Why is Osaka Castle included in the "Easy Plastic Model" lineup of Doyusha, a "Japanese" model manufacturer that coexists with Japanese culture? Hobby Industry Inside No. 60

Doyusha, a long-established model manufacturer, has been active in "adhesive-free" and "pre-painted" plastic models. The company had previously released "Tokyo Sky Tree" and "Tokyo Tower" as pre-colored kits, and now released the "Kantan Plastic Model" series, which has fewer parts than those products and is easier to buy at the low price of 1,980 yen.
The "Easy Plastic Model Osaka Castle," released in June, is an ambitious product for which new molds were made for this series. Doyusha has been known for plastic models of castles for decades. In other words, they have developed an "adhesive-free" and "pre-painted" plastic model in a genre in which they excel, but what was the story behind this?　We interviewed Mr. Munehiro Uchida, president of Doyusha.

Who ends up buying plastic models of castles?

─ ─ Doyusha has been releasing many plastic models of castles (Japanese great castles series) for a long time, haven't they?

Uchida Our plastic models have been featured several times in the manga "Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Koen Mae Hashutsujo. In the manga, there is a panel (Vol. 86) that says, "For some reason, there are plastic models in the corner of a plastic model shop that I don't understand. (from Vol. 86), you can see that there are plastic models of farmers from other companies, but most of them, such as Tokyo Dome, fans, and covered wagons, are our products. ......?　I was shocked to find out, but then I laughed.


─ What kind of customers buy plastic models of castles?

Uchida: Ordinary people. They are not tank or fighter plane enthusiasts. When ordinary people who are not regular customers go to the model department, they turn their attention to the shelves in the corner, thinking, "Airplanes and other models look difficult. ...... Then, there are plastic models of box gardens and castles. In short, they are items that can be accepted by everyone.
During the declared state of emergency caused by the new coronavirus, sales of plastic models increased overall, but castles sold well. For people who say, "I have to stay at home all day, so I'll build a plastic model to kill the boredom," castles are probably the first plastic model they will buy.

──Doyusha's castles come in a variety of price ranges, don't they? Did you sell all of them?

Uchida Yes, they all sold. Our castles are divided into three types: the deluxe edition for 4,500 yen, the standard edition for 2,000 yen, and the JOYJOY Collection for 1,200 yen. It is like a large, medium, and small version. This time, the JOYJOY Collection, which is the cheapest version, sold very well, so I think children are buying them with their own pocket money.

─ Is there a particular castle that sells well?

Uchida: Nationwide, the castle that sells the most is Himeji Castle.


─ Himeji Castle?　Why is that?

Uchida I think it is because it is cool. Also, Himeji Castle often appears in period dramas. The drama is set in Edo Castle, but Himeji Castle is shown on the screen, so I guess that's why it is so popular. Himeji-jo is like the baseball team of Oh and Nagashima, or the pro wrestling team of Baba and Inoki. When someone who knows baseball well explains that there are other great base stealers, people who are not so interested in baseball think that Wang and Nagashima, or now Ichiro, are great.

─ ─ It is true that Himeji Castle is always in the lineup in each of the series.

Uchida: In 2015, we released "Premium Himeji Castle" in a completely new mold. We made it easier to assemble than before, but it was not an explosion of sales. It seems to sell little by little, without interruption.


─ If Himeji Castle is the most popular, can't you sell only Himeji Castle?

Uchida: I think customers would be happy to choose Himeji Castle over other castles such as Azuchi Castle and Hikone Castle. When supermarket sales were datamined, plastic models with low turnover were once lowered from the toy section in order from the bottom. Then only the top three or so most popular castles would remain on the sales floor. If you narrow it down even further, you end up with a sales floor with only one Himeji Castle on it. If it were a battleship, only the Yamato, or if it were a fighter plane, only the Zero-sen ......, the sales floor would lose its liveliness. Even if you know what you want to buy in the end, you can choose from a lineup of models by yourself. I think plastic models are that kind of product.