Summary Before the Airing of 'Pachinko 2'... The Story of Japanese Pachinko [Sunday Japanese Culture]

The Machine Imported from Europe as the Origin
Evolved into a Massive Gambling Industry Today
History of Zainichi Entwined Despite Discrimination and Contempt

The drama Pachinko is said to be returning with Season 2 this coming August. Since Season 1 was wildly popular, many people are likely looking forward to it. Even now, pachinko parlors can be frequently seen in bustling areas throughout Japan. Today, before the drama airs, we will share the history of Japanese pachinko to enrich your understanding, as well as the relationship between pachinko and Zainichi Koreans (Koreans and Joseon people residing in Japan).

Poster of the drama Pachinko Season 2, scheduled to air on Apple TV. (Photo by Apple TV)

How Did Pachinko Originate?

First, there are many theories about the origin of the name "pachinko." The most plausible is that it comes from the Japanese onomatopoeia "pachin (パチン)," which describes the sound of flicking a marble. In the Kanto region, pachinko machines were called "gachinko (ガチンコ)," and in the Kansai region, they were called "pachipachi," and it is said that these terms merged.

The origin of pachinko is said to be Europe. In 1925, a machine called the "wall machine," imported from Europe, came to Japan. It was a machine shaped like a pinball machine set vertically. Street vendors brought these machines to festivals and other events. Originally, during the Showa era, a game involving flipping 1-sen coins was popular, but it was banned because of concerns about using coins bearing imperial emblems for gambling. As a result, games using tokens or coin-shaped medals and marbles became popular. These were used in the original pachinko machines, and prizes evolved to items like cigarettes for adults, gaining attention.

A European machine known as an early model of Pachinko. (Photo by Japan Pachinko Archive website)

However, during World War II, an era unfolded where even temple bells and household pots were confiscated for the war effort, and pachinko marbles were naturally used to make weapons. At this time, the pachinko craze briefly subsided.

After the war ended, the pachinko boom restarted by modifying machines left in rural areas and operating them. At that time, a man named Masamura Takeichi revolutionized the machine. Pachinko starts with marbles passing between steel rods, and he devised a unique arrangement of these rods. This made the direction the marbles would take unpredictable, increasing the fun. This arrangement is called the "Masamura gauge," and the first pachinko boom began. Masamura Takeichi later became known as the father of pachinko. At that time, rapid-fire machines that could shoot 140 to 160 marbles per minute were developed, and by the late 1940s, there were over 45,000 pachinko parlors nationwide.

Because of this, markets selling prizes in bulk near pachinko parlors emerged, and the gambling nature became serious. In response, in 1954, the government banned rapid-fire pachinko machines, causing difficulties for the rapidly growing pachinko industry.

Photo by Irastora.

The second boom began in 1980. As Japan experienced an economic boom, the gambling industry also flourished. With the development of various machines, hundreds of new parlors opened annually. The good trend continued into the 1990s, with the industry evolving by introducing rechargeable prepaid cards instead of coins and equipping machines with color monitors.

However, incidents repeatedly occurred, such as people falling into debt due to pachinko addiction, using counterfeit prepaid cards, and even cases where children were left unattended in cars in parking lots while their guardians played pachinko, leading to deaths. These incidents led to renewed administrative regulations.

Beyond Simple Gambling... Becoming a Giant Industry

The industry claims that pachinko has been greatly reduced due to various regulations, but in Japan, pachinko is now a huge market that goes beyond simple gambling. Some critics continuously point out that "except for horse racing and lotteries, betting gambling is prohibited by law in Japan, but pachinko exists in a legal gray zone, neither fully legal nor illegal."

Pachinko parlor in Japan. (Photo by Wedgie Corporation)

According to a 2016 survey by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications on employment by occupation, convenience stores employ 770,000 people, the automobile industry 211,000, while the pachinko industry employs 229,000. This number only counts pachinko employees; if you include salespeople, equipment manufacturers, and related companies, the number is estimated to be even higher.

Although not official figures, some estimate the industry market size to be as large as 18 trillion won. Compared to Japan’s horse racing market size of 3.328 trillion yen and the largest telecom company NTT Docomo’s annual revenue of 4 trillion yen, this is truly enormous. There are concerns that if pachinko disappears, many jobs in Japan will also vanish.

People Who Had No Choice but to Work in Pachinko

Now, let's return to the drama story. As mentioned in the drama, Koreans and Joseon people who remained in Japan after the Japanese colonial period and did not return to their homeland are called "Zainichi" (在日) in Japan, taking only the "Zai" character. They were actually heavily involved in pachinko. Earlier, I mentioned that rapid-fire pachinko machines that could shoot over 100 marbles at once were banned in 1954 due to their gambling nature.

At that time, the pachinko boom quickly faded, and the number of pachinko parlors nationwide dropped from 45,000 to 9,000. In other words, many businesses went bankrupt. Japanese operators could switch careers or close their businesses, but Zainichi, who faced discrimination even in Japan, had no choice but to grit their teeth and continue the business. Although working in this industry did not bring good social recognition, they had to endure it. As a result, the proportion of Zainichi in the industry increased.

In fact, the Maruhan Group, led by first-generation Zainichi Korean Han Chang-woo, is a dominant company known as a pachinko conglomerate in Japan. Once ranked as the 22nd wealthiest person in Japan, he greatly expanded his business. He came to Japan alone at age 16, graduated from university, but failed to find employment due to severe discrimination against Zainichi Koreans. He then moved to Kyoto, where many Zainichi Koreans were involved in the pachinko industry, and entered the business.

Later, when Maruhan became successful, rumors circulated in Japanese society that the name was created to remind people not to forget the Japanese flag's red circle ("maru" 丸) mixed with the Korean sentiment of "han" (恨). In fact, the name is said to come from the round pachinko marbles and Chairman Han’s surname, but this rumor shows how severe the social scrutiny against Zainichi Koreans was at the time.

The Zainichi Korean History Archive displays old pachinko machines and describes, "Pachinko has become a core industry for Zainichi today, but it contains the efforts of those who operated it through many hardships."

Today, we have explored pachinko and the history intertwined with it. Behind the noisy pachinko parlors greeting people on every street in Japan, many stories are hidden.