Here is an assortment of playful Japanese postcards from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, found in a recent book by collector Hiroki Hayashi entitled "Antique Cute Post Cards in Japan" (Nippon no kawaii ehagaki).

Betty Boop (Yamaguchi Seikyokudo Co., Ltd. - c. 1930s)

Betty Boop (1937)

Betty Boop, Mickey and Minnie (1936)

Mickey (c. 1920s-40s)

Kewpie Mayonnaise ad (1932)

Kewpie (c. 1920s-40s)

Kewpie (1933/1935)

Kewpie (c. 1920s-40s)

Kewpie (Shoseido - 1919)

Kewpie (Shoseido - 1919)

Kewpie (c. 1920s-40s)

Kewpie (c. 1920s-40s)

"Bring it on" (Propaganda card by Kiyoshi - 1940)

"I've got your back" (Military Mail greeting card for troops - 1940)

Dancing skeletons (c. 1890s-1900s)

Yoshikawa Roppa (Hibiya Yurakuza Theater - 1940)

New Year's Card (1911)

Muscles and blood vessels (1920)

Standing in flames (Shokichiro Yamaguchi - c. 1920s)

Postcard commemorating Children's Expo (Dobunkan - 1906)

One in a series of naughty joke cards (Toyo Postcard Association - c. 1900s-10s)

Harunaa beauty products (c. 1920s-1940s)

Single-wheeled vehicle (1936)

Norakuro (Suiho Tagawa - c. 1930s)

Marriage and the growing use of X-ray machines - (c. 1910s)

Dancing cats (c. 1920s-1940s)

Matthew Meyer
I don't know if I would say "cute," but some of those are really cool.
I loved the marriage and x-rays one, and the dancing skeletons.
Betty Boop and Kewpie kind of freak me out, especially in these older images.
[]Jaime
Very cool, thanks for this. I love the military greeting card. I didn't know that kawaii existed during the war. Amazing.
[]Koko
This reminds me that Betty Boop was big in Japan in the 1930s. In 1935, Fleischer Studios even produced a short film in which Betty takes her show to Japan and sings in Japanese.
Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=882j9diJisw
[]Joe
Jaw-droppingly gorgeous, each & every one. Thanks much for posting!
[]Gould
Thanks!
Are these cards the full content of the book or just an excerpt?
[]Melody
These are wonderful!
[]Con Artist Trickster
Awesome vintage! I never guessed that Betty Boop was that big in Japan.
[]fishy
I agree with @Con Artist Trickster: I never knew that Japan even had Betty Boop, much less that she was a successful import there. :/
I guess maybe she could have been a design influence on Rock Lee after all, then. :? There used to be more of those back when Naruto was popular, but I guess they're no longer online; but back when Naruto was the big thing, a few of the fans were saying that Betty Boop was his long-lost-mom/design inspiration, and I always thought it was impossible, since I didn't think that Betty Boop was ever marketed to Japan...
Sorry for rambling on, but I thought it was interesting.
[]Yoshi Jones
thanks for these amazing images; we have used them in a blog post. credited.
[]Cheers,
Yoshi