The pinball-like game of Pachinko is extremely popular in Japan and can be found in many online casinos.

Pachinko History (Lottery)

Pachinko is a phenomenon of Japanese mass culture like manga, karaoke and anime and one of the most important sparetime activities nowadays. It is Japan's national game. The numbers of 25 million players, 4.5 million machines in 15,000 halls show that Pachinko is an important factor of Japanese economy, too. It contributes about 5 % to the gross national product.

The origin of Pachinko is uncertain. There are many theories. It is said that the forerunner was a children's game called "Log Tavern" or "Pinball Game Machine" which had been patented in 1910 in Detroit and imported to Japan in about 1920. Here it was called "Korinto Gemu" and later became known as "Pachi-Pachi". It consisted of a sloped board with holes in it. In a semicircle around the lower part of these holes were nails sticking in the board. The aim of the game was, using a wooden stick, to shoot little metal balls, one by one, along a lane up to the highest point of the sloped board. From there the ball would roll down the board and hopefully fall in one of the semi-circles of nails and thus through a hole. Then the player received a certain amount of points depending on the hole. Success depended on speed, and twist of the ball.

First designed to be a game to play at home, it soon changed to a machine where the children could win prizes like sweets, fruits, or pencils. The popularity increased rapidly. Already at the beginning of Showa period almost every sweets shop had a Pachi-Pachi. They could also be found on markets and festivals. In the middle of the 20s, it also became popular among adults. The prizes for them were of course no sweets, but tobacco, vegetables, soy sauce, or soap.

At the end of the Taisho era the game changed to be vertically because the former horizontal machines took too much space. For that reason some innovations had to be made. The wooden stick was replaced by a metal spring in order to get the required power to shoot the balls up. And the machine was covered with glass that the balls cannot fall out. This new game, called Gachan or Gachanko, spread rapidly over Japan.

The term Pachinko exists since the Meiji era and signified a catapult or the item that was shot by a catapult. Pachin means snap, click, or crack. It is an onomatopoeic word that describes the sound of the resnapping gum. Ko is a ball. In the 30s, Pachinko started to be played in halls that had only this purpose. And for the first time it became possible to win money (coins).

In end of the 40s, there was a Pachinko boom, because after the war it was a time of shortage. Every adult could receive only four or five cigarettes per day and these were soon finished. But Pachinko made it possible to win tobacco and thus became very popular. Another reason for its popularity was the new designed game by Masamura Shoichi from Nagoya, the "Pachinko King". He created a game according to the physical law of movements. Before the nails had been set just random. Also he included new gimmicks like turning wheels. In the 50s, Pachinko won recognition. Several new types of Pachinko machines were developped and a system of wholesale buying was introduced. This system allowed the player to sell his win to a wholesale buyer, who sold it on a market, and thus to receive cash money instead of goods. It was forbidden by law to pay out money or coupons to a winner, only goods were allowed. In 1951 the Pachinko hall owners formed syndicates.

During all the following years, Pachinko had a rising tendency with a few minor set-backs. There were new machines and more prizes to attract the players. In the 80s, Pachinko had a mega boom thanks to the computer technology that was integrated into the machines. Because of random generators winning was not depending on lots of experience anymore, also beginners had a chance. And because of increased spead it became possible to win more in a shorter time. In the 90s, Pachinko could even extend its sales.

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