The Meaning of Nintendo

According to Wikipedia, "the name Nintendo is commonly assumed to mean 'leave luck to heaven', but the assumption lacks historical validation; it can alternatively be translated as 'the temple of free hanafuda'. (Hanafuda is the name of the traditional type of playing cards that the company was originaly set up to make.)

I was once told by a Japanese person that it was difficult, if not impossible, to translate Nintendo into English. The best he could come up with was 'the shop where you leave things to heaven'. He was very definite about the 'shop' part.

© Haydn Thompson 2022