Japanese Collectibles Ichikawa Utaemon’s Menko Card and the Golden Age It Came From
A look at the actor menko tradition of 1950s Japan, featuring Ichikawa Utaemon, one of Toei's leading jidaigeki stars of the Showa era.
Japanese Collectibles
Japanese Collectibles 
Japanese Collectibles The Natsucomi Tradition That Gave Hell’s Paradise This Pencil Board
This Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku mini pencil board was a free Shueisha bookstore giveaway in 2019, years before the anime reached Netflix.
Japanese Collectibles Inside Furuta’s Haikyuu Choco Egg and the Suga Figure It Holds
Furuta Seika's Haikyuu Choco Egg is a blind-box food toy sold in Japan, and this figure captures Karasuno vice-captain Sugawara in his number 2 jersey.
Japanese Collectibles Your Guide to Lisa Lisa, the Wave Master of JoJo Part 2
Bandai metallic wafer card from Japan's shokugan tradition, featuring Lisa Lisa — the Hamon master at the center of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 2.
Japanese Collectibles Why Gundam Sentinel’s Zeta Plus Ended Up on a Playing Card
A single 1990 Comic BomBom furoku playing card featuring SD Gundam's Zeta Plus, a mecha from the Gundam Sentinel photo-novel, explained for collectors.
Japanese Collectibles Tomica No.29 and How Japan’s Panda Trucks Became Famous
Tomica No.29 is a 1/64 diecast of the Mitsubishi Fuso Canter in Sakai Moving's panda livery, tracing the history of Japan's longest-running minicar series.
Japanese Collectibles Four Japanese Collectibles Spanning Anime, Kawaii, and Kyoto
This week's picks include a Nezuko deformed sticker from Demon Slayer, a Kyoto-only Kewpie strap, a retro THE DOG keychain, and a Banpresto Pokemon eraser.
Japanese Collectibles The Story Behind McDonald’s Japan’s Muffin Burger Strap
A miniature McDonald's Muffin Burger rendered as a plastic strap from Japan's keitai phone era, when food strap collectibles were at their peak popularity.
Japanese Collectibles Hypnosis Mic’s Album Badge and Japan’s Tokuten Culture
A Hypnosis Mic can badge issued as a non-sale album bonus, featuring characters from three rival divisions of King Records' rap franchise.
Japanese Collectibles Persona 4’s Teddie and the Bear Suit That Hides a Secret
This hard-plastic figure strap from Atlus captures Teddie, Persona 4's bear-suited mascot whose story conceals one of the game's key mysteries.