Fusajiro Yamauchi

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

[4] Fusajiro, after having opened other shops selling lime in Kyoto, was inspired by both the booming business of Hanafuda and his personal taste for the game.

[11] It was by witnessing their popularity and recognizing that they were primarily purchased by the wealthy upper class due to their high prices from exportation that Fusajiro had the idea to produce his own Trump cards instead of importing them.

[11] Moreover, Nintendo's website lists 1902 as the year "Mr. Yamauchi started manufacturing the first western-style playing cards in Japan.

"[14][15] The decision by Fusajiro to start selling western playing cards made in Japan happened at a fortuitous time for Nintendo.

[16] Limited to the Osaka and Kyoto region, Fusajiro had the idea to create a distribution network to expand Nintendo’s operations throughout all of Japan.

[10] Without a son, Fusajiro decided to arrange a marriage in 1905[6] between Sekiryō Kaneda, an employee who started working at Nintendo at the beginning of the decade, and one of his two daughters,[17] Tei.