Too Hot to Handle? The Unexpected Popularity of a Fukuoka Community’s “Old Guy Cards” Project

The fellow at right makes menma (preserved bamboo shoots that are a popular ramen ingredient). He features as the Saido Men character “Spicy Strong Men Man” (a play on the term menma). (© Hibino Kyōzō)

Miyahara (left), who came up with the idea of the old guy trading cards, and Nishiu, who helped them become a reality. (© Hibino Kyōzō)

Children playing a game of Saido Men. (Courtesy the Saidōsho community council)

A “field” for battling with the cards. The rules are similar to those of other well-known trading card games. (© Hibino Kyōzō)

Community Center Saidōsho, the hub for the activities of Miyahara and her colleagues, is based in the neighborhood’s former elementary school building. (© Hibino Kyōzō)