889 – 1929
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded bySekiryo Kaneda
Personal details
Born(1868-06-00)June 1868
Kyoto, Japan
Died1929
Kyoto, Japan
Cause of deathStroke[citation needed]
SpouseKoma Honda (m. 1881)[citation needed]
ChildrenTei
OccupationEntrepreneur
Known forFounder of Nintendo

Fusajirō Yamauchi (山内 房治郎, Yamauchi Fusajirō, June 1868 – 1929), born Fusajirō Fukui (福井 房治郎), was a Japanese entrepreneur who founded Nintendo Yamauchi, the company now known as Nintendo. Yamauchi lived in Kyoto, Japan and had a wife and a daughter, Tei Yamauchi, who later married Sekiryô Kaneda.

Before Nintendo

Fusajiro Fukui was born on June 1868, as the oldest son of Sôsuke Fukui, a craftsperson.[1] Fusajiro took the name Yamauchi after an arranged marriage with one of the daughters of the Yamauchi, a rich family owning a company named Haigan dealing with lime which had no boys to inherit the company. Thus in the goal to inherit the company, Fusajiro was adopted by the Yamauchis and became heir to his adoptive father, Naoshichi Yamauchi.[1]

Soon after in 1885, Fusajiro inherited the company at an age of 17 and renamed the company into Haikyô.[1]

Yamauchi Fusajirô Shôten or Yamauchi Nintendo

See also: History of Nintendo § 1889–1949: Hanafuda cards

In the context of the Meiji Restoration, in 1885, gambling laws were relaxed in Japan and Hanafuda cards which were beforehand banned become legal.[2]

Fusajiro, after having opened others shops selling lime in Kyôto, is inspired by both the booming business of Hanafuda and by a personal taste for the game which he plays regularly and decides to use his skills as an craftsperson to open a factory building handmade Hanafuda decks.[1]

On 23 September 1889, Fusajiro Yamauchi opened Yamauchi Fusajirô Shôten,[3] also known as Yamauchi Nintendo on the location of an unoccupied house he bought.[1] The Hanafuda decks sold by Nintendo, known as Daitôryô (i.e President) decks, recognisable thanks to the illustration of Napoleon that decorate them, became the most successful in Kyoto in a few years.[3][4][5]

In 1890, Nintendo expands its products and starts selling Uta-garuta decks but soon after starts struggling to sell its Hanafuda and Uta-garuta due to the competition and a shrinking market around its location.[3] Fusajiro then has the idea of using the Hanafuda cards of lesser quality that were thrown away and sell them in new decks called Tengu which are sold at a lesser price than Daitôryô decks.[3] Additionally, Fusajiro decide to pursue the market of clubhouses. Indeed, due to the fact these places never use the same deck twice to prevent cheating, a lot of decks are used. In the end, Fusajira manage to conclude a contract with around 70 of them, with each one using at least 50 decks per night.[5][4]

Nintendo and trump cards

Just as Hanafuda cards were allowed again in 1885 so too did occidental playing cards (Standard 52-card deck) became allowed,[4] these western cards so called Trump by the japanese population really starts knowing success in 1886.[6]It's by witnessing their popularity and the fact that they are only bought by the wealthy upper class due to their high prices from exportation that Fusajiro has the idea to produce himself Trump cards instead of importing them.[6][7]

Although 1907 is the most commonly cited as the date which Nintendo started selling their own manufactured western playing cards,[5][6][8] a 1974 presentation flyer by the company cites 1911 as the year trump decks started being made.[6] Moreover, Nintendo's website lists 1902 as the year "Mr. Yamauchi started manufacturing the first western-style playing cards in Japan.".[9] According to author Florent Gorges, the date 1902 come from the website of Watada Insatsujô (Watada Printings), a printing company which still works with Nintendo today and do so since 1899. Indeed, on their website is written the line (translated) "1902 : Beginning of the prints of "Trump" playing cards for Nintendo Koppaï"[10]

The decision by Fusajiro to start selling western playing cards made in Japan happens at a fortuitous time for Nintendo, the same year, the imperial government put in place a new tax on mah-jong and cards producers called the "Koppaï Zei" or Karuta Zei". This tax of 20 sen created to prepare for future armed conflicts[11][12] (The sen is a subdivision of the Japanese yen which became obsolete in 1954.) doubles the prize of most Hanafuda decks which were also sold for around 20 sen leading to more than half of the main producers of Hanafuda cards to close shops.[11][12] These western cards serve then the role of a lifeline to Nintendo which is the only company selling these made-in-Japan western cards at the time.[11]

Japanese- wide distribution

Limited to the Osaka and Kyoto region, Fusajiro has the idea to create a distribution network to expand even more Nintendo operations throughout all of Japan. Something unheard of at the time in which only drugs and tobacco possess that kind of distribution.[11]

And so in 1907, Fusajiro yet again expanded the operations of Nintendo by making a deal with Kichibei Murai[7], the president of Nihon Senbai[13] (today Japan Tobacco) so that Nintendo cards were sold in cigarette shops in all of Japan.[14] By Fusajiro's retirement in 1929[7], Nintendo was the largest playing-card company in Japan.[5]

Personal details.

With no son, Fusajiro decided to arrange a marriage in 1905 between Sekiryô Kaneda, an employee which started working at Nintendo at the beginning of the decade and his daughter. During the next decades, Sekiryô would lead the Nintendo and Haikyô companies with his stepfather until 1929, year in which Fusajiro died and Sekiryô Yamauchi inherited both companies.[14]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Gorges, Florent; Gorges, Florent (2017). 1889-1980, des cartes à jouer aux Game & Watch. L'histoire de Nintendo / Florent Gorges ; avec la collaboration d'Isao Yamazaki, Erik Voskuil, Fabrice Heilig. Isao Yamazaki, Erik Voskuil, Fabrice Heilig (Troisième édition, nouvelle édition améliorée et augmentée ed.). Châtillon: Omaké books. p. 15. ISBN 978-2-919603-40-4.
  2. ^ Gorges, Florent; Gorges, Florent (2017). 1889-1980, des cartes à jouer aux Game & Watch. L'histoire de Nintendo / Florent Gorges ; avec la collaboration d'Isao Yamazaki, Erik Voskuil, Fabrice Heilig. Isao Yamazaki, Erik Voskuil, Fabrice Heilig (Troisième édition, nouvelle édition améliorée et augmentée ed.). Châtillon: Omaké books. p. 14. ISBN 978-2-919603-40-4.
  3. ^ a b c d Gorges, Florent; Gorges, Florent (2017). 1889-1980, des cartes à jouer aux Game & Watch. L'histoire de Nintendo / Florent Gorges ; avec la collaboration d'Isao Yamazaki, Erik Voskuil, Fabrice Heilig. Isao Yamazaki, Erik Voskuil, Fabrice Heilig (Troisième édition, nouvelle édition améliorée et augmentée ed.). Châtillon: Omaké books. p. 16. ISBN 978-2-919603-40-4.
  4. ^ a b c Gorges, Florent; Gorges, Florent (2017). 1889-1980, des cartes à jouer aux Game & Watch. L'histoire de Nintendo / Florent Gorges ; avec la collaboration d'Isao Yamazaki, Erik Voskuil, Fabrice Heilig. Isao Yamazaki, Erik Voskuil, Fabrice Heilig (Troisième édition, nouvelle édition améliorée et augmentée ed.). Châtillon: Omaké books. p. 18. ISBN 978-2-919603-40-4.
  5. ^ a b c d Sheff, David (1 April 1999). Game Over, Press Start to Continue: How Nintendo Conquered the World. United States of America: Cyberactive Media Group Inc/Game pr. p. 15. ISBN 9780966961706.
  6. ^ a b c d Gorges, Florent; Gorges, Florent (2017). 1889-1980, des cartes à jouer aux Game & Watch. L'histoire de Nintendo / Florent Gorges ; avec la collaboration d'Isao Yamazaki, Erik Voskuil, Fabrice Heilig. Isao Yamazaki, Erik Voskuil, Fabrice Heilig (Troisième édition, nouvelle édition améliorée et augmentée ed.). Châtillon: Omaké books. p. 19. ISBN 978-2-919603-40-4.
  7. ^ a b c Sutherland, Adam (2012). The story of Nintendo. The business of high tech. New York: Rosen Pub. Group. p. 8. ISBN 978-1-4488-7043-1.
  8. ^ "Nintendo Founder Fusajiro Yamauchi Launches a WorldWide Game Sensation". Lifewire. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  9. ^ "Nintendo History". Nintendo of Europe AG. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  10. ^ Gorges, Florent; Gorges, Florent (2017). 1889-1980, des cartes à jouer aux Game & Watch. L'histoire de Nintendo / Florent Gorges ; avec la collaboration d'Isao Yamazaki, Erik Voskuil, Fabrice Heilig. Isao Yamazaki, Erik Voskuil, Fabrice Heilig (Troisième édition, nouvelle édition améliorée et augmentée ed.). Châtillon: Omaké books. p. 20. ISBN 978-2-919603-40-4.
  11. ^ a b c d Gorges, Florent; Gorges, Florent (2017). 1889-1980, des cartes à jouer aux Game & Watch. L'histoire de Nintendo / Florent Gorges ; avec la collaboration d'Isao Yamazaki, Erik Voskuil, Fabrice Heilig. Isao Yamazaki, Erik Voskuil, Fabrice Heilig (Troisième édition, nouvelle édition améliorée et augmentée ed.). Châtillon: Omaké books. p. 21. ISBN 978-2-919603-40-4.
  12. ^ a b Sutherland, Adam (2012). The story of Nintendo. The business of high tech. New York: Rosen Pub. Group. p. 7. ISBN 978-1-4488-7043-1.
  13. ^ Japan Tobacco and Salt Co. is also cited but it was formed only in 1949. See Bunting, Geoffrey (2 May 2022). "The birthplace of Nintendo". Games Industry. Gamer Network Limited. Retrieved 14 May 2024. When he was ready to retire, thanks to a distribution deal with Japan Tobacco & Salt Co., Nintendo's cards were being sold across Japan. and "About us". https://www.jti.com/about-us. Retrieved 14 May 2024. ultimately leading to the formation of Japan Tobacco and Salt Corporation (JTS) in 1949 {{cite web}}: External link in |website= (help)
  14. ^ a b Gorges, Florent; Gorges, Florent (2017). 1889-1980, des cartes à jouer aux Game & Watch. L'histoire de Nintendo / Florent Gorges ; avec la collaboration d'Isao Yamazaki, Erik Voskuil, Fabrice Heilig. Isao Yamazaki, Erik Voskuil, Fabrice Heilig (Troisième édition, nouvelle édition améliorée et augmentée ed.). Châtillon: Omaké books. p. 22. ISBN 978-2-919603-40-4.
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