Japanese Menko UPDATE: JCM 2: 1948 Baseball Back

 Set size: 19+ cards (10 baseball), 1-1/2" x 2-3/8"

Front Design: A color cartoon depicting actual players or a generic team member is on the front, with Japanese text identifying the player and/or the team.

Back Design: The blue ink backs have a solid baseball with three crossed bats behind it, containing a mitt, trophy, and the words "BASE BALL". A menko number (math equation) is in a rectangular box at the bottom.

Parallels and Similars: This menko is easily distinguished from other menko issues by the large blue baseball and text on the back.

Distribution: It's unknown how these menko were distributed, but most menko were packaged in hanging bags, usually sold in uncut sheets of 2, 4, or larger. Most cards were hand-cut by someone along the way - the manufacturers, shop owners, or collectors.

Thoughts: These are wonderful, colorful cards. There will be many more to come. I have a record of 178 unique menko sets, and while I'm in Japan I hope I'm able to acquire and show most of them to you. This particular issue is not really scarce, other than a few cards. Using the math equations on the back, I'm able to determine that the card with the 7521x10 menko is either Testuharu Kawakami or Michinori Tsubouchi, while the other menko (6465x39) is either Torao Ooka or a generic Kyuei player (my guess: it's the generic player). It's always good to have a bit more information on the unknown cards in my collection! (And, 1 menko set down, 177 to go!) The set is given the designation JCM 2 (similar to T for tobacco/etc) which means to me: Japanese Classic (rectangular) Menko.

Additional Images:

1940s-1950s Japanese Menko Cards ("Tobacco" Style)

This weekend I've posted four sets, including the one below. All five cards displayed over the weekend were recent pickups at the Alameda Antique Fair. 

 Set size: Unknown. These cards are approximately tobacco-card sized, though they are a little wider.

Front Design: Japanese Menko baseball cards tend to feature either a specific or generic player in a comic book-style image. A minimal amount of Japanese text accompanies the image.

Back Design: The backs of this design are relatively identical, and are printed in blue ink. Three crossed bats sit behind a large black baseball. The image of a glove and trophy, and the words "BASE BALL" all appear horizontally between the two seams of the ball. A six-digit code in the format ####X## appears in a white box at the bottom.

Parallels and Similars: There are many menko sets, and without a guide I'm unable to identify the details of this set.

Distribution: The story of Japanese cards - and menko in particular - is fairly interesting. Cards like these got their start for use in games, though Americans serving in Japan frequently brought the cards back with them.

Thoughts: I love the art on these cards. They look awesome in person, and it doesn't matter if I don't know who the player is or if it's a real player at all. It's like a little slice of a comic strip removed from its context. Maybe the batter above is staring down the pitcher because he just got a brush-back pitch. Maybe the runner in the card below is about to steal third or score the winning run to win the championship. Once I buy a guide to Japanese cards I'll be able to revisit these two and determine what I have and where they really came from. Until then, these are highly welcome in my collection.

Additional Links: While it's mostly a sales outlet, there is some information on Japanese cards at Rob's website.

Additional Images: A second example bought with the first card (front and back):