KAWARA’S CARD GAME IS GOOD FUN, AND NEIGHBORLY 

“ ‘IT FEELS GREAT WHEN YOU WIN, but it’s even more fun when you use a card featuring someone you actually know,’ says 12-year-old Sasuke, who plays about three times a week.” Justin McCurry is describing “It’s Done Wonders: Trading Card Game Featuring Middle-Age Men Revives Japanese Town,” The Guardian, April 26, 2025. 

McCurry recounts, “On the day before the new school year starts, four boys armed with plastic cases filled with cards are squeezing in a game at a community centre in Kawara, a small town in south-west Japan. Like millions of children around the world, they are obsessed with trading cards. But they’re not wielding Top Trumps, Pokemon, superheroes or sports stars.” 

Kawara schoolboys Ataru, front left, Eitaro, left, and Sasuke play a game of Ojisan trading cards in Kawara. This and following images by Justin McCurry/The Guardian.

“Instead,” McCurry relates, “the faces on the cards belong to real people–local men over a certain age whose competing professional qualities determine the outcome of each game. Each card carries ‘hit points’ and ‘magic points,’ with the owner of the most cards at the end of a game declared the winner.”

“They have all become unlikely local heroes,” McCurry says, “thanks to the ‘Ojisan Trading Card Game,’ which began as a fun distraction but is now an inspiration for other dwindling rural communities in Japan. Ojisan [叔父さん] means uncle or middle-aged man,” the san, さん, an attached honorific. 

The Game’s Origin. Yuki Murakami, a town official explains: “We made the cards so local kids and older people would get together. We think it’s been a success. Children are really good at remembering faces, and they’ve even persuaded some of the shyer adults to become characters.”

Anime Art. “ ‘I used a photo of each person and gave them the anime treatment, so they all look a bit like AI versions of themselves,’ says Hiroe Nishiu, the cards’ designer. She made an initial batch of 100 cards, but can barely keep up with demand,” notes McCurry.

The Kawara 叔父さん. McCurry relates, “There is Hiroyuki Fukushima, a former train driver; Fumiaki Kawai, a retired robotics expert; and even Kawara’s mayor, Shigekazu Tsuruga.”

Kawai tells McCurry: “I was asked to provide a photo, but I had no idea about how I’d look on a card game. Now I come across kids and hear them say, ‘Oh look, there’s that guy on the trading cards.’ It’s made it much easier for everyone to communicate … it was nothing like that before the game appeared.’”

McCurry continues, “The cast of 22 characters, some of whom appear on more than one card, includes Mr Honda, the former head of the local fire brigade who is skilled in first aid and rescue work; soba chef Mr Takeshita, who teaches noodle-making classes; Mr Kitamura, who has never encountered a broken electrical appliance he can’t fix; and Mr Fujii, a former prison correctional officer who now works as a volunteer driver for older residents.”

McCurry says, “Hiroyuki Fukushima, a former train driver who does volunteer work, is similarly nonplussed by his unlikely celebrity status. ‘When I saw the cards for the first time, I have to admit I was a bit embarrassed,’ he says. ‘I still feel that way. People even come up to me to ask for my autograph.”

Aiding an Aging Economy. McCurry recounts a problem characteristic of Japan these days: “When the ojisan cards appeared in late 2023, Kawara was battling the same challenges faced by other rural communities—an ageing, shrinking population that was losing its sense of cohesion. Kawara’s population peaked at about 19,000 after the second world war, but has since fallen below 10,000. More than 40% of the population are aged 65 or over. Its four primary schools and two middle schools are now under the same roof, with a total of just 220 pupils.”

A Real Success. McCurry notes, “The team behind the game are taken aback by the attention. ‘We’ve had visitors from Holland and Czech Republic, who came just to see the cards and buy a starter pack,’ says Yuki Murakami, a town official.”

Tokyo Weekender Review: Ynes Sarah Filleul concurs: “Middle-Aged Trading Cards Go Viral in Rural Japan Town,” Tokyo Weekender, March 25, 2025. One of her sources tells her, “While the cards—all made entirely by hand—are currently in high demand and often out of stock, they are only available for sale at the Saidosho Community Center.” 

Note, there is an Ojisan Message Card Game Board Game Party Game online by Doya Games, but it’s a different game entirely.

Maybe in time Kawara’s Ojisan TCG (Trading Card Game) will find its way here. Tariffs or not, I’ll stand in line to get one! ds 

© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2025