# Gashapon

> Japanese capsule-toy vending machines, introduced in 1965 by Penny Shokai and commercialized at scale by Bandai from 1977. The physical origin of the word and concept behind digital gacha.

- Canonical URL: https://gachawiki.com/wiki/gashapon
- Type: term
- Verification status: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09)
- Last updated: 2026-07-09
- License: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Attribution: "Gashapon", GachaWiki, https://gachawiki.com/wiki/gashapon

Gashapon are Japanese capsule-toy vending machines: insert coins, turn the crank, and a random toy inside a plastic capsule drops out. The name is onomatopoeia, "gasha" for the crank and "pon" for the capsule landing. "Gashapon" is a registered trademark of Bandai; "gacha-gacha" and "gacha" are the generic terms, and the last of these became the name of the [digital mechanic](/wiki/gacha). [[2]](#ref-2)

The machines derive from American bulk-vending machines. Ryuzo Shigeta, founder of Penny Shokai in Tokyo's Taito ward, set up Japan's first capsule-toy machine on February 17, 1965, adding capsules to protect the prizes, and sold turns for 10 yen. [[1]](#ref-1) Bandai entered the market in 1977, selling character-licensed capsules at 100 yen when rivals charged around 20, and built capsule toys into a durable national industry. [[1]](#ref-1) [[2]](#ref-2)

Two properties of the physical machines carried directly into digital gacha: the fixed price per random draw, and collection-driven demand, since toys shipped in themed sets that invited completion. The set-completion impulse later produced the [kompu gacha](/wiki/kompu-gacha) mechanic, whose 2012 ban is the genre's first major regulatory event.

## References

1. The elderly man who invented Japan's capsule toys (Nippon.com): https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-topics/g01212/ (accessed 2026-07-09)
2. About Gashapon (Bandai): https://us.gashapon.jp/about/ (accessed 2026-07-09)