Tuesday, January 20, 2026

scan: 週刊朝日(Asahi Weekly) 1951-10-26 with pachinko article

I stumbled on this issue thanks to a random search. It features a great article on pachinko, including some very rare machines.

Download at The Internet Archive. 

週刊朝日(Asahi Weekly) 1951-10-26

I have included some OCR and machine translations below, but please assume there are numerous machine errors. I have not thoroughly double checked it. 

 

transcription:

週刊朝日一
私たちの社会学
パチンコ

子どもの遊びのパチンコが大人のあそびになつてきた子どもがおとなのまねをしてパチンコばやりの浮世ゆえ大人がこどものまねをするせいぜい遊んでバチンコで毎日浮かれてやりましようカンシャクダマのうさばらし………………
(「日劇」地下街ボスターより)
――というわけで、今はバチンコ大流行だが、さてそれはどういうわけなのか。(編集部)

パチンコ社会学
パチンコ必勝法
パチンコの力学
パチンコ経済学
パチンコ攻防戦
パチンコの哲学

machine translation: 

Asahi Weekly
Our Sociology
Pachinko

Pachinko, a child's game, has become an adult game. Children are imitating adults, and because pachinko is so popular, adults are imitating children. Let's just play and have fun every day with pachinko. Let's relieve our stress...
(From a poster in the underground shopping mall at Nichigeki Theater)
--So, pachinko is all the rage right now, but what's the reason for that? (Editorial Department)

[from the Index:]
Pachinko Sociology
Pachinko Winning Strategy
Pachinko Dynamics
Pachinko Economics
Pachinko Battle
Pachinko Philosophy 



OCR:
1 パチンコ必勝法

秘訣はなにかもう、ずい分と書きつくされたパチンコである。従って、私たちは、先ず、そのものズバリと、パチンコ必勝法から、この報告を始めることにしよう。 

必勝法といつても、先ず第一に機械、熟練度、さらには心理的条件によつて様々で、一概にはいえないが、一時間で、ピース十簡は軽く稼ぐという、ユーモア作家の宮崎博史氏(浦和市岸町三ノ八五五)などは先ず、セミプロ級に属するであろう。氏の必勝法によると、こういうことになる。

第一に良い機械を選ぶこと。パネは強からず、弱からず。軽くはじいてみて、玉がグラウンド(はじかれた玉が転がる所)の最上部まで達するのがよい。手前の方に傾いている機械は駄目。垂直になつているか、すこし後に傾いている方がよい。電燈のためにガラスが光って、玉の動きがよく見えないような機械、クギが非常にゆがんでいる機械は避けること。ことに穴の直ぐ上の二、三木のクギは、よく注意して見ることが必要、玉が通らない狭さにクギを曲げてある機械もある。また、あまり玉が入り過ぎるとみると、裏側で、パチンコ屋がバネの調子を変える場合がある。機械の後ろで、 女の子がゴソーやり始めたら、 別の機械に移った方がよい。(この時、「ワアッ」とか、「ダメだよ、そんなことしちゃ」と女の子を牽制する手もある)

第二は、バネをはじく右手を固定させ、いつも同じ強さで、バネをはじけるようにすることだ。両足を少し開いて、安定した、ゆつたりした姿勢をとり、玉は、左手で投入する。右手で玉を投入すると、バネをはじく調子が、どうしても一定に行かない。

バネの下に、指をいれるのは、同じ強さではじくために有効。バネの強さによつて、指を二木にしたり、三木にしたりして調節すればよい。(某機械工は、ネジ回し器で高さの安定をはかるものを携帯したともいうあとは、慣れとカンで一定の調子を覚えることだ。

第三は、一つ穴に狙いをつけて、そればかりを狙うこと。どの機械にも、入り易い穴というものは、一つか二つしかない。まずはじめに、無駄玉のつもりで、いくつかはじき、早く入り易い穴を見つけることが肝心。グラウンドの向って左半分のなかに入り易い穴が多い。クロウトは、左半分だけで勝負する、とよくいわれるのは、このためだ。また玉は、一回転させては絶対に駄目、はじいた玉がスッと上の方まで上って行く途中から、狙う穴に落ちるようにならなければいけない。クギに玉をぶつけ、そのはねかえりを利用して穴に入れようとするのも止めた方がよい。パチンコのクギは、玉突きのクッションのように、物理的に、一定の方向にはねかえるものではないから。

第四は、無心になることだ。調子の良い機械を選び、入り易い穴が見付かったら、あとは、右手のバネの手加減を変えないようにして、虚心坦懐に、パチンパチンとはじく。あまりあせったり、ビースを何簡稼いでやろうなどと欲ばつたりすると、必ず右手の調子が狂うものだ。

さらに、自信を持つて、機械に向うかどうかも案外成績に関係する。大げさにいえば、機械を呑んでしまって、機械と我と一つという心境でやることだ。

第五は、賞品にかえられるだけの玉を稼いだら、すぐ賞品にかえてしまうこと。玉を百ためようとか、二百稼いでやろうとかいう野心を起すと、必ずといつてよいくらいに、損をする。手持ちの玉が ・多いと、どうしても、玉のはじき方が粗雑になる。

賞品にかえた残りの玉が、少いようだつたら、オール十などを狙わずに、一箇の玉を二箇にする 「紅白」とか「赤青」とかいう機械に移つて、まず着実に、持玉を倍にしてから、オール十に向う。 これが損をしないパチンコの秘訣だ。

セミプロ銘々伝 
パチンコのセミ・ブロは宮崎氏だけではないどこにでもいる。例えば、渋谷区穏田二の四五に住む白川意泰(トモヤス)氏(薬剤卸し業)も、その一人。氏の必勝法はこうだ。

「パチンコ台をえらぶには釘の按配に注意する。とくに穴の真上で三角形をつくる三木の釘は一本でも曲つていたら入らない。入口の二本の幅の広い狭いは大して関係ない。反つてこの二木はタマが食い込む程度の広さだとビタリ入る。

パネは、晴れた日と雨の日では加波を変える。天気がよいと台 (ベニヤ板)の弾力性が強いから、バネをはじく時、少し力を抜き、雨の日は心持ち力を加えて離す。コンディションは、まさに雨

が降り出しそうな空模様が、適当の湿気があつてよく、時間からいうと、同じ理由で夕方がよい。また、手の中にいつも10なり15なりタマを掘っていて、何回入るか、自分のペースを自然と計れるようにする。このペースが崩れてきたら、引きあげる潮時と思うこと。
タマはなるべく、同じ重さのものを選ぶご」

また各古屋大学医学部助教授古田莞爾医学博士なども中京におけるパチンコ・チャンピオン? かも知れない。博士は、昨年六月知多半島へ検晃に出かけた折、熱田駅で検察庁の人を待つ間に一寸やつてみたのがやみつきだが、あくまで「時間つぶし」の健全換楽が目的で、「二十円から四十円までで三十分から一時間くらい」を楽しむという主義だという。それでもふしぎと殆ど毎日タバコ一個ないし三個くらいとる。しかも今やあのオール十個のジャリーンという音を耳にすると、何ともいえぬ爽快な気持になるというのであるが、この博士のコッはころいろことになる。

machine translation:

1 Pachinko Winning Strategy

The secrets to pachinko have been extensively documented. Therefore, let's begin this report with the very essence of the pachinko winning strategy.

First of all, winning strategies vary depending on the machine, skill level, and even psychological conditions, making it difficult to generalize. However, humorist Hiroshi Miyazaki (3-855 Kishimachi, Urawa City), who claims to easily earn 10 pieces in an hour, would probably be considered a semi-professional. His winning strategy goes something like this:

First, choose a good machine. The spinner should be neither too strong nor too weak. Lightly flick the ball; it should reach the top of the ground (where the ball rolls). Machines tilted toward you are no good. It's better if the machine is vertical or tilted slightly backward. Avoid machines where the glass is lit by electric lights, making it difficult to see the ball's movement, or machines with extremely crooked nails. Pay particular attention to the two or three wooden nails directly above the holes; some machines have nails bent so narrowly that the balls won't fit through. Also, if they notice too many balls going through the hole, the parlor behind the machine may adjust the spring's settings. If a girl starts making a banging noise behind the machine, it's best to move to another machine. (At this point, you can try to restrain her by saying, "Waah!" or "Don't do that!")

Second, keep your right hand, which triggers the spring, steady and consistent. Stand with your feet slightly apart, stable, and relaxed, and insert the ball with your left hand. Inserting the ball with your right hand will inevitably result in an inconsistent spring response.

Placing your finger under the spring is effective in ensuring consistent force. Depending on the strength of the spring, you can adjust the finger by using two or three fingers. (A certain mechanic is said to carry a screwdriver to measure the height stability, and then you can memorize the rhythm through practice and intuition.)

Thirdly, aim at one hole and only aim at that. Every machine has only one or two holes that are easy to enter. First, flick a few balls as if they were wasted, and it is important to quickly find an easy hole. There are many easy holes in the left half of the field. This is why it is often said that expert players only play in the left half. Also, the ball should never spin around once; it should fly up smoothly and fall into the aimed hole halfway through. It is also best to avoid hitting the ball against a nail and using the rebound to get it into the hole. The nail in a pachinko machine is used to flick the ball This is because the balls do not physically bounce in a certain direction like a cushion.

Fourth, clear your mind. Choose a machine that works well, and once you've found a hole that fits easily, just keep the pressure on the spring in your right hand constant and snap the balls with an open mind. If you get too anxious or try to earn as many balls as possible, your right hand will inevitably go out of sync.

Furthermore, whether you approach the machine with confidence is surprisingly related to your performance. To put it dramatically, you should engulf the machine, and act with the mindset that you are one with the machine.

Fifth, once you have earned enough balls to redeem for prizes, redeem them immediately. If you become ambitious and try to save up 100 balls or 200, you will inevitably suffer significant losses. If you have too many balls,・If you have too many balls, you will inevitably end up sloppy with the way you shoot the balls.

If there are only a few balls left after converting them into prizes, instead of aiming for all tens, move on to machines called "Red and White" or "Red and Blue" which turn one ball into two, and first steadily double the number of balls you have before moving towards all tens. This is the secret to playing pachinko without losing money.

The stories of semi-professionals
Miyazaki is not the only pachinko semi-bro; they can be found everywhere. For example, Shirakawa Tomoyasu (a pharmaceutical wholesaler) who lives at 2-4-5 Onden, Shibuya-ku, is one such semi-bro. His winning strategy is as follows:

"When choosing a pachinko machine, pay attention to the arrangement of the nails. In particular, if even one of the three nails that form a triangle directly above the hole is bent, the machine will not go in. It doesn't matter how wide or narrow the two nails at the entrance are. On the contrary, if the two nails are wide enough for the ball to bite into, it will go in perfectly.

The panel changes its amplitude depending on whether it is a sunny day or a rainy day. When the weather is good, the machine Because plywood is very elastic, when flicking the spring, release it slightly, and on rainy days, apply a little more pressure. The best conditions are when the weather looks like it's about to rain, with just the right amount of humidity. For the same reason, evening is the best time. Also, always keep 10 or 15 balls in your hand, so you can naturally gauge your own pace by how many times you can hit the ball. If you start to lose this pace, it's time to stop.

Whenever possible, choose balls of the same weight.

Furuta Kanji, Ph.D., assistant professor at the Furuya University School of Medicine, is also a pachinko champion in the Chukyo region. It may be. The doctor tried it briefly while waiting for someone from the prosecutor's office at Atsuta Station on a survey trip to the Chita Peninsula last June, and became addicted, but his aim was to simply kill time with a healthy dose of fun, and he says he enjoys it for "about 30 to 60 minutes for 20 to 40 yen."Strangely enough, he still smokes one to three cigarettes almost every day.And now, when he hears the jingle of those 10 cigarettes, he feels an indescribable sense of exhilaration, but this doctor's heart is in a tailspin.










 

Zooming in on the pachinko images:




機械の裏では、故障にそなえて従業員が坐つている
Behind the machine, an employee sits, ready to take action in case of a breakdown.

パチンコの研磨器
pachinko polisher

新型ダブル式パチンコ・・・・・・普通のパチンコを上下に重ねた形,
New double-type pachinko machine: A regular pachinko machine stacked on top of another.

東京台東区のメーカー兼パチンコ屋
Manufacturer and pachinko parlor in Taito Ward, Tokyo


 

 

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This blog stands in protest against the USA's horrific attempts to eliminate trans people from society. Trans people have always existed, in every society, but the administration has embraced a moral panic, declared a war against reality, and says that trans people can no longer be allowed to exist. This includes making their healthcare illegal, censoring books and school curriculum from university level down to elementary school, banning trans people from bathrooms, and declaring trans existence to be child abuse.

This blog stands in solidarity with all of the youth who are being terrorized by a fascist president who has declared them to be threats that must be eliminated.

The USA is disappearing random brown people off the streets via unidentified masked gestapo and shipping them off to concentration camps and notorious foreign prisons, all with no due process. The world witnessed ICE execute a mother and then lie about what we saw. Solidarity for all who are in the gaze of this American Nazism terror campaign against its own people.

Please read: ‘No other option’: inside the refugee camp for trans Americans fleeing Trump by Helen Pidd and Eli Block

Please read: Trans-exclusionary data activism in the UK by Kevin Guyan

Please read:  Trump administration opens 18 new probes over trans athletes by Laura Meckler and Lauren Lumpkin

Please read: Getting off US tech: a guide by Paris Marx




Wednesday, January 14, 2026

scans: Monthly Coin Journal 1984-10 & 1984-10 part II

2 more issues of the extremely rare Coin Journals we purchased have been scanned by Detchibe. These take a lot longer to scan because they are being done non-destructively on an edge scanner, so please be patient as they trickle forth over the next year or more.

 

 月刊コインジャーナル [Monthly Coin Journal] Vol. 9 No. 10 (October 1984) (600DPI) 

 

 月刊コインジャーナル [Monthly Coin Journal] Vol. 9 No. 11 (October 1984 Part II) (600DPI) 

 

Some highlights:

 

 





------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This blog stands in protest against the USA's horrific attempts to eliminate trans people from society. Trans people have always existed, in every society, but the administration has embraced a moral panic, declared a war against reality, and says that trans people can no longer be allowed to exist. This includes making their healthcare illegal, censoring books and school curriculum from university level down to elementary school, banning trans people from bathrooms, and declaring trans existence to be child abuse.

This blog stands in solidarity with all of the youth who are being terrorized by a fascist president who has declared them to be threats that must be eliminated.

The USA is disappearing random brown people off the streets via unidentified masked gestapo and shipping them off to concentration camps and notorious foreign prisons, all with no due process. The world witnessed ICE execute a mother and then lie about what we saw. Solidarity for all who are in the gaze of this American Nazism terror campaign against its own people.

Please read:  Experts Warn U.S. in Early Stages of Genocide Against Trans Americans by Walker Bragman

Please read:  The trans youth athletes in the US fighting for their rights: ‘Playing is an act of resistance’ by Sam Levin

Please read:  Contempt Is the Foundation for the War on Trans People, and America by Billie Jean Sweeney

Please read:  I loved my teaching job. But as a trans man in Texas, quitting was the only way to get my dignity back as told to Alaina Demopoulos

Please read:  Trump tries to smear Renee Good and her wife for ICE killing by Christopher Wiggins

Please read:  Pam Bondi Directs FBI to Offer Cash Bounty for Promoters of “Radical Gender Ideology” by James Factora

Please read:  Morning Download: Nevada governor aims to ban transgender athletes in state constitution by Chris Murray

Please read:  Children’s Hospital Colorado, Denver Health pause gender-affirming care for minors again by Meg Wingerter

 



Wednesday, January 7, 2026

HELP WANTED: purchasing rare SEGA and TAITO price lists!

Update: we have purchased the price lists!

Thank you to everyone who contributed. These will get scanned by Detchibe and I can't wait to have them shared online.


----------------------------- 

 

Hey remember last year when I put a call-out for help to purchase a massive run of Coin Journals?  And then we were able to purchase the Coin Journals? And Detchibe has begun scanning them for us all?

I am back with a similar ask.  I am looking for donations to help win these two auctions of extremely rare Sega and Taito price lists.  Both of these auctions end on January 12th so we have a little bit of time to spread this around and shake that cup.

These will all be scanned at high res and shared openly on the Internet Archive

 

The Auctions

Auction 1: Sega price lists

SEGA Price lists
 

This auction includes Sega price lists from:

  • 1971-05
  • 1971-09
  • 1974-01
  • 1978-05 


Auction 2: Taito price lists

Taito price lists
 

This auction includes Taito price lists from 1975-03 and 1987-05.

Current Tally

We are currently at ¥69,945.  That is ¥15,600 from my friend Flyercade and ¥15,000 from me. 
+ $25 USD (~¥3900) from JeffC, thank you!
+ $50 USD (~¥7800) from Jason H, thank you!
+ ¥27645 from Jonny, thank you!

I think we will need at least ¥64,000 to win these. I'd ideally like even higher bids, and any excess funds can be rolled into the next purchases.

 

What will these sell for?

It is hard to predict how high these will go, but my estimate is that the Sega lot will sell for 50,000 to 60,000 yen.  Let's look to prior auctions for guidance.

Sega 1971-05 price list sold for 5750

Sega 1972-09 price list (EXTREMELY SOILED) sold for a staggering 9500.  We purchased it and scanned it.

Sega 1973-01 price list (SOILED, DAMAGED) sold for 5350.  We purchased it and scanned it

Sega 1974-01 price list sold for 5850

Sega 1978-05 price list came up previously, selling for ¥27,300!  

Assuming 6000 for each of the early lists and ¥27,000 for the 1978 one, that is a ¥45,000 estimate for the Sega price lists.

Since 1971-05 and 1974-01 and 1978-05 had previously sold, my hope is that that will soften the competition.

 

Taito 1974-05 price list sold for ¥12,100.

Taito 1984-04 pricelist sold for ¥2300.

Taito 1985-03 price list sold for ¥2300.  

 

I estimate ¥12,000 again on the 1975-03 and ¥2300 on the 1987, so about ¥14,300 total for the Taito price lists

I'm guessing about  ¥4000 for all fees and shipping costs.

 

How to contribute?

My email is thetastates@gmail.com and you can send PayPal to that address, Wise transfer, and e-transfer if you are in Canada.

 

Monday, January 5, 2026

exploring the arcade in ドラムと恋と夢 (1956) aka Drum to koi to yume aka Drumbeat

It is always exciting to find any representation of Japanese arcades from before the 1960s!  Here we have a carnival with a ball toss game where you try and hit a classical oni, and a shooting gallery that including both a spinning platform and balloon shooting. This appears to be a set on a soundstage, but the game designs appear to be faithful to the era.

ドラムと恋と夢 (1956)

 
Rainbow Paradise


coinop horse rides


animated oni statue and ball toss game



遊技券一枚五発 (5 shots for 1 game ticket)

balloon targets tethered by string on the right, rotating target platform on the left



top, back we see a Pachinko sign

it is hard to see the pachinko machines, but they are there

 

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This blog stands in protest against the USA's horrific attempts to eliminate trans people from society. Trans people have always existed, in every society, but the administration has embraced a moral panic, declared a war against reality, and says that trans people can no longer be allowed to exist. This includes making their healthcare illegal, censoring books and school curriculum from university level down to elementary school, banning trans people from bathrooms, and declaring trans existence to be child abuse.

This blog stands in solidarity with all of the youth who are being terrorized by a fascist president who has declared them to be threats that must be eliminated.

The USA is disappearing random brown people off the streets via unidentified masked men and shipping them off to concentration camps and notorious foreign prisons, all with no due process. Solidarity for all who are in the gaze of this American Nazism terror campaign against its own people.
 

Please read: On Surviving Trans Genocide by Mady Castigan



Sunday, January 4, 2026

Videos part 17

And we are BACK with more arcade + pinball videos!

Prior video posts: 123, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and entry 5 onward has a link to one of these ZIP files of movie clips. Clips were trimmed by tweakbod, with a few guest contributions and a few archived YT rips.

In this collection we have:

1928 - 十字路 (Jūjiro aka Crossroads) shooting gallery scene
1939 - Dangerous Dan McFoo pinball scenes
1946 - Dick Tracy Vs. Cueball pinball scenes
1956 - Rock, Pretty Baby pinball scene
1956 - You Cant Run Away From It coin-op scenes
1958 - Les Tricheurs (aka The Cheaters) pinball scene
1960 - La Vérité (aka The Truth) pinball scene
1960 - The Fugitive Kind pinball scene
1962 - Lonely Are the Brave pinball scene
1965 - Synanon coin-op scene
1965 - Trials of O'Brien S01E10 Charlie Has All The Luck [from Kate Lynch] pinball scenes
1965 - 意気に感ず (Iki ni kanzu aka I am not impressed) arcade scenes
1967 - Casino Royale slot machine scene
1967 - Poor Cow amsuement park & coin-op scene
1971 - Dollars pinball scenes
1973 - Il boss (aka Wipeout! aka The Boss) pinball scenes
1973 - The Girl Most Likely To... pinball scenes
1973 - macht Flippern frei? (Dokumentation 1973) [OVQyBAexZdY]
1974 - The Klansman pinball scene
1975 - The Giant Spider Invasion pinball scenes
1975 - 大劫案 (Da jie an aka The Big Holdup) pinball scene
1976 - Taxi Driver marquees of Fascination and Playland scene
1977 - Sega Center offers state of the art video games in 1977 [LwfeOu0QsGk]
1979 - Hot Stuff pinball scenes
1979 - Meteor pinball scene
1979 - Rock 'n Roll High School pinball scene
1983 - Slayground shooting gallery scene
1983 - Surprise Party pinball scenes
1984 - Reckless bowling alley scene
1984 - Surf II arcade scene
1985 - Stick pinball scene
1985 - The Boys Next Door arcade scene
1987 - Over The Top arcade scene
1987 - Promised Land coin-op scenes
1990 - Havana pinball scene
1992 - Sega's Plan for World Domination: The Fantasy Factory [-hoGyKI5J7k]
1995 - 紅番區 (Hong fan qu aka Rumble in the Bronx) pinball scene
1997 - 電磁戦隊メガレンジャー (Denji Sentai Megaranger) E01 arcade scene
1998 - The General arcade scene
2001 - Donnie Darko arcade scene
2002 - Lilja 4-Ever arcade scene
2005 - Bad News Bears pinball scene
2005 - Be Cool pinball scene
2006 - Starter For 10 arcade scenes
2008 - August pinball scenes
2011 - Le Havre pinball scenes

Download the ZIP file (3.2 GB)

 

Lots of YT videos to catch up on...

 


Clay shows off his 1935 Neontact

A mindblowing prewar pinball collection:


 Pacific Pinball Museum collection walkthrough


 

Another 1955 Around The World Trainer


1957 Motorama by Genco


 

1972 Midway Table Tennis wall game


 

Nice video on the Electro-Dart wall game


 

Ian / Sparky gives some good pinball repair tips, including removing paint off a pinball cabinet...

and repairing the bottom of pinball machines...

 
 

 

Pindude152 delivers some holiday ASMR with bingo pinball noises


 

 

Supershotrollerrob showcases an extremely rare 1973 Lucky Strike by Crompton


And a game showcase including 2 different UK games called Bingo


Pinball Shenanigans peeps bought a bunch of NIB arcade games from the 1970s and it's great to see the unboxings.

1974 Hesitation


 

1976 Ricochet cocktail


 

1973 Monte Carlo


 

 A recent visit to the Soviet arcade game museum in St. Petersburg, Russia


 

Even more footage from a wonderful vintage arcade in Japan, courtesy of Onitama-san


A great lecture from Pin Expo 2025, recorded by Pinball News: 1930s Pinball Machines: Mechanical to Electrical


No Flip Pinball gives a tour of the prewar booth from Pin Expo


 

And for slot machine fans, these Elephant Auction preview videos are a great way to browse


 

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This blog stands in protest against the USA's horrific attempts to eliminate trans people from society. Trans people have always existed, in every society, but the administration has embraced a moral panic, declared a war against reality, and says that trans people can no longer be allowed to exist. This includes making their healthcare illegal, censoring books and school curriculum from university level down to elementary school, banning trans people from bathrooms, and declaring trans existence to be child abuse.

This blog stands in solidarity with all of the youth who are being terrorized by a fascist president who has declared them to be threats that must be eliminated.

The USA is disappearing random brown people off the streets via unidentified masked men and shipping them off to concentration camps and notorious foreign prisons, all with no due process. Solidarity for all who are in the gaze of this American Nazism terror campaign against its own people.
 

Please read:  'A Directive From Above': Former NYT Editor Lays Out How The Paper Pushes Anti-Trans Bigotry by David Forbes 

Please read: When a trans woman first accused Jeffrey Epstein of rape, the media mocked her by Daniel Villarreal

Please read: 19 states sue HHS over a move that could curtail youth gender-affirming care

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Saturday, December 20, 2025

おもしろい 点取占い (Interesting Score Fortune Telling)

I purchased this beautiful little vending machine from Japan. I was unable to find much information about it, but I knew that it looks really cool and would make a great decorator piece at the very minimum.

auction photograph

 

おもしろい 点取占い (Interesting Score Fortune Telling)
arrived in Canada, safe and sound


It dispenses 35 mm capsules and it came with a number of 35mm wooden balls instead. The balls are not marked in any capacity, so I think they were just put in for fun. Opening up the machine, I did find two plastic capsules, one of which had a fortune inside. So while this looks like an early gashapon machine, it was made to dispense the capsules with paper fortunes inside.

I was very nervous about shipping it because it has a suspended glass plate in the center where the label is. I am grateful that it arrived in one piece.

 

the one complete capsule that was inside

each fortune has a number designating how many "points"it is worth. So getting it '2' is not great

 

There was a single ¥50 piece jammed into part of the coin slot.  The coin slot width is perfect for the ¥50 piece, so I assume that is the correct denomination. It is also possible that it used a custom token of similar dimensions.

¥50 is 21mm diameter
¥10 coins are 23.5 mm and do not fit.

According to the 点取占い wikipedia article: score/point fortunetelling goes back to 1935 in Osaka. Production stopped during the war, but they began making them again in 1963, finally ceasing production in 2017.


The following images were shared by smile3retro: (archive)
They have an online store!

I was given this info by @michelintongs... "the ST mark (ST for Safety Toy, 玩具安全マーク) is given by the the Japan Toy Association (日本玩具協会). This association was created in 1967."


More information on point fortune telling: (except for the first one, these are all Internet archive links)

2018.02.10 『見たいけど見る勇気が出ない、もどかしすぎる点取り占い』 
2018.02.10 "I want to see it but I can't find the courage to watch it. It's a frustrating fortune telling with points."
  (archive)

このブログでも何度も取り上げてきましたワカエ紙工さんの点取占い
残念ながら生産終了となってしまいました。
Wakae Paper's point fortune telling, which has been featured many times on this blog,
Unfortunately, production has ended. 

1. 点取占いとは 
1. What is Tentori Fortune Telling? 
 

1-1. 点取占いの仕様 
1-1. Specifications of the point fortune telling 

1-2. 点取占いのパッケージ 
1-2. Point fortune telling package 

おちゃちゃ倶楽部 
Ochacha Club


Let's see if we can find a minimum date for this machine based on the calculator shown. Electric calculators were a hot new field in the 60s and 70s. Features that are shown on the illustration must have been based on real calculators.

This image is from the Twitter image above, but is a detailed version of the image inside the machine. 

 

 

The calculator illustration is a mishmash of a few designs of the era, but there are some obvious strong influences.

Those closest model I have found so far is the 1969 Casio AL-1200:

1969 Casio AL-1200
image from Museum of MukaiLab

If you look closely on the left, you will see a toggle switch that says "cut 5/4", which is reflected in the illustration as the "5/4" light.

It has a button that has both the equal and + on it, like the illustration, and a "KC" button while the illustration has a "CK" button.

 

Another influence might be the Facit 1121, which has the digit numbers listed under the nixie tube displays, similar to what we see in the illustration.

Facit 1121, made late 1966
via The Old Calculator Museum

 

Before we go further, here are some further links about early electric calculators:


I am assuming that the calculator design was done early 1970s, but I am unsure if that means this machine was from the early 1970s. There is still a chance this dispenser is from the 1960s, but I am sceptical that it came out before the Casio AL-1200. The next thing to investigate would be: when would ¥50 be an appropriate price for a score fortune-telling dispenser?

There is not a lot to go on here because I have never seen another score fortune-telling dispenser before. Looking at undated images of old gashapon dispensers I see some for ¥30, some at ¥100, but none at ¥50. (so far)

I'm gleaning some gacha info from the ガシャポン / Gashapon aka Gachapon aka Gacha wikis, and this good article, with some early photographs:  ガチャガチャ自販機、来日して60年 初輸入の会社社長が描く未来 (Capsule toy vending machines arrive in Japan 60 years later: First importer envisions future). (archive)

Gashapon (ガシャポン) wasn't a trademarked thing from Bandai until 1977. But 12 years earlier in 1965 is when  Ryuzo Shigeta (重田 龍三) imported American gumball machines into Japan to sell capsules with prizes inside. (source is this reference-packed article on Sega Retro on Konno Sangyo)

It appears that Shigeta Ryuzo even has a webpage! This webpage is being blocked by The Internet Archive so I will ensure all of the pages are archived: Main, 1, 2, 2b, 3, 4, 4b, 5, 5b, 6, 7. [some links from the main page link to the same HTML]

 ガチャガチャ自販機、来日して60年 初輸入の会社社長が描く未来 
 Capsule toy vending machines arrive in Japan 60 years later: First importer envisions future 

this article includes a photograph of the machines that were imported from the USA:

source:  ガチャガチャ自販機、来日して60年 初輸入の会社社長が描く未来 (archive)
 

There is some reciprocity here as this page on the The Penny King Company (archive) says that in the 1930s they were importing charms for their capsules from Japan! 

There is also the Gacha 60th Anniversary webpage.

 

 

The machine itself is a bit of a puzzle to me, because it is quite well-built but does not feel like a commercial machine that a vending machine company would sell.

at the top right of the machine is a small latch that is closed by a single small screw.

opening this gives us access to a metal pin we can pull out.
 

Removing this pin allows the front window frame of the machine to come off.


The different kind of wood with a knob goes in betrays a potentially severe repair. I have not opened up this part, but I think this is someone's attempts to get it working when parts were missing. I certainly applaud the effort! It is not visible to the user, so the machine still has a commanding presence despite the repairs.

Just above the wood you can see two metal circles with poles extending upward. One of these poles was missing when I purchased it, but I was relieved to find it inside the machine. These are not secured in, they are only held in by their own weight. As you turn the knob one rises up to pause the second ball, and the other goes down to allow the front ball to release.

this is what I found when I opened the back side.


 

On the back we can see a lever connecting the coin mechanism and the knob. This is a very simple mechanism based on the weight of the coin releasing the cogs of the gear. The gear here is handcarved wood, and I think a DIY replacement to whatever was there before. At the bottom of that inner chamber you can see an impression of screw holes where something else might have attached. Inside the main area of the machine, you can see what looks like the discolouration and screw holes of perhaps a plaque that was there.

I will explore the mechanics of this machine a bit more with a friend who has better eyes than I do.  I primarily purchased this for the beautiful ball track and wooden case. Having some contextual history is just icing on the cake.  And if there's a chance we can get it working smoothly, all the better! I think there is a chance that some parts, like the gear, might need to get fabricated again.


Here is a lottery dispenser machine from the 1973 yearbook, which was published late 1972. I don't know if this is a fortune-telling dispenser, or a dispenser of lottery tickets, but it does give a strong contrast to the wood + brass design style of the score fortune-telling vendor.

トーホー式宝くじ自動販売機 (Toho-style lottery vending machine)

 


In conclusion I think this is an intriguing piece because it connects prewar score fortune-telling to emergent gacha culture. I believe this machine is from the early 1970s and I have no idea who made it. I do not think it was made by a commercial vending machine company because the coin mech is so basic. It was probably made by a toy company as a way to sell fortunes slips, but I am unsure if it is something that would be commissioned by the store itself.  It feels too fancy to be a project kit or a one-off home project.

I do not know if I will keep this long-term, or try and find a more appropriate home for it. If you have any more information on this, or are particularly interested in it, please get in touch. (thetastates@gmail.com) 

 

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