The "Bakuto" and Nintendo
How Professional Gamblers of the Edo Period Paved Nintendo's Road to Early Success
The highly successful company Nintendo, based in Kyoto and founded by Fusajiro Yamauchi in 1889, is one of the best-known companies coming from Japan. The company’s humble beginnings, manufacturing special kind of playing cards called “Hanafuda” in a tiny building deemed “headquarter”, is well documented.
The fact that not only playing cards, but also “Bakuto”, professional gamblers during the Edo period (1603-1868) and forerunners of the “Yakuza” crime syndicates, played a vital role in the company’s history and success is little known.
It can be reasonably assumed that without the “Bakuto” and “Yakuza”, Nintendo would not have survived long enough to turn into today’s famous video gaming powerhouse.
History of Card Games in Japan
Japan’s history of gambling and playing cards is an interesting one. Oldest written evidence of gambling in Japan dates back to 685 A.D noting that Emperor Tenmu invited high-ranking aristocrats to play “Hakugi”, a dice game, awarding garment as winnings.
Like “Hakugi”, card games were invented by the Chinese in the 9th century during the Tang Dynasty. Along with all things Chinese the Japanese nobility also eagerly adopted playing cards. They regarded gambling as a desirable leisure activity, comparable with fine arts. Nevertheless, gambling among the lower classes was disdained and repeatedly suppressed, albeit not very successfully. However, appeal of card games had not spread widely within Japan and decks were hardly found.
600 years after invention, card games spread westward to Europe where they became highly popular. Eventually, in the 15th century, Portuguese traders reintroduced playing cards to Japan, which proved to be an immediate hit.
Playing cards incessantly gained popularity among Japanese of all classes. Very much to the disliking of the Tokugawa Clan who ruled Japan during the Edo period. Anything foreign was suspicious and considered dangerous to the Tokugawa. And gambling with foreign playing cards sinister. Thus, with the isolation policy starting in 1633, the Tokugawa banned western playing cards.
Japanese gamblers were not amused and developed own versions of cards called “Karuta” (from the Portuguese carta). But the Tokugawa banned one design after other, setting in motion a regulation evading cycle that ended with the creation of a hyper abstract card design called “Hanafuda”.
“Hanafuda” was an ingenious disguise. It had no signs of anything foreign. It did not feature any four suits and numerical elements. Only Japanese motifs representing different months of the year. Think: ornate flowers and coloring; lush nature imagery and flower patterns.
The design was less convenient than other decks for playing card games. Thus, government officials deemed “Hanafuda” not a genuine fit for gambling and tolerated it.
The “Bakuto” Roots of “Yakuza”
The restrictive gambling policy during the Edo period had pushed activities into obscurity, bringing into existence a gambler class called “Bakuto”. Poor and landless man travelling and operating the busy highways and towns of Japan’s Tokugawa-era. One of their services, gambling back pay handed over to irrigation and construction workers, was highly appreciated by shady and greedy government officials and local Tokugawa bosses.
Over time hired gamblers attracted misfit merchants, artisans, samurai, and sumo wrestlers. Forming Japan’s first organized gang, now known as “Yakuza”. Their “Bakuto” roots are reflected in the penchant for finger chopping and the core business being gambling.
Purists still regard only traditional gamblers being real “Yakuza” as the name stems from a card game called “Oicho-Kabu” (similar to baccarat). The game was a favorite of the “Bakuto” and played with a “Hanafuda” deck. The goal? Have a point total as close to 9 as possible. Any multiple of 10 is disregarded in your point total (score of 19 ==> (19-10) =9). Zero-score card numbers are 8 (Ya), 9 (Ku), and 3 (Za), which gets you to 20, a losing hand. Thus, the term “Yakuza”. Meaning losing hand; loser; pointless or useless to society.
The “Yakuza” was certainly not useless for Fusajiro Yamauchi and his company Nintendo. Although, his “Hanafuda” cards, handcrafted and designed with great care, were very popular with Japanese households, growth opportunities were severely limited right from the beginning. Once every Japanese household was supplied, demand would have stalled.
Fortunately for Nintendo, the government erred in the assumption “Hanafuda” cards being inconvenient and not popular with gamblers. During the Meji Restoration “Yakuza” gambling parlors around Kyoto boomed and their favorite deck was Nintendo’s “Hanafuda”. The displayed motives were so popular with syndicate members that many found their way to “Yakuza” bodies in the form of tattoos.
Decks flew off the shelf at Nintendo’s “headquarter” in Kyoto as the “Yakuza” used new sets for every subsequent gaming round to avoid tempering. Thus, a typical parlor required hundreds of packs per week.
A great start for a young company. And never mind the shady source of your success Nintendo. We still love you!
Source:
History of Nintendo: Part 1 – Nintendo’s Yakuza Beginnings
The Bond of Competition - Hanafuda
Great story. Thanks