Sanbazuru (三羽鶴, Three cranes) was one of Nintendo’s premier brand of hanafuda decks.
The earliest known mention of this brand is from an ad from 1929 about various Nintendo brands of playing cards. Despite this, the brand is surprisingly absent in pre-war Nintendo card catalogues.
The brand continued to be used until the 1980’s. It was mentioned in an IPCS Journal from 1981 that the brand was discontinued; However, a Nintendo card catalogue from 1983 contains the brand.
In both the 1971 Nintendo price list and 1983 Nintendo card catalogue, the brand was put at the same price point as Otafuku, making it the second-highest ranking brand alongside Otafuku.
¶ Gallery
| Label | Description |
|---|---|
 |
Old design label. Known to be used since 1929. |
 |
Updated design label. Known to be used around the 1970’s until the 1980’s. |
 |
Seen in wrappers of some decks from the 1980’s. The word Nintendo is written vertically in Japanese Nintendo logo font. |
¶ Bibliography
- The Playing Card Journal of the International Playing Card Society, Vol. X, No. 2. November 1981