Pre-War Japanese Menko! The 1940 Circle Back 5 set does not disappoint!

It never ceases to amaze me how many pre-war sets are still out there that weren't destroyed in the war in Japan.  I've mentioned several times on this blog that the amount of destruction and devastation, along with paper drives and commodity scacity, would have seemingly wiped out all of the paper products and children's games for the most part.  When I uncover sets like this, it makes me realize how important these likely were to families back then and worth keeping.  I am glad I am able to document them for history's sake!

This M405: 1940 Circle Back 5 set looks like it was well loved and used in lots of menko games bringing a smile to some child's face.  In terms of design it is fairly standard, but with some great background designs on the front behind the wrestler.  When these were newly issued, the colors must have been really vivid!  The backs contain the standard birthplace, height, weight, favorite technique and stable information with a dominate circle at the top and 5-digit Fighting Number at the bottom.

Interestingly, no yokozuna appeared in the auction I won....likely those menko were the most cherished and fell apart many decades ago from hundreds of rounds of menko.

Thanks for stopping by...I hope everyone has a great weekend and sayonara!