Wednesday, April 8, 2026

scan: pachinko parlour photograph ~1950

I bought this pachinko photograph from Ebay.  Listing said it was 1948-1950, which is a good estimate based off the machines inside.  Chances are it's closer to 1950. The machines are similar to what we see in the movie 大当りパチンコ娘 aka Jackpot Pachinko Girl (1952) which (I'm told) was filmed in 1951.

pachinko parlour photograph
I have scanned it at 600 DPI, but the physical photo itself was rather small, 12cm x 9.5cm.


Since it is hard to discern the year, I want to compare it to the few images we have of pachinko in those years.

1948 Pachinko Photographs: a pachinko street vendor stall 

In 2 movies in 1949 we see pachinko wall lineups as part of a larger amusement setup: 野良犬 (1949) aka Nora inu (Stray Dog), 私刑(リンチ) (1949) aka Rinchi

Filmed in 1951, 大当りパチンコ娘 aka Jackpot Pachinko Girl us an image of a parlor most similar to this image.

1952 films お茶漬けの味 / Ochazuke no aji (The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice) and 生きる / Ikiru (To Live) showcase pachinko hall setups that would be familiar for decades.


Looking at the games I do not see any features that could help us distinguish a 1948 machine from a 1951 machine. These machines look much plainer and basic than the machines we see in Jackpot Pachinko Girl.


 

I wonder if the counter has any clues about the year?


My current best guess is that the photograph is from 1950.

 

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