Fusajiro Yamauchi

Fusajiro Yamauchi
山内 房治郎
First Nintendo president
In office 1889–1929

Fusajiro Yamauchi (山内 房治郎 Yamauchi, Fusajirō, November 22, 1859 – January 1940) was a Japanese entrepreneur who founded the company that is now known as Nintendo. Yamauchi lived in Kyoto, Japan and had a daughter, Tei Yamauchi (who later married future Nintendo president and Fusajiro Yamauchi's successor, Sekiryo Kaneda).

Nintendo Koppai

In 1889, he opened the first “Hanafuda” card shop called “Nintendo Koppai”. With the huge success he had selling these cards; he rapidly began expanding and opening another card shop in Osaka. He later went to create more card games.

Retirement and death

Fusajiro retired in 1929 at the age of 70, leaving his son-in-law Sekiryo Kaneda (whose name had changed to Sekiryo Yamauchi) in charge of the company. In the next eleven years Fusajiro remained out of the business until when he had a stroke which lead to his death in 1940.