All About Japan

Monopoly Gets a Crafty Makeover

Handicrafts Art Design Toys

To celebrate their 300th anniversary, Nakagawa Masashichi Shoten, Japan’s first specialty store, is rolling out with limited Japanese Traditional Art & Crafts Edition Monopoly sets.

http://www.yu-nakagawa.co.jp/p/2439

Now instead of buying property and railroads, fans of the classic board game and retro/traditional Japanese crafts alike can use their Monopoly money to buy spaces representing iconic toys, utensils and accessories taken from the nation’s rich history of art.

http://www.nakagawa-masashichi.jp/Form/Product/ProductDetail.aspx?shop=0&pid=160109mono-set&vid=&bid=top

Each set features game pieces from Nakagawa Masashichi and Kaiyodo’s gacha gacha (capsule toys) figurine set of traditional Japanese papier-mâché toys from around Japan.

http://www.nakagawa-masashichi.jp/Form/Product/ProductDetail.aspx?shop=0&pid=160109mono-set&vid=&bid=top

The figures include a deer (a reference to Nara Prefecture’s large deer population), a whale on wheels representing the Kochi Bay’s whale-watching tourism, and a maneki neko (beckoning cat) from Aichi Prefecture, where the city of Tokoname, famous for maneki neko figurines, is located.

Proceeding further down, there's a rabbit pounding rice cakes from Chiba Prefecture (representing Sawara City’s traditional papier-mâché toy crafts), a horse with bells symbolizing the "Chagu Chagu Umakko Festival" in Morioka, and a daruma riding a boar in Hyogo Prefecture—an example of Suma papier-mâché, which was popular during Japan’s Taisho Period (1912-1926).

http://www.nakagawa-masashichi.jp/Form/Product/ProductDetail.aspx?shop=0&pid=160109mono-set&vid=&bid=top

Or, for those that prefer a more uniform set of game pieces, it also comes with six colorful deer.

Just 5,000 sets will be up for sale, so if you’re interested, it would be a good idea to act fast! Residents of Japan can purchase one here for ¥9,072 (US$89), which will be shipped sometime in mid-April. For those living outside Japan, you can find the board game on Rakuten's global website here.

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