11. Nintendo Was Founded in 1889 as a Handmade Playing Card Business
When you think of Nintendo today, you immediately picture revolutionary video game consoles like the NES, Game Boy, and Switch. Yet, the Japanese corporate titan began its journey long before modern electronics existed. On September 23, 1889, entrepreneur Fusajiro Yamauchi established a small business named Nintendo Koppai in Kyoto, Japan. The company produced handmade hanafuda, or “flower cards,” which were crafted from the bark of mulberry trees and featured artistic floral designs. These playing cards grew immensely popular across Japan, particularly among organized crime syndicates (Yakuza) who operated high-stakes gambling parlors.
To appreciate Nintendo’s age, consider the global events occurring when Yamauchi founded the company in 1889. That very same year, France opened the newly constructed Eiffel Tower to visitors at the Paris World’s Fair. Furthermore, Nintendo began operations just twelve months after Jack the Ripper terrorized the streets of Whitechapel in London in 1888. Nintendo’s multi-century survival reveals an important practical lesson in corporate strategy: long-term business survival relies on an organization’s willingness to adapt its core operations as culture and technology evolve.
