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Menko generally refers to a thick piece of cardboard with a picture on the face of it and are regarded as a forerunner to the modern Japanese trading cards. The most common and popular version of these in the West are the baseball menko which started to appear after baseball was introduced to Japan in the mid 1930's.

Menko can be traced back to the Edo period of the 1700's and menko were small circular or square game pieces made of clay or lead, or most recently cardboard decorated with pictures ranging from sumo players to popular cartoon characters, famous politicians and samurai characters. The word 'menko' literally means small object with a face.

These pieces were used, traditionally by boys, to play boisterous challenge and gambling games. Many of the games seem to aim at either flipping the opponent's cards or knocking them out of the ring as in sumo wrestling. The menko of old were like Sumo players with many carrying the scars of battle.

The making of paper or cardboard menko began around Japan-Manchuria wars of the 1890's. These menko were block-printed, blank-backed and round. Some were hand tinted. In 1900 Japan banned the use of leads in menko due to poisoning cases on Osaka of kids licking their menkos. Cardboard menko were produced for the next 60 years or so.

In the 1920's and 30's Japan adopted Western ways in an effort to be a modern nation. All sorts of new motifs began to appear on menkos such as religious subjects, Western comic characters, exotic animals, Silent-era Japanese theatrical stars and sports figures. Menkos also took on new shapes. Some were long rectangular strips so kids could take them to school to use as bookmarks. Others were die-cut into the shapes of people or animals and later planes which could be flung or shot through the air with rubber bands.

Interest in baseball was stimulated by the visit of the 1934 and unnamed baseball players began to appear on menko. These simple generic cards were later replaced by images depicting professional stars. Baseball menko became even more popular with Japan having lost WW2 and MacArthur's occupation prohibiting the glorification of traditional Japanese heroes. This meant that Japanese soldiers and samurai warriors who had once graced the faces of menko, now had to be replaced. Looking for ways to forget the war and it's depressing aftermath, the Japanese began visiting movie houses more frequently to see American cowboy flicks, Mickey Mouse and Popeye cartoons, and Tarzan adventures.

Menko were barely known outside of Japan except for avid collectors of baseball memorabilia. Now there is growing interest in menkos in Japan and the west, as people become more aware of their historical and artistic appeal. According to sources such as the Antiques Roadshow (USA) and other web sources, menko will only grow in value with continued exposure to the market. Pre-WW2 menko are harder to find and interesting menko from the 40's 50's and 60's are highly sought after. These feature a fascinating variety of images and graphics. Most of these are decorated on the backs with images of an old children's game 'scissors, paper, rock' as well as images of space and military themes. They are great art and social history pieces which have undergone a revival in popularity in Japan and are keenly sought after. This is reflected in the prices which have risen sharply in the past year or so.