ARAI Lottery Wheel

The ARAI lottery wheel is the progenitor of the commonly known "gara-pon" lottery machines found in shopping streets throughout Japan. It was developed by Takuya Arai, owner of a Western clothing shop located in the Minato Ward of Tokyo, and first patented in 1930 (Showa 5); subsequently, it was used throughout the nation. The machine belongs to Hirayama Mannendo, a fountain pen and stationery store founded in 1913 (Taisho 2) in Hirosaki City, Aomori Prefecture. It is considered to have been assembled in 1931 (Showa 6) and includes the body, saucer, lottery ball, and bell. It is an important artifact of Japanese cultural heritage because of its social impact in fundamentally changing the way lotteries were conducted.