Wednesday 8 May 2013

Irinokichi ( 入ノ 吉) - Nintendo

 
"入 吉 / 入の 吉 " ( Irinokichi) , Nintendo - 48c. + Onifuda + blank 
 
    Another Kabu deck, with the rather pleasing name of "coming-in-luck"  this particular pattern differs from the others by several features.
Firstly, this deck uses the suit of batons, much like the Kabufuda . In fact, one could imagine that the kabufuda evolved from just such a deck, as the pip cards are almost identical.
  Secondly, unlike the other decks, this deck has all 3 courts. However, it is interesting to note that the knave has a rather realistic depiction of a person, unlike the knight and king, which are abstract forms

 
Key to Positions of cards in picture below:
Top row : 7, 8, 9, 10, [ knave] , [ knight] , [king]
Bottom row: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
 
 The pip cards.
 

from L-R, onifuda, special ace, special 4
Note the fact that the silver overprints on the cards are nearly transparent with age. The red on the onifuda has streaks on it, perhaps indicative of stencilling?
 

1 comment:

  1. I had noticed the stencilling effects on the Onifuda on other Nintendo decks. It seems that they might have manufactured them by hand, differently to the rest of the deck, to make them feel more special.

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