Nintendo began in 1889 making hanafuda playing cards, decades before video games

pop & funWikipedia1889 · Kyoto, Japan

Nintendo began in 1889 making hanafuda playing cards, decades before video games

the gist

Nintendo was founded in Kyoto on 23 September 1889 by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi, who produced Japanese playing cards and especially hanafuda, flower cards. Hanafuda became popular after Japan banned most forms of gambling in 1882 while tolerating the cards, and Yamauchi persisted when other makers quit over the cards' links to yakuza-run gaming parlors. Because decks lasted so long, few were replaced, so the business struggled, and it added cheaper lines and sold in other cities. In 1953 it became the first company in Japan to mass-produce plastic playing cards. Toys and games came later, when Gunpei Yokoi joined in 1965 and the company moved into electronic toys in 1970, long before its video games.

how it works

Hanafuda decks were durable, so buyers replaced them rarely and sales stayed slow. Nintendo responded by making cheaper cards and selling in more cities, which increased turnover. Later it moved into manufacturing and toys, using the same factory skills.

so what

The company's roots show how a traditional card maker adapted to new markets, disasters and technologies over more than a century. It explains why Nintendo's later toys and video games grew from a family business of playing cards.

fun fact

The name Nintendo is commonly assumed to mean leave luck to heaven, but historians say that meaning lacks historical evidence.

Hampi was once one of the world's largest cities, until its Vijayanagara capital was destroyed in 1565

the gist

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.

how it works

The city was built around a fortified core with temples, markets and water structures along the river, supplied by an extensive network of roads and waterworks. When the empire fell, the city was not rebuilt, so its stone monuments were left standing.

so what

Hampi shows how quickly a great city can vanish after a military defeat, and how a ruined capital can remain sacred. Its ruins give historians a view of medieval South Asia that few other sites can match.

fun fact

The name Hampi comes from Pampa, an old name for the Tungabhadra River.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · text CC BY-SA 4.0

Image: Wikimedia Commons

source: Wikipedia ↗

2 min

politicsshortCNA2:01

False allegations about Singapore’s hand in Indonesia’s markets and a made-up meeting

from CNA

CNA Verify has found close to 400 posts pushing falsehoods tying Singapore to Indonesia’s stock market rout and to a secret meeting that never took place. Together, they drew nearly 12 million views, and some were circulated by accounts that appeared to be working in concert, across multiple social media platforms.

Here’s how the disinformation campaign targeting Singapore was uncovered.

on YouTube: CNA ↗