General Store Information & Atmosphere

What makes Miniature Shop Y & Y unique?

Daniel Brown: You are Yoshie-san, correct? There are two Yoshie-sans here I understand.

Yoshie Aritomo: I’m Aritomo, the representative of the store.

Daniel Brown: Aritomo-san?

Yoshie Aritomo: Yes, Aritomo. It’s an old-fashioned name, very Japanese.

Daniel Brown: So, I’d like to ask you about the store. First, what do you, Aritomo-san, Could you explain your store’s atmosphere?

Yoshie Aritomo: The store’s atmosphere… In Japan, wargaming, for example, we mainly focus on Warhammer, is considered the starting point. We explain various miniature hobbies. There isn’t much of a miniature hobby culture in Japan.

Daniel Brown: I see. So you try to help customers who come in understand what miniature wargaming is from the very beginning?

Yoshie Aritomo: Yes, when I first thought this was interesting, it was really just imported stuff. I wondered, who plays this? It’s so unusual, but it seemed really interesting.

How did you get into miniature wargaming?

Daniel Brown: By the way, how did you first learn about it? Were you in Japan?

Yoshie Aritomo: Yes, in Japan. I didn’t have many hobbies, but I happened to find some imported stuff. I’d heard about things like Table-Talk RPGs before.

Daniel Brown: Table Talk?

Yoshie Aritomo: Table Talk RPG, TRPG.

Daniel Brown: TRPG? I don’t know what that is.

Yoshie Aritomo: It’s something you play with RPG books, dice, and miniatures, an old kind of game.

Daniel Brown: Like AD&D?

Yoshie Aritomo: I didn’t know about those things.

Daniel Brown: You weren’t involved back then?

Yoshie Aritomo: Yes, they existed, but almost nobody knew about them.

Daniel Brown: So they were very minor.

Yoshie Aritomo: Very minor, only a few people knew. I didn’t know anything about it.

Daniel Brown: How did you find out about it?

Yoshie Aritomo: I’d never seen anyone using miniatures to play games, and there weren’t any around me. When I tried playing, it was fun, so I thought it would be good if more people in Japan played it.

Daniel Brown: You saw the potential.

Yoshie Aritomo: Yes, at the time I wasn’t thinking about business, but I thought it had a lot of potential as entertainment.

Daniel Brown: When was this, by the way?

Yoshie Aritomo: About 25 years ago.

Daniel Brown: So around 2000? So it was a minor, fun hobby.

Yoshie Aritomo: Very. Yes. And the times… I don’t know if it’s worth explaining.

Daniel Brown: Please do.

Yoshie Aritomo: It was around the time when Magic: The Gathering came to Japan and became very popular.

Daniel Brown: Magic got popular around 2000?

Yoshie Aritomo: Magic and other card games born in Japan, like Yu-Gi-Oh, became very popular.

Daniel Brown: That was a boom period.

Yoshie Aritomo: Yes, that’s right.

Daniel Brown: I see. And then miniature gaming developed amidst that.

Yoshie Aritomo: To go back to your earlier question, there were a few stores in Japan that handled imported games at that time. Among them, Warhammer was only available in a few places. That’s how I found it and thought, “What’s this?”

Daniel Brown: I’m curious. Were they metal figures?

Yoshie Aritomo: That’s right, about 25 years ago.

Daniel Brown: I see. By the way, the average age on our Discord seems to be people who got into miniature wargaming around that time.

What are the popular game systems in your store?

Daniel Brown: So, to go back to the store, what game systems or titles are popular now?

Yoshie Aritomo: Warhammer 40,000 is still the most popular.

Daniel Brown: 40K?

Yoshie Aritomo: Yes, I think it’s the most popular.

Daniel Brown: 40K is the most. What other games are popular besides 40K?

Daniel Brown: Age of Sigmar?

Daniel Brown: AoS? Are you mainly focusing on Games Workshop games?

Yoshie Aritomo: Yes. There’s a reason for that. We (Aritomo-san and his brother Tsunemitsu-san) used to be Games Workshop staff.

Daniel Brown: Oh, you were Games Workshop employees?

Yoshie Aritomo: We were involved from the very beginning of Games Workshop in Japan.

Daniel Brown: I see. Was it a franchise or a directly managed store? You were employees?

Yoshie Aritomo: We joined the shop and worked in the retail area.

Daniel Brown: I see. Was that in Osaka?

Yoshie Aritomo: Only in Tokyo.

Daniel Brown: Only Tokyo, I see. So, to go back to the current store, you mainly focus on 40K and other Games Workshop games, right? Is that also true for sales and the games people play here?

Yoshie Aritomo: Yes.

Daniel Brown: What games are people playing the most? 40K or AoS?

Yoshie Aritomo: 40K.

Daniel Brown: 40K?

Yoshie Aritomo: Actually, maybe it’s hard to say.

Daniel Brown: Hard to say?

Yoshie Aritomo: It might be about the same.

Daniel Brown: About the same.

Yoshie Aritomo: Yes. The styles are very different.

Daniel Brown: Styles?

Yoshie Aritomo: Yes, for example, with 40K, if you say, “Let’s have a competitive tournament,” a lot of people suddenly show up from everywhere.

Daniel Brown: I see.

Yoshie Aritomo: With Age of Sigmar, it’s more like… how should I put it? More of an everyday game. People play regularly, doing narratives and such, so the number of games might be about the same. But in terms of popularity, 40K is probably more popular.

Daniel Brown: So the types of people who gather are a bit different?

Yoshie Aritomo: I think so. At this store, anyway.

Daniel Brown: At this store. With 40K, there are a lot of people who are prepared for a specific format.

Yoshie Aritomo: “Matched Play,” you mean.

Daniel Brown: Matched Play, yes. And with AOS, it’s more…

Yoshie Aritomo: More of a lifestyle, not sure how to put it.

Daniel Brown: A more relaxed way?

Yoshie Aritomo: More like, “Let’s play with friends every week.”

Tell us about your gaming space and the rules of use.

Daniel Brown: I see. People who know each other well. I see, that’s helpful. By the way, how many tables do you have?

Yoshie Aritomo: Usually six, but a maximum of eight.

Daniel Brown: I see. I see two tables in front of me, but there are more in another room?

Yoshie Aritomo: Four more.

Daniel Brown: Oh, I see. Four more in the other room over there.

Yoshie Aritomo: Yes. We usually keep some space, but when we have tournaments or big painting workshops, it’s flexible.

Daniel Brown: I see. I can see a lot of AOS figures behind you, Arimoto-san. It looks like you’re painting them.

Yoshie Aritomo: Yes, that’s right.

Daniel Brown: So you’re focusing on this event space. By the way, what are the fees for customers using this space? Is it by the hour?

Yoshie Aritomo: It’s 2,000 to 2,500 yen for a whole day’s use.

Daniel Brown: I see. I see that it’s 2,000 yen for unlimited use on weekdays, 1,000 yen for students. And 1,000 yen for up to three hours on weekdays, half price for students. On weekends, it’s 2,500 yen, and 1,500 yen for students. Three hours is enough for about one game of AoS.

Yoshie Aritomo: Or a small game.

Daniel Brown: Yes.

Yoshie Aritomo: There are also many skirmish games, and some people come after work for a bit of painting. But surprisingly, a lot of people choose the full day option.

Daniel Brown: I see. And I see there’s a 1,000 yen drink bar option. That’s for spectators, right?

Yoshie Aritomo: Yes. It’s not quite finished yet, but we want it to be like a café. We’re not a café, but you can read the books here, some of which are quite valuable.

Daniel Brown: I see.

Yoshie Aritomo: You can read, enjoy, and study while having free drinks.

Daniel Brown: I see.

Yoshie Aritomo: You can stay as long as you like.

Daniel Brown: Especially since there’s not much information about these games in Japanese online. It’s like a library.

Yoshie Aritomo: Exactly.

Daniel Brown: Like a library.

Yoshie Aritomo: Even with the internet, you often can’t access copyrighted books. We thought it would be good to have a space like this for beginners and those who are anxious to study, so we offer this service.

Daniel Brown: And I see that you also have a 10,000 yen ticket pack.

Yoshie Aritomo: That’s for five visits, so you get one visit discounted.

Daniel Brown: 20% off. I see, thank you. 

Access

Daniel Brown: So, let’s talk about access. I came by subway, but what’s the best way to get here?

Yoshie Aritomo: If you can use the Sakaisuji Line, that’s the closest station.

Daniel Brown: Ebisucho?

Yoshie Aritomo: Yes, Ebisucho. Ebisucho Station on the Sakaisuji Line is the most convenient. Even if it’s raining, you won’t get wet. Of course, you can also walk from Namba Station on the Midosuji Line or the Osaka Loop Line.

Daniel Brown: Namba Station.

Yoshie Aritomo: It’s about a 10-minute walk from that big terminal. It’s in a pretty good location.

Daniel Brown: Yes. I think customers can also visit other places around here. I found it very close to Ebisucho. I often get off at Nipponbashi, I was worried that it would be far. But Ebisucho is much closer than I had expected.

Yoshie Aritomo: It’s also easy to get to from Nara, Kyoto, and even Hyogo.

Daniel Brown: Hyogo too?

Yoshie Aritomo: Yes. It’s a convenient location.

Daniel Brown: The store’s atmosphere is very welcoming to beginners, and you can try games and the rules are open. It’s a great environment for learning the games. 

Tell us about your online presence

Daniel Brown: You’re also putting a lot of effort into your online presence, right? Like SNS and Miniature Shop Y & Y’s website.

Yoshie Aritomo: We’re not experts in the internet or computers, so we don’t use it very well. We use X simply, every day.

Daniel Brown: Every day.

Yoshie Aritomo: Every day we post something on X.

Daniel Brown: That’s amazing.

Yoshie Aritomo: We tweet things like, “Today’s event is this,” or “These products are in stock.”

Daniel Brown: I see.

Yoshie Aritomo: Simple things like that. We also have a web shop. I also have a personal Youtube channel that I started before starting the store. I started a channel to introduce Warhammer to Japan.

Daniel Brown: A channel?

Yoshie Aritomo: YouTube.

Daniel Brown: YouTube, I see.

Yoshie Aritomo: I introduce Warhammer and explain it in a fun way.

Daniel Brown: That’s great. What channel is it?

Yoshie Aritomo: @miniaturetv.

Daniel Brown: Miniature TV.

Yoshie Aritomo: “Miniature TV,” all in katakana. I started it as a challenge to see how many people in Japan know about Warhammer. People overseas know about Warhammer.

Daniel Brown: Maybe.

Yoshie Aritomo: I’m not very good at English, and the content is in Japanese. I’m not really interested in how many views it gets on YouTube. I’m more relieved when I see how many Japanese people have watched it. That’s why I made it all in katakana and Japanese. I didn’t know much about the internet back then.

Daniel Brown: I see. I see you have a logo and branding colors (holding a sticker in yellow and white).

Yoshie Aritomo: Yes, we made that recently. When you run a store like this, you can consult with experts and collaborators. This is my channel.

Daniel Brown: You collaborate with a lot of people.

Yoshie Aritomo: He’s the main person I work with (pointing to a man sitting next to him in the thumbnail of a Youtube video).

Daniel Brown: You introduce it together?

Yoshie Aritomo: More like he listens to me talk.

Daniel Brown: I see, like a straight man and a funny man set up?

Yoshie Aritomo: Maybe. It’s an interesting structure. This is just my story.

Daniel Brown: It’s fine.

Yoshie Aritomo: It’s like a generation thing. I’ve been doing this for 20-something years, and he’s been doing it for about five years.

Daniel Brown: Within five years. So he doesn’t know much about it.

Yoshie Aritomo: The style changed about five years ago, so we use that to explain things.

Daniel Brown: I see. So people who have been following for a long time and people who have just started will find it interesting.

Yoshie Aritomo: I hope so.

Daniel Brown: I see that your recent videos have 40, 30, or 60 likes.

Yoshie Aritomo: Yes.

Daniel Brown: Even for a minor hobby, some videos have nearly 1200 views. You have a decent number of followers.

Yoshie Aritomo: Yes, about 1800 now.

Daniel Brown: 1820.

Yoshie Aritomo: To be honest, the number of people creating Warhammer content in Japan has increased a lot recently. There was almost no one before.

Daniel Brown: I see.

Yoshie Aritomo: I was about the only one doing it for about ten years.

Daniel Brown: I see. A pioneer.

Yoshie Aritomo: Not really. But recently, three people have suddenly increased. They’re VTubers. You know, those Japanese-style animated girls.

Daniel Brown: Like avatars?

Yoshie Aritomo: Yes, they explain things, and their videos get a lot more views. Maybe my style is old-fashioned.

Daniel Brown: Style.

Yoshie Aritomo: I do it because I like it.

Daniel Brown: Perhaps people who want more detailed information would prefer your channel.

Yoshie Aritomo: What I’m trying to say is that there are people who get a lot of views.

Daniel Brown: I see.

Yoshie Aritomo: I think Warhammer is more well-known in Japan now.

Daniel Brown: (To readers:) If you’re interested, please search for “Miniature TV” in katakana or “@miniaturetv” in Roman letters.

Yoshie Aritomo: That’s it. It’s a bit different.

Daniel Brown: You also have an X (Twitter) account for the store.

Yoshie Aritomo: Yes.

Daniel Brown: Can you check the store’s X account (@miniatureshopyy)?

Yoshie Aritomo: I also announce new videos on the X account, which is the store’s account and it is managed by him (pointing to Tsunemitsu-san) and me. We use it to announce things like “We’re open today” or “We’re having an event.”

Daniel Brown: I see. So you’re putting a lot of effort into SNS.

Yoshie Aritomo: I’m not sure if we’re using it very effectively.

Daniel Brown: I think you are. Raising awareness is important. 

English-Language Support & Community

Are staff comfortable with English speakers?

Daniel Brown: So, let’s move on to the next topic. Information for foreigners or native English speakers. Can you accommodate them if they come to the store? For example, people who have just arrived in Japan or tourists?

Yoshie Aritomo: Of course. They can shop at the store. We accept credit cards. I can speak a little English, but not much of other languages like Chinese or Korean.

Daniel Brown: A little. I see. Do you have regular foreign customers?

Yoshie Aritomo: Yes, we do.

Do you have any regular foreign clients?

Daniel Brown: I see. Do you have groups that hold regular events here? Like a monthly game day?

Yoshie Aritomo: We have a Blood Bowl league community. They play here every week.

Daniel Brown: I see.

Yoshie Aritomo: But…

Daniel Brown: So it’s a regular thing. I see. Blood Bowl. I wonder if any of our members play that.

Yoshie Aritomo: Yes, I think so. A Japanese person who comes here often organizes the league, and they mostly play here. About a third to half of the members are foreigners.

Daniel Brown: I see. Blood Bowl is a niche game within Games Workshop’s range.

Yoshie Aritomo: People overseas might want to play any game, but in Japan, there’s no Japanese edition.

Daniel Brown: That’s right.

Yoshie Aritomo: So it’s not very popular.

Daniel Brown: There’s no Blood Bowl in Japanese.

Yoshie Aritomo: That’s right. But we can explain any game. We like Blood Bowl, so…

Daniel Brown: I see.

Yoshie Aritomo: We promote it on SNS.

Daniel Brown: I see.

Yoshie Aritomo: Recently, more people are translating it themselves.

Daniel Brown: I see. Do you translate rules that aren’t available in Japanese?

Yoshie Aritomo: We don’t usually translate them, but we can explain them. For Blood Bowl, Japanese volunteers translate it, and we give it away when you buy a starter set. We have permission from the manufacturer.

Daniel Brown: I see.

Yoshie Aritomo: We can do that.

Daniel Brown: I see. Do you reward those customers for their contributions?

Yoshie Aritomo: They don’t ask for rewards.

Daniel Brown: I mean, do you have a way to reward them?

Yoshie Aritomo: I think they just want to make more friends.

Daniel Brown: That’s right.

Yoshie Aritomo: When the rules change, they come to the store the next day or the day after with a translation.

Daniel Brown: That’s amazing.

Yoshie Aritomo: Blood Bowl is special. It has a long history and a strong fan base.

Daniel Brown: That’s right.

Yoshie Aritomo: The rules are difficult even in English.

Daniel Brown: Yes. When I see people playing, they’re always discussing the rules.

Yoshie Aritomo: Maybe if you look at it from a different angle. It’s a common problem in Japan. People say Warhammer rules are too complicated.

Daniel Brown: Do you have Blood Bowl miniatures here? Yes, you do. Sorry for the digression. To go back to foreigners, you mentioned the Blood Bowl league.

Yoshie Aritomo: Yes.

Product Selection & Services

Are there any English rule books sold in the store?

Daniel Brown: Do you have English rulebooks or codices?

Yoshie Aritomo: No, we don’t.

Daniel Brown: You don’t?

Yoshie Aritomo: We can order them, but we haven’t had many foreign customers. So we order on demand.

Daniel Brown: I see.

Yoshie Aritomo: If you pre-order, you can get them on release day.

Daniel Brown: I see.

Yoshie Aritomo: We have games with only English rules, like Necromunda.

Daniel Brown: I see.

Yoshie Aritomo: And we have some English games other than Warhammer.

Daniel Brown: Really?

Yoshie Aritomo: But not as many as Iconoclasm. We have Privateer Press games.

Daniel Brown: Privateer Press?

Yoshie Aritomo: Yes.

Daniel Brown: We have members who play Privateer Press, so I’ll include that in the interview.

Yoshie Aritomo: We only carry games that can be played here.

What products do you carry outside of games and miniatures?

Daniel Brown: I see. So, about paint and other supplies, what do you carry?

Yoshie Aritomo: Citadel paints and some Army Painter.

Daniel Brown: Army Painter?

Yoshie Aritomo: Yes. Two brands of paint.

Daniel Brown: I see.

Yoshie Aritomo: But not the full range of Army Painter.

Daniel Brown: I see. Do you offer commission painting services?

Yoshie Aritomo: No, we don’t.

Daniel Brown: You don’t?

Yoshie Aritomo: We let beginners try painting for free.

Daniel Brown: I see.

Yoshie Aritomo: We don’t paint armies for money.

Daniel Brown: Do you refer customers to painters?

Yoshie Aritomo: No.

Daniel Brown: I see. So you allow people to practice painting here.

Yoshie Aritomo: Yes.

Daniel Brown: Do you have painting classes?

Yoshie Aritomo: We used to, and we want to again, but we stopped due to COVID. We haven’t restarted yet.

Daniel Brown: I see. 

Miniature Wargaming in Japan

Are there any unique aspects of wargaming in Japan?

Daniel Brown: Now, this is a personal question. You’ve seen how foreigners and Japanese people play. What are the characteristics of wargaming in Japan?

Yoshie Aritomo: Japanese people?

Daniel Brown: Yes, or the culture in Japan.

Yoshie Aritomo: How it’s different from overseas?

Yoshie Aritomo: I don’t know much about overseas players, but the ones I’ve met understand Japanese culture well. I think wargaming is a global hobby, and you can play even if you don’t speak the same language.

Daniel Brown: That’s true.

Yoshie Aritomo: But Japanese people have trouble communicating directly with foreigners. Japanese people are often shy, and wargamers are even shyer.

Daniel Brown: I see. People who spend a lot of time preparing their armies are more introverted.

Yoshie Aritomo: Yes. I think about how to improve communication every day.

Daniel Brown: How to communicate with foreigners?

Yoshie Aritomo: It’s not in our culture to say “Hi! Hello!” and “How are you?” We say “Nice to meet you (Hajime-mashite)” and “Can I play with you (Ge-mu wo sasete itadakemasu ka)?” Japanese people have a culture of excessive politeness.

Daniel Brown: I see.

Yoshie Aritomo: People who are even more nervous are the otaku, our friends.

Daniel Brown: You can call them otaku?

Yoshie Aritomo: It’s not an offensive word. But they’re even shyer than shy people.

Daniel Brown: I see.

Yoshie Aritomo: But once you become friends, they’re really good people. I often think about how to connect these people with the global hobby. So, I’m always researching the differences.

Daniel Brown: I see. It’s an interesting area.

Yoshie Aritomo: Yes, it’s hard to explain.

Daniel Brown: When I hear your story, I think it’s about politeness. Like saying “Nice to meet you” before a game, or “May I play with you?” Foreigners might shake hands after a game.

Yoshie Aritomo: Yes. Japanese etiquette is very difficult. But there’s also a template for Japanese people to feel comfortable playing games. It’s like, you have to be excessively polite.

Daniel Brown: Excessively polite.

Yoshie Aritomo: If you have that mindset, they feel comfortable.

Daniel Brown: I see. What do you think if a foreigner is that polite?

Yoshie Aritomo: I feel relieved, like they understand Japanese culture well.

Daniel Brown: Relieved, yes.

Yoshie Aritomo: I think it’s a Japanese complex. When playing games, they think they have to be very optimistic when dealing with Americans, but you can’t apply that kind of action. So they think, “I’d better stop,” but there are a lot of people who like the foreign style, and I’m one of them. But there aren’t many of those people in this world.

Daniel Brown: I see.

Yoshie Aritomo: So, people who are really good at it, I think they understand that. And I feel relieved when those people are here.

Daniel Brown: As the store owner.

Yoshie Aritomo: I don’t want people to get too excited during games. There used to be a lot of problems.

Daniel Brown: I see. People suddenly get loud.

Yoshie Aritomo: Some people are just excited, but in Japan, that’s not really good.

Daniel Brown: This is on the second floor, but people on the stairs might stop coming up if it’s too noisy.

Yoshie Aritomo: That might happen. In Japan, even talking on the train is considered noisy by some people. So, while it’s good to get excited during a game, it can be a problem if it’s too loud for other people to concentrate. It’s a good thing, but…

Daniel Brown: It’s about maintaining harmony in the store.

Yoshie Aritomo: I’ve seen some sad things happen because of that.

Daniel Brown: I see.

Yoshie Aritomo: I don’t want to say this, and I shouldn’t say it, but it’s a reality.

Daniel Brown: Is that more common with people from overseas?

Yoshie Aritomo: It’s not about nationality. If people’s playing styles don’t match, this problem can happen between Japanese people too.

Daniel Brown: Yes, that’s true. If you don’t get along, you don’t want to play with that person anymore.

Yoshie Aritomo: That’s a problem everywhere. So, besides the Japanese complex, there are two issues. One is the cultural issue, and the other important one is that English information is faster.

Daniel Brown: You mean rule support?

Yoshie Aritomo: Yes. There’s always a possibility of errors when you play directly with something made in English versus playing with something translated into Japanese.

What about the Japanese translation of foreign wargames?

Daniel Brown: That’s something I wanted to ask about. I’ve seen Japanese rules, and some are translated directly with kanji, while others are translated with katakana. For example, “toughness” is written as “tai” (対), and some things are just left in katakana. What do you think about the quality of the translations?

Yoshie Aritomo: I have a lot of memories about this. I don’t know what I should say in this interview. For me, it’s a battle memory.

Daniel Brown: Is that so?

Yoshie Aritomo: Well…

Daniel Brown: Is it something you can’t talk about because it involves a certain company’s products, or is it just that you have differing opinions?

Yoshie Aritomo: Well, it’s not a very interesting story. To put it simply, I was against writing “toughness” as “tai” in Japanese.

Daniel Brown: I see. So you were in a position to give your opinion at the translation stage?

Yoshie Aritomo: I could give my opinion, but I wasn’t the one making the decision.

Daniel Brown: I see.

Yoshie Aritomo: I was working on the retail shop side, and translation was someone else’s job, but it’s a very important issue for retail shops. It’s a great thing that foreign players and Japanese players can play Warhammer together, it’s a global hobby. But if I say, “My strength is 5,”

Daniel Brown: You mean “attack” strength?

Yoshie Aritomo: If I say “strength 5,” we can play together. But is there any point in spending money, time, and people to translate it? 

Daniel Brown: I see. So they just use abbreviations. Like “strength” becomes “str.”

Yoshie Aritomo: So “str” would have been fine. The rules are always working out, but I lost that battle.

Daniel Brown: I see, it was a battle of opinions.

Yoshie Aritomo: It was a battle, or rather, I regret that I couldn’t say, “This kind of problem will happen in retail, so please stop using meaningless Japanese.”

Daniel Brown: You tried to make the game’s operation smoother, but there were other factors involved.

Yoshie Aritomo: Well, this story might not be very interesting…

Daniel Brown: But these kinds of things are interesting. I think readers will be interested in this.

Yoshie Aritomo: Well, these are just my old bad memories, so leaving aside my memories, I think the current Japanese translation is a waste.

Daniel Brown: The current translation.

Yoshie Aritomo: I think the translation should be closer to the original text. I think that would benefit everyone, Japanese people all over the world.

Daniel Brown: I see.

Yoshie Aritomo: Yes.

Daniel Brown: I see. The reason for this conversation was that the English rules information comes out faster.

Yoshie Aritomo: That’s definitely a benefit. If the Japanese isn’t too difficult, FAQs and errata could be handled much quicker.

Daniel Brown: FAQs come out all the time.

Yoshie Aritomo: Yes. We want to be useful to the public, so when we hold tournaments, we ignore the Japanese FAQs and errata and use the latest overseas ones.

Daniel Brown: Access the overseas ones.

Yoshie Aritomo: We have to do the translation.

Daniel Brown: And you disclose that before the event?

Yoshie Aritomo: When we decide on the regulations, we have to study them first. The trend of overseas tournament regulations is often created by an English-speaking community, so there’s no Japanese translation. So we have to translate the English regulations ourselves, which is a problem.

Daniel Brown: I see.

Yoshie Aritomo: For example, what kind of tournaments are popular, or what regulations are well-received. Games Workshop doesn’t make these themselves.

Daniel Brown: Now it’s the translation.

Yoshie Aritomo: Not translation, tournaments. There are many large communities overseas.

Daniel Brown: Yes.

Yoshie Aritomo: When they come up with regulations, they’re kind of imported.

Daniel Brown: Games Workshop adopts them.

Yoshie Aritomo: So, people who want to hold tournaments request to use those regulations.

Daniel Brown: I see.

Yoshie Aritomo: So, we’ll have a tournament. And for the regulations, we ask them to explain what they want to do, and if we think it’s okay, we’ll do it.

Daniel Brown: So, for example, if there’s a club mainly made up of Japanese people, and they want to have a tournament at Y and Y, you can consult with them.

Yoshie Aritomo: There are people among the customers who want to be tournament organizers.

Daniel Brown: I see.

Yoshie Aritomo: We cooperate with those people, and we also hold tournaments ourselves.

Daniel Brown: I see.

Yoshie Aritomo: Our store’s friendly tournaments use regulations based on information from Games Workshop. There are about two types of tournaments.

Daniel Brown: I see. For the tournaments organized by fans, you can consult with them.

Yoshie Aritomo: They look for popular tournaments overseas and try to imitate them.

Daniel Brown: I see.

Yoshie Aritomo: Yes.

Daniel Brown: Do you have Japanese customers who want to participate in tournaments overseas?

Yoshie Aritomo: There are a few, but not many.

Daniel Brown: There are?

Yoshie Aritomo: There are some very strong players who win a lot in Japan, and I think they are aware of overseas. But I haven’t seen anyone come overseas specifically for a Warhammer tournament (laughs).

Daniel Brown: Well, if that happens, please repost it on SNS. 

Other

What are your views on 3D printing?

Daniel Brown: So, one last question, which I asked at another store. 3D printers are a common topic. It’s a topic for Games Workshop and other miniature manufacturers, retailers, and people who do miniature painting and assembly. What are your thoughts on the future of 3D printing, and does your store have any involvement with it?

Yoshie Aritomo: I think that the business of 3D printing and the miniature business are inseparable now. You can’t stop the good or the bad. I don’t know if we’ll make it a business, but if there’s something wonderful like Warhammer, I think the day will come when we want to introduce it to Japan as a business. But there’s nothing like that now. There are things I personally want, but I try not to look at things like copies or pirated versions.

Daniel Brown: I see.

Yoshie Aritomo: I can’t stop that kind of thing in the miniature business, but right now it’s much more important to build a healthy business. That kind of business won’t succeed anyway until there is a healthy business environment to grow in.

Daniel Brown: I see.

Yoshie Aritomo: There might be a lot of people doing piracy, but I don’t really need to see that. I’m more excited about the potential future of positive 3D printing and miniature hobby growth. For example, Games Workshop sells plastic products made in factories, not 3D printed products.

Daniel Brown: That’s right.

Yoshie Aritomo: Our business isn’t really related to 3D printed products, but we don’t just want to do business with Warhammer. This is our strength, so we’ll do business with this, and we want to introduce the miniature hobby market to Japan, and this product is the strongest for that.

Daniel Brown: It’s specialized.

Yoshie Aritomo: It’s strong, and it’s compatible with Japan. There’s a Japanese branch office. There’s a Japanese version. There aren’t many companies with that level of support in the miniature game industry, so we’ll treat this as our top product, and if we can make this successful in Japan, then maybe there will be more possibilities for miniatures. So, there’s a possibility for 3D printed models, miniature products, and miniature games.

Daniel Brown: You mentioned “healthy,” but what do you envision as healthy, as opposed to pirated versions? What kind of contribution to the hobby could be made with 3D printers?

Yoshie Aritomo: For example, in the case of Games Workshop, it would be easiest if they clearly defined the genres, saying, “We’ll make this much, and you can enjoy 3D printing up to this point.”

Daniel Brown: I see.

Yoshie Aritomo: They might also make products with 3D printers.

Daniel Brown: Like releasing STL files.

Yoshie Aritomo: They could make money that way. For example, any company makes games and the figures for them, but terrain and other secondary items might be expensive to make. So, someone who has designed terrain for Warhammer could introduce it with 3D printing. We could say, “This is good,” and introduce it to Games Workshop. I think that would be healthy and profitable. Maybe if they want to sell it as Warhammer, they could pay a license fee. I don’t know if they’ll do it or not, but it might be expensive. But I think that kind of thing would feel very healthy.

Daniel Brown: They sell water and call it “War-ter,” so… I’ll cut that out. (Laughs) I don’t have any more questions. 

Any final thoughts?

Daniel Brown: Do you have any final message?

Yoshie Aritomo: Yes, we want to do miniature hobbies in Japan and be happy, so we’re trying to make a business out of it. If the players aren’t happy, we probably won’t do this business.

Daniel Brown: That’s right. It’s hard to make a lot of money in this field.

Yoshie Aritomo: If you want to make a lot of money, you shouldn’t be in miniatures (laughs). But because we think that way, we challenge ourselves with difficult problems. This time, you’re introducing this store to foreigners, so what we want to say is that we want to make miniature hobbies easier to play in Japan by making Warhammer successful. To do that, we first need to gain the understanding of Japanese people, so we set the rules and store morals with Japanese people in mind. But it’s not that I dislike foreigners at all. My ultimate dream is for people from all over the world to be able to play Warhammer when they come to Japan.

Daniel Brown: That’s a dream.

Yoshie Aritomo: Yes.

Daniel Brown: Yes.

Yoshie Aritomo: At that time, we’ll overcome the language barrier and cultural issues.

Daniel Brown: We’ll overcome them (laughs).

Yoshie Aritomo: The more popular Warhammer becomes, the more we’ll be able to overcome them. So, it’s a very long journey, but we mainly think about Japanese people. For example, the game regulations are written in Japanese, so we say, “Please play with these. You probably have access to better, newer information in English, but most Japanese people can’t read this, so we’re playing with this, and we know it’s wrong, but sorry.”

Daniel Brown: I see.

Yoshie Aritomo: That kind of thing. It’s not like foreigners are saying, “What’s wrong with you? Don’t you care about us?”

Daniel Brown: You mean there are differences in what they’re using as a reference.

Yoshie Aritomo: Some foreigners might think, “They only care about Japanese people, and they don’t care about us,” but that’s not true at all.

Daniel Brown: Thank you very much.