从纸牌到全球王国：一个关于快乐梦想的故事

在日本古都京都的一条安静小街上，阳光从古老的屋檐缝隙间洒落，在青石板路上画出斑驳的光影。1889年的日本还是一个马车与灯笼并存的时代，街边的小店挂着亲手书写的招牌，空气中飘散着木匠锯木的清香和远处寺庙的香火气息。就在这条不起眼的小街上，一位头发花白、目光温和的老人正在一间小小的店铺里忙碌着。他就是山内房治郎，一个即将在人类娱乐史上留下传奇名字的人。

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In a quiet little street of ancient Kyoto, Japan, sunlight filtered through the gaps in old rooftops, painting dappled shadows on the blue stone pavement. Japan in 1889 was an era where carriages and paper lanterns coexisted. Small shops along the streets hung hand-painted signs, and the air carried the fresh scent of sawdust from carpenters' shops and incense from distant temples. On this unassuming little street, an elderly man with silver hair and gentle eyes was busying himself in a small shop. His name was Fusajiro Yamauchi—a man who would soon leave a legendary name in the history of human entertainment.

山内房治郎的老爷爷并不是什么了不起的大人物。他没有显赫的家世背景，也没有接受过什么特殊的教育。他的双手因为常年制作纸牌而布满了老茧，指节粗大却异常灵巧。他的眼睛因为年迈而有些浑浊，但每当看到孩子们拿着自己做的纸牌玩耍时，那双眼睛里就会闪烁出一种特别的光芒——那是看到快乐时才会有的光芒。

Mr. Fusajiro Yamauchi was no great or important person. He had no prestigious family background, nor had he received any special education. His hands were calloused from years of making playing cards, his knuckles thick yet remarkably agile. His eyes had grown dim with age, but whenever he saw children playing with cards he had made, a special gleam would appear in them—a light that only comes from witnessing happiness.

在那个年代，电视还没有被发明出来，电影是黑白的无声画面，手机和电脑更是连做梦都想不到的东西。孩子们放学后的娱乐是什么呢？那时候的孩子们会玩踢毽子、捉迷藏、跳房子，会下棋、打纸牌、做各种各样需要动手动脑的游戏。纸牌游戏尤其受到人们的欢迎——无论是在寒冷的冬夜围坐在炉火旁，还是在凉爽的夏夜在院子里乘凉，一家人或一群朋友聚在一起打纸牌，那都是最快乐的时光。

In that era, television had not yet been invented, movies were black-and-white silent pictures, and smartphones and computers were beyond even the wildest dreams. What did children do for entertainment after school back then? Children of that time played shuttlecock kicking, hide-and-seek, hopscotch, played chess and card games, and engaged in various hands-on and mind-stimulating activities. Card games were especially popular— whether gathered around a fire on cold winter nights or enjoying the cool breeze in a courtyard on summer evenings, a family or group of friends playing cards together was the happiest of times.

日本有一种特别的纸牌叫做“花札”，也就是我们现在说的“扑克牌”的远亲。花札的牌面上画着精美的图案，每个月份都有对应的花卉和动物——一月是松树和鹤，二月是梅花和莺鸟，三月是樱花和幕帘，四月是藤花和子规鸟，五月是紫藤和青蛙……整整十二个月，每个月都有独特的美丽图案，组合在一起就像是一幅流动的日本四季画卷。

Japan had a special type of card called "hanafuda," which is a distant relative of what we now call playing cards. Hanafuda cards featured exquisite illustrations, with each month corresponding to specific flowers and animals—January features pine trees and cranes, February has plum blossoms and warblers, March displays cherry blossoms and curtains, April showcases wisteria and cuckoos, May presents violets and frogs... Twelve months in total, each with its unique beautiful patterns that together form a flowing picture scroll of Japan's four seasons.

山内房治郎的老爷爷制作的纸牌，在京都可是出了名的好。他的纸牌颜色特别鲜艳，用的是从植物中提取的天然颜料，那种红不是普通的红，而是像秋天的枫叶那样深沉而温暖的红；那种绿不是普通的绿，而是像春天的竹林那样清新而明亮的绿。他的纸牌做工特别结实，用的是上等的纸张，一张张薄薄的纸牌叠在一起，既柔软又有韧性，就算玩了很多很多次，也不会轻易损坏。

The cards made by old man Fusajiro Yamauchi were famously excellent in Kyoto. His cards had especially vivid colors, using natural pigments extracted from plants. That red was no ordinary red—it was the deep, warm red of autumn maple leaves; that green was no ordinary green—it was the fresh, bright green of spring bamboo groves. His cards were exceptionally well-made, using superior paper. Thin cards stacked together were both soft and resilient, capable of withstanding countless uses without easily breaking.

更神奇的是，山内房治郎的纸牌还有一个独门绝技——他发明了一种特殊的“上光”工艺，让纸牌的表面变得光滑如镜，却又不会滑手，玩的时候牌与牌之间不会粘连，却又能完美地贴合在一起。这种工艺在当时可是独一无二的，整个京都城，甚至整个日本，只有他一个人会做。每当人们拿起他做的纸牌，都会忍不住惊叹：“哎呀，这牌的手感真是太舒服了！”孩子们更是爱不释手，放学后第一时间就跑到他的店里，想要摸一摸、玩一玩那些漂亮的纸牌。

What was even more marvelous was Yamauchi's unique technique—he invented a special "glazing" process that made the card surfaces smooth as mirrors without being slippery. When playing, cards wouldn't stick together yet could fit perfectly with each other. This technique was one-of-a-kind at the time—throughout all of Kyoto, even all of Japan, he was the only one who could do it. Whenever people picked up his cards, they couldn't help but exclaim: "Oh my, this card feels so wonderful!" Children loved them especially, rushing to his shop right after school just to touch and play with those beautiful cards.

一八八九年的那个秋天

The Autumn of 1889

1889年——那是一个什么样的年份呢？在遥远的大西洋彼岸，美国正在举办一场盛大的世界博览会，庆祝华盛顿大桥的开通；在欧洲的法国，刚刚落成的埃菲尔铁塔正在迎接来自世界各地的游客；而在日本，天皇刚刚颁布了《大日本帝国宪法》，这个古老的东方国家正在经历一场巨大的变革。

1889—what kind of year was that? On the other side of the distant Atlantic, America was hosting a grand World's Fair and celebrating the opening of the Washington Bridge; in Europe, France's newly completed Eiffel Tower was welcoming tourists from around the world; and in Japan, the Emperor had just promulgated the Constitution of the Empire of Japan, and this ancient Eastern nation was undergoing tremendous transformation.

就在这一年，一个平凡的秋日早晨，山内房治郎做出了一个重要的决定。他站在自己的小店铺前，看着来来往往的行人，看着追逐打闹的孩子们，看着阳光下闪闪发光的青石板路。他在心里想了很多很多——他想到了自己的童年，那时候他也是这样拿着纸牌，和小伙伴们一起玩得开心的孩子；他想到了自己的父亲，他的父亲也是做纸牌的，从小就教他怎么选纸、怎么调色、怎么压印图案；他想到了那些经常来他店里的客人们，他们脸上那种快乐的笑容。

On this ordinary autumn morning of 1889, Fusajiro Yamauchi made an important decision. He stood before his small shop, watching pedestrians come and go, children chasing and playing, the sunlit blue stone pavement sparkling. He thought deeply— he thought of his own childhood, when he too was a child happily playing cards with friends; he thought of his father, who also made cards and had taught him from a young age how to select paper, mix colors, and stamp patterns; he thought of the regular customers who came to his shop, the joyful smiles on their faces.

他心里有一个声音在说：他想把自己做的纸牌，带给更多的人。他想让全日本的孩子们都能玩到他做的纸牌，都能在纸牌游戏中找到快乐。他想让自己的纸牌成为最好的纸牌，成为人们一提到就会竖起大拇指的纸牌。

In his heart, a voice spoke: he wanted to bring the cards he made to more people. He wanted all the children of Japan to play with his cards, to find happiness in card games. He wanted his cards to become the best cards, the kind people would immediately praise upon hearing about.

于是，在1889年的某一天，山内房治郎做了一个重大的宣布：他要把自己的小小纸牌店，正式变成一家正式的纸牌公司。他给这家公司起了一个名字，叫做“任天堂骨牌社”。

Thus, on a certain day in 1889, Fusajiro Yamauchi made a significant announcement: he would transform his small card shop into an official card company. He gave this company a name—Nintendo Koppai.

“任天堂”——把运气交给上天

"Nintendo"—Leave Luck to Heaven

“任天堂”这个名字是什么意思呢？听起来是不是有点奇怪？别着急，让我来告诉你。

What does "Nintendo" mean? Doesn't it sound a bit strange? Don't worry, let me tell you.

“任天堂”这三个字在日语里的读音是"Nintendo"，而它的汉字意思是“任天堂”。这里的“任”有“交给、委托”的意思，“天”指的是“老天爷、上天”，“当”有“承担、担当”的意思，合起来就是“把事情交给老天爷来决定”的意思。用更简单的话说，就是“把运气交给上天”。

The three characters "任天堂" are pronounced "Nintendo" in Japanese, with the kanji meaning "Leave luck to heaven." Here, "任" means "to entrust, to delegate," "天" refers to "heaven, the heavens," and "当" means "to take on, to bear." Together, it means "to leave matters to heaven to decide." Simply put, it means "leave luck to heaven."

这个名字听起来有点听天由命的感觉，但其实它有着深刻的含义。山内房治郎起这个名字，是想提醒自己，也想告诉每一个玩游戏的人：很多事情的结局，其实是要靠一点运气的。而他要做的，就是给大家提供一个玩游戏的平台，让人们在游戏中体验那种由运气带来的惊喜和快乐。

This name might sound a bit fatalistic, but it actually carries profound meaning. Fusajiro chose this name to remind himself, and to tell everyone who plays games: many things' outcomes actually depend on a bit of luck. What he wanted to do was provide people with a platform for playing games, allowing them to experience the surprises and joys that luck brings in games.

想一想，掷骰子的时候，你永远不知道下一个掷出的会是几点；抽纸牌的时候，你永远不知道下一张会是什么花色。这种“不知道”的感觉，是不是既让人紧张又让人期待呢？这种感觉就是我们常说的“悬念”，而悬念正是所有游戏最迷人的地方。任天堂，就是希望人们在游戏中感受到这种由运气带来的奇妙体验。

Think about it—when rolling dice, you never know what number will come up; when drawing cards, you never know what suit will appear. That feeling of "not knowing"—isn't it both nerve-wracking and exciting? This feeling is what we often call "suspense," and suspense is precisely what mak