Ads Esugoroku(Parcheesi)

With the development of multi-color woodblock printing technology in the Edo period, illustrated boardgames akin to parchisi, called esugoroku, spread widely among the common people. In their subject matter and content, esugoroku vividly reflect the lives of people and the values of the period, making them an important source for understanding the customs of the time. Variations that focus on travel, called dochu sugoroku, or on success in life, called shusse sugoroku, reveal the roots of later versions like kaimono annai sugoroku (“shopping guide sugoroku”) and shonen shojo seicho sugoroku (“boys and girls growth sugoroku”). Regular esugoroku were bought as games to play, but the ones depicting stores and products were distributed as not-for-sale items. Some of these premium advertisement esugoroku had storylines, such as the Daimaru Clothing Store's Reijo seicho sugoroku (“The Good Daughter’s Growth Sugoroku”), in which Daimaru products play a role in the young girl’s process of growing up.
With the appearance of educational esugoroku in the Meiji period, premium advertisement esugoroku began to include not only product information but also educational elements. In this way, advertisement esugoroku have been designed in such a way that people learn naturally about products while playing a game.