Representations of Play: Pachinko in Popular Media

This chapter argues that there are at least three phases of the pachinko industry in Japan; popular media such as films and novels reflect how filmmakers and novelists saw the game differently in these three phases. The first phase commenced after the end of WWII, at that time pachinko was a family; the game was seen as idle pursuits, contrasting the work ethics expected for adults to rebuild the country. The second phase took place during the economic boom from the 1970s to the 1980s, at that time the industry became more organised but opaque. Many believe that pachinko owners are gangsters or Koreans who were sympathetic of the North Korean government. During this period, pachinko parlours serve as the glamourous backdrops of films. The third phase coincided with the post-economic bubble era, pachinko was transformed from a mechanical technology to a digital one. The players’ skills are no longer relevant, the game became one of chance. The transformation of the technology serves as a metaphor for life’s randomness; those who lose in this random game is like populations who were left behind in the post-bubble economy.