Kids in This Japanese Town Collect Pokemon-Style Cards Featuring Local Middle-Aged Men

Local middle-aged men, affectionately called ojisan, have become celebrities in the small rural Japanese town of Kawara, particularly among children. They owe their fame to the Secretary General of the Secretary General of the Saidosho Community Council, Eri Miyahara.

He created a Pokémon-style trading card game that turns local middle-aged men into trading card game warriors who can be used to battle one another.

According to a delightful report from Ynes Sarah Filleul of the Tokyo Weekender, while kids across Japan are busy collecting and battling with Pokémon TCG cards, the children of Kawara are collecting cards featuring your everyday, average Joes. The kinds of dudes they might run into on the street or who their family might personally know.

These average, everyday men have become the stuff of legend, and their cards have the stats and flavor text to back it up.

There’s A Town In Japan Where Kids Collect Pokemon-Style Cards Featuring Local Middle-Aged Men

The game celebrates the personalities, quirks, and overall communal impact of these everyday men who may not be so every day in the eyes of the town’s kids.  There’s a card featuring the 74-year-old Mr. Honda, a former fire brigade chief. There’s a card for 68-year-old Mr. Fuji, a former prison guard. Fuji’s card is so popular that kids are asking him for autographs.

The cards all come with unique attacks, stats, and element types, all dealing varying levels of damage. In an interview with the Fuji News Network, Eri Miyahara said, “We wanted to strengthen the connection between the children and the older generations in the community. There are so many amazing people here. I thought it was such a shame that no one knew about them.”

Her plan seems to have worked. Kids are going crazy for the cards, and they are in high demand. “Since the card game went viral, so many kids are starting to look up to these men as heroic figures,” Miyahara said.

Mission accomplished.