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Dialogue "Tarzan Yamamoto ×Toudoukan Director" 20. Future (Final)
Table of Contents>1.Self-introduction in the 20th year
20. Future (Final)
Director: What will the situation be like in 10 years?
Tarzan Yamamoto: There is Pro Wrestling .
Director: Of course, Pro Wrestling will continue.
However, Toudoukan 's role as a Pro Wrestling specialty store has changed over time, so it should not be the same as it is now.
Tarzan Yamamoto: Because it's not Showa Pro Wrestling fans who support a lot of things.
The number of fans of the Showa era will gradually decrease in the future.
I have to think about what I'm going to do when the Showa Pro Wrestling fans are gone.
Director: That's part of it. Although the demand for Showa Pro Wrestling will be taken over by others, the overall market will become smaller. Currently, the generation of customers who are already the main customers is gradually changing to the generation that has watched Pro Wrestling from the Showa era to the Heisei era.
In addition, second-hand sales have taken root in the general public in recent decades, and how will this change in the future, and what will be the role of stores if online sales are further accelerated?
Right now, I have a strong sense that I still have a role to play, but I don't know if I'll have the same role 10 years from now. It's likely that they're not.
Tarzan Yamamoto: We need a new development. I think it has a role that is different from the sales of goods so far. It's about how to create it creatively.
Director: I don't know what's going to happen.
But the state of not knowing the future may seem unsettling or negative at first glance.
That's what makes me more excited about not being able to see ahead, and that's what I've been hoping for.
The fact that you can't see the future is proof of freedom.
At the age of 45, I still have the feeling that I can enjoy changing.
I don't know what form it will take yet, but if there is a role, I want to find it and fulfill it.
If you can't find it, and you don't have a role to play, then you can't help it.
I think it's okay to be over, I can die at any time.
Tarzan Yamamoto: We have to find out. A way of life that responds to the times, responds to the times.
What ends and what begins is repeated.
Director: Yes. I know that there is demand overseas.
Surprisingly, when we analyze our customers, for example, our website.
It's a Japanese site, but 30% of people access it from overseas.
Sales themselves are growing through overseas mail order, but they are still only about 10% at most.
Tarzan Yamamoto: It's going to grow.
Director: The English site doesn't work well, so it must be very difficult for overseas customers to read. The automatic translation is also messed up, and Japanese and English are mixed. People from overseas often order this (bitter smile)
If we can improve this a little more and create a smartphone site that can properly translate into English, this is still the case.
I think there is an inverted version of Inoki 's ring line theory.
People who are far away have a longing for culture.
Tarzan Yamamoto: Oh yes. Because people who are far away are in demand.
Director: Someone who understands Japan's Pro Wrestling?
Two years ago, I was taken to Mexico by Tsutomu Shimizu of Gong and Masahiro Hayashi of Solna.
There was a large-scale event called the Lucha Expo in Mexico. Courtesy of the organizers,
We set up a Toudoukan booth.
▲ At the Mexico Lucha Expo booth
So, I bought it directly there. Purchased on a business trip to Mexico. Using Google Translate (laughs)
A lot of people came, and they all knew a lot about it.
At a level that is not at all different from Japan enthusiasts, they ask me about Japan mask men and Pro Wrestling goods.
Some people brought fake masks, and there were a lot of suspicious ones (laughs).
But anyway, I was able to feel firsthand that there are many people who are interested in Japan Pro Wrestling and merchandise.
If you are in Japan, Mexico is a distant country, but if you go there,
From the perspective of Mexican enthusiasts, Toudoukan is also quite familiar.
It was the first time I had interacted with them, but there were a number of people who talked to me with interest that people from the store I had known well for a long time had come.
In that sense, it's like the Rings Network, with overseas enthusiasts
Expanding Japan's Pro Wrestling culture is one of Toudoukan's roles, and I would be happy if I could be in that position.
Tarzan Yamamoto: Because the world is the market. WWE was very successful with that.
It worked well because we made it a market not only in the United States, but also in the world.
▲ Negotiations with Pandita fighters to purchase masks
Director: The number of people in each country, each country, is very small.
People who are enthusiastic enthusiasts who want to buy Japan things.
It's limited, but people like that have the energy to spend their lives.
I want to deliver it to that person.
It's not just one in 10,000, it's one in 10 million.
I want to connect with one of them.
Tarzan Yamamoto: Crackling. It's the ultimate in global development with minor power.
There's still a lot of potential.
Director: Yes. Let's see.
Tarzan Yamamoto: Don't settle for the status quo, but how do you catch that frame?
It's about designing and creating clearly.
That's a question that's always being asked. The one who does that becomes the winner.
You're on the cutting edge of the times.
There are always vacant houses. If you ask me.
There are vacant houses. It's about whether you can find it.
▲ Reporting events held after returning to Japan
Director: Yes. Thank you.
So, in the blink of an eye, it exceeded 2 hours. That's all for today.
Tarzan Yamamoto: Thank you very much. Tell an important and valuable story.
It was the first time I learned about the actual situation of the director.
Director: Hahaha. I think I exposed it to the very last minute.
Tarzan Yamamoto: I didn't know that until now.
To put it bluntly, very good. I was surprised by the flow and the orderliness, and the points were clear.
Director: Wow! (Guts Pose) Really?
This was one-on-one with the teacher, so I feel like I was able to talk to him without hesitation.
I'm not confident at all in speaking, so I'd be happy if the teacher could praise me like this and stretch me (wry smile)
Tarzan Yamamoto: It's okay. Please transcribe it.
Director: I'm embarrassed about myself. I've never talked to people before, so this time, when I talked to them, I realized something.
It's more like a history of my personal struggle than a memorial of Toudoukan (wry smile).
Because of this angle, I roughly cut out the fun memories that I could talk about on the 20th anniversary (wry smile).
Tarzan Yamamoto: No, that's it. Because the output is the expression. Where to cut out.
It seems to be the director. I can't usually talk about it all in two hours like this.
Director: Thank you very much. When I talk about it, it's kind of refreshing (laughs).
Tarzan Yamamoto: It's refreshing, isn't it?