11/29/2025

Nakamura Match Co. — "Momiji" (Maple Leaf) Brand — Special Selection (c. 1920s–1930s)

Wow! The first daily label, amazing!

Our first label is from Japan, and while this label is quite rare, it’s a very quintessential Japanese design from the early 1900s. As these things are so ephemeral, precise dating is often not possible, but we can date this one to around the 1920s or 1930s. The Nakamura Company was founded in Kobe in 1910, and the English text along the bottom indicates it was created during a period of heavy export. English text and western influences faded towards the lead-up to the Second World War, so despite it seeming more modern, the text style actually indicates an older match.

The main icon of the label is a leaf from a Japanese Maple tree. The kanji around the leaf mirrors this (モミヂ印), translating to “Maple Leaf Brand”. The kanji on the right (燐寸) simply means “match(es)”, the left kanji is a little more vague though. It means “Special Selection” or “Specially Chosen” (特撰). This means that the matches contained in the box would’ve been higher quality, such as the match head being more effective and easier to strike, and the matches themselves being stronger, and less prone to splintering. An analog for today would be products that are defined as “Premium Quality”, which is quite a sweet (if superficial) thing to apply to something as mundane and ephemeral as matches. It’s interesting to wonder whether people almost 100 years ago would spend a little extra on better matches.

The symbol in the top right is a little harder to discern with accuracy, but it is likely a stylised “S” for safety, or a marking that telegraphs safety more generally. This was a common element that most contemporary labels indicated in some form. Another option is a sort of trademark for the Nakamura Company; a trademark is likely in this case due to the shape being contained in a circle, which often indicates a “seal”, but for now a definitive answer is elusive.

What an interesting first label! Each day I will pull a random one out of one of my boxes, the box contains numerous eras and nations, so each one will hopefully be quite different and interesting.