Menko cards were as entrenched in Japanese culture as baseball cards in American culture when this Menko baseball game appeared in the 1910s. Intricately painted wood cutout of a catcher has a rotating mitt on an axis so children could flip the Menko trading cards through to the net nailed to the back. On the other side of the mitt is a batter ready to strike. About 16 inches high when propped up by the wire stand in the back (which is tied around the catcher's head), marvelous artifact makes a great conversation piece. Menko is serious business in Japan, considered a "spiritual toy" for boys. Military figures dominated the cards and accessories for decades. With Western influence, baseball players and movie stars took over. Note the blue eyes of the catcher. Paint scheme of beiges, reds and greens has remarkable depth and has preserved well.