180829-0036-KS - Japanese School Life

Students hiking in the mountains. Early Japanese Menko card from the 1900s, showing Japanese school life. Menko (めんこ, 面子), also known as Bettan or Patchin, is a Japanese card game played by two or more players.

Menko has been popular since the Edo Period (1603 and 1868). Early cards showed images of ninja and samurai. During the 1930s and 1940s, many cards featured images of the military. After WWII, baseball players and characters from anime and manga became popular.