exploring the arcade in 暗黒街の弾痕 (1961) aka Ankokugai no dankon (Blueprint of Murder)

Another bit of an obscure find, and I only stumbled on this film because I was perusing films with 暗黒街 in the title. But this appears to be an early baseball pitching game, like a proto-carnival arcade game.

1961 - 暗黒街の弾痕 / Ankokugai no dankon (Blueprint of Murder )

 

every frame a painting

SIGNAGE:
あなたも大投手さあ (You too can be a great pitcher)
運だめし (Test your luck)
ストライクかボールか (Strike or ball?)

the mural depicts Rakuten Mobile Park Miyagi, which opened in 1950

in this shot we can see the balls a player would throw.

balls.

That there is a table at either side makes me believe there are two catcher areas, so two people could be playing here.

VICTRY

While this bat is an obvious prop for the movie, I believe that is replacing a bat target that would operate similarly to the ball target.

The sign says "Strike or ball?" so I wonder if hitting the bat counted as a strike, and hitting that ball target counts as a strike. 

 

Adding this to the eremeka database...

unknown baseball pitching game [seen in 暗黒街の弾痕]

 

 

And now, some ambience....

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This blog stands in protest against the USA's horrific policies to try and 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, and encouraging the constant rightwing terrorist bomb and death threats against trans lives and institutions that don't also purge trans people.

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 notorious foreign prisons, all with no due process.

Solidarity for all who are in the gaze of this government-run terror campaign against its own citizens.

Please watch:

exploring the arcade in 暗黒街 (1956) aka Ankokugai aka The Underworld

I want to write about a short scene that contains clips of black-market gambling because it includes a rare example of blowgun gambling.

暗黒街 (1956)

 

 

The preceding scene, this appears to be a shell game done with Peace cigarettes.

 

While we can't see much of the detail on the packs, I want to remind that I have a breakdown of the changes to some popular Japanese cigarette packs over the years, tucked into my Research Notes.  This has been useful for identifying images that have cigarette packs, as some early arcade do.

The only prior example of blowgun gambling I have seen is from this Meiji-era photograph:

 

1870s~ 吹矢賭博屋台 (blowgun gambling stall)
[物売り吹矢屋台菓子を並べて力比べをさせた。 明治初期]

 

 

We do not get to see any more, but I am grateful for this simple demonstration in the film.  There are a number of coloured shapes on the wheel, presumably designating which prize is won.  I find games like this important for arcade ancestry, as these mechanical gambling styles became more elaborate and automated with clever machines.

Blowguns are still used recreationally in Japan and seem like quite the cool hobby.

I wish we saw more footage, but I guess I'll have to hope there are more depictions of black market games to be found.  Seriously, I only found this because I scanned through every film with "Ankokugai" in the title.

 

The game itself echoes in more recent games where the playfield rotates, and if by chance you land on a special spot on the circle you win.

 

2010 ポケモンくるくるゲット（ダイヤモンド＆パール） (Get Pokemon Round and Round Diamond & Pearl) by ナムコ (Namco)

 

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This blog stands in protest against the USA's horrific policies to try and 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, and encouraging the constant rightwing terrorist bomb and death threats against trans lives and institutions that don't also purge trans people.

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 notorious foreign prisons, all with no due process.

Solidarity for all who are in the gaze of this government-run terror campaign against its own citizens.

Please read: U.N. draft report uses pseudoscience to claim gender dysphoria is 'socially contagious' by Ryan Adamczeski 

Please read: J.K. Rowling uses Harry Potter wealth to fund anti-transgender organization

 

scans of new purchases: Canadian Coin Box 1983-07, Marketplace 1974-06-30, 1988 game center manga, Amusement Japan 2007-01

Here are scans of a few recently acquired items.  The Canadian Coin Box I purchased back at Ontario Pinfest, and I got the Marketplace issues there as well.  Thank you to the vendor who set it aside for me! Thank you to Detchibe and ftb1979 for scanning these.

Canadian Coin Box 1983-07

 Lot of juicy stuff in this issue!  Highly recommended.  Some pages:

 

 

 Marketplace 1974-06-30

 

Likewise, this Marketplace issue is wonderful and has a whole section of prewar pins.

 

This next one is a bit of an oddball: It's a guide on how to run a medal gaming parlor, done up as a manga.  Released in 1988, I wanted to share this to help researchers get an idea of how medal game centers were managed back then.

接客大繁盛：まんが・ゲーム場管理者のためのサービス・マニュアル 五十章 [Customer Service is Booming: Manga Service Manual for Game Centre Managers, 50 Chapters] (600DPI)

example pages:

I think I was involved in purchasing this one.  It's a pachinko industry magazine and so very dry, but it does have a section with pictures of all of the latest pachinko and pachislot machines.

Amusement Japan [月刊アミューズメントジャパン] Vol. 10 No. 100 (January 2007) (600DPI)

example pages:

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This blog stands in protest against the USA's horrific policies to try and 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, and encouraging the constant rightwing terrorist bomb and death threats against trans lives and institutions that don't also purge trans people.

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 notorious foreign prisons, all with no due process.

Solidarity for all who are in the gaze of this government-run terror campaign against its own citizens.

Please read: Fossil fuel billionaires are bankrolling the anti-trans movement by Yessenia Funes 

Please read: Increases in Self-identifying as Transgender Among US Adults, 2014–2022 - key takeaway shows how vast the population being attacked is: "By 2022, 2.78% of 18- to 24-year-old adults self-identified as transgender"

Please read: Children’s National Hospital caves under Trump’s pressure & ends gender-affirming care for trans patients by Christopher Wiggins 

Please read: Judge halts non-binary person's deportation to the U.S. as Trump dismantles trans rights by Sheena Goodyear