Kintengu (金天狗, Golden Tengu) was one of Nintendo’s middle-class brands of hanafuda and kabufuda decks.
It usually features a gold background, and a portrait of a red-skinned Tengu with a long nose and a long, white beard. It is depicted holding a magical feather fan called hauchiwa (羽団扇).
It was the 8th highest-ranking brand in Nintendo’s hanafuda lineup, alongside Asahi Sakura, behind Chujo and followed by Marufuku jirushi.
As a kabufuda brand, it was of the same rank as Eiyu, ranks below Chujo, and ranks above Marufuku jirushi.
It is one of 6 Nintendo brands to feature a Tengu in the label, the others being Tengu, Gintengu, Ohtengu, Azuma Tengu, and Daitengu.
Brand names aside, this brand is treated as almost the same brand as Tengu and Ohtengu, as all 3 brands feature a gold background and feature similar Tengu illustrations.
The name “Kintengu” was used by a handful of hanafuda manufacturers during the 20th century. It was speculated that the brand “Tengu” was used in place of Kintengu due to trademark conflicts with Oishi Tengudo, however, physical evidence suggest that the two brands coexisted for quite a long time. The Kintengu brand continued to be used by Nintendo until as late as 1967.
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| Label | Description |
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“Floral Kintengu”. One of the earliest known versions of the Kintengu label design. The Tengu poses similarly to that in the Tengu label, but the beard is straight instead of wavy, and clothes of the Tengu have a floral pattern instead of curly lines. Bottom text reads “Made by Yamauchi Nintendo” (山内任天堂製) |
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“Colorswap Kintengu”. Known to be used in decks from 1945-1946. The illustration is completely different. The Tengu poses differently, and is now wearing a blue robe. The background is red, and the Tengu is gold, instead of the other way around. |
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“Standard Kintengu”. Known to be used in decks from 1946 until 1960. The illustration resembles the Floral Tengu, but the pose is slightly different. The Tengu wears the same kind of clothes seen in the Tengu label, but the beard is still straight, and the nose looks more bulbous than before. Bottom text reads ‘Nihonichi Marufuku Karuta’ (日本一(福)かるた). Some labels are printed in yellow and gray colors instead of gold and silver. |
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“Angry Kintengu”. Known to be used in some decks from 1951-1954. The illustration is redrawn from the Standard Kintengu label, and this time, the Tengu has black eyebrows instead of white, and has no furrows on the forehead. Printed in yellow and gray colors instead of gold and silver. |
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“LTR Kintengu”. Known to be used in decks from 1960 to 1967. Same label as Standard Kintengu but all text orientation was changed from right-to-left to left-to-right. |
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Used in 2-deck boxes around 1945-1946. |
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Used in 2-deck boxes from 1946 to the 1950’s. |