Interest

Meji-Era Photos Show Nintendo HQ 129 Years Ago

Nintendo has always been about games, but not always of the electronic kind. Fusajirō Yamauchi founded the Nintendo Koppai company in 1889 as a hanafuda card maker. Photographs that originate from the "Minna de Tsukuru Meiji 150-nen Kyoto no Kiseki" (150 Years of Meiji: Kyoto's Wonders Made by Everyone) project's website and depict the company's original headquarters 129 years ago began to circulate online on Tuesday.

Yamauchi was adopted by the head of a lime wholesale company that became a cement manufacturer when he inherited it. Yamauchi turned a vacant house in Kyoto into the headquarters of his company in 1889. After pursuing various business strategies and undergoing name changes, the company eventually became the video game maker we know today.

The image above features a sign from 1889 describing the Yamauchi Nintendo company as a playing card manufacturer. The photograph of the Meiji-era sign below similarly describes the company and lists its location. Both signs include a mention of "Marufuku," which was also a company name.

The "Meiji 150-nen Kyoto no Kiseki" project aims to preserve the history of Kyoto, from the start of the Meiji period in 1868 until today.

Source: IGN (Hope Corrigan) via Hachima Kikō