Takumi Armory: Bringing Fantasy RPG Weapons to Life

Calling all fantasy lovers! If you’re like us, you’ve probably had dreams of wielding a weapon and embarking on an adventure to slay monsters and discover treasure. If that’s the case, then this company is one that will help bring your dreams one step closer to reality. We sat down with Takumi Orii, the head of the Takumi Kogei factory and Takumi Armory weapons shop to talk about his reasons for starting the company, what goes into crafting a weapon and his goals for the future.

Interview

Why did you decide to start this company?

So the parent company is Takumi Kogei and then there’s the fantasy weapons brand Takumi Armory. First you’d like to know about Takumi Kogei?

Yes please.

From the age of 19 to 30, before I started my business, I worked at the same plastic manufacturing company. When I was 30, I started Takumi Kogei. Having worked on making various items, by the time I was 25 I started thinking that I really wanted to make the kinds of things that I liked. There’s a machine called a CNC router that can automatically cut things like acrylic and plastic. They didn’t have one where I worked, but I really wanted to work a job where I could use it. So I quit my job and took out a loan of 10,000,000 yen to start my company. More than anything, I wanted to use a CNC router at my job. That was the start.

From there you used the CNC router to make the weapons brand?

That’s right. I couldn’t use it right away though. I started the company in 2008 and I started making the weapons in 2012. For about 4 years I didn’t make any weapons at all. After starting the business, I thought it would be easy to manage and to get work but I was completely mistaken. I couldn’t get any work at all. From 2008 it was just a neverending cycle of it being so different from what I imagined. That was also the start.

The reason why I really wanted to use the CNC router was because it can precisely cut the shape of something. Even something like a circle, for example, when you cut it out by hand, no matter how hard you try it’s always a bit shaky. But with a CNC router you can smoothly cut a circle.

You can make precise shapes.

That’s right. I wanted to make those kinds of precise shapes. One more thing is that I love Gundam. Ever since I was in elementary school, my first Gundam series was with Amuro Ray and Char Aznable and I really admired them. Amuro Ray piloting a Gundam and me working with the CNC router was the same thing in my mind. Using a CNC router was like riding in a Gundam. It was the feeling of handling a robot that made me feel like Amuro Ray who I greatly admired so I really wanted one.

We think we can understand those feelings. It makes work much more fun.

Precisely. It would be more fun. Is what I thought when I bought it, but the reality was the complete opposite.

That’s tough.

Yes, it was a tough 2008, 2009 and 2010 and beyond. After those tough 4 years I decided to make weapons. I was in a period of depression and I encountered weapon making.

So what sort of products and services do you offer? You’ve already mentioned weapons.

Our most frequently produced products from about 2008 until we started making weapons and continuing till now are shop signs. For example, a sign for an udon shop or a company logo that you would see on the side of a building.

They’re all made from plastic right?

Yes, so we make many signs using plastic. Other than that we also make machine covers for use in factories for safety purposes. Those are the main things.

As part of the weapons shop, you also make things like keychains right?

Yes, for the fantasy weapons shop we make weapons and keychains. Apart from weapons, we also make props for theatrical productions. It’s what is known as set design.

We saw on your homepage that you also do things for theme parks?

That’s right, we also do jobs for various theme parks.

What would you say are the benefits of your products?

We make lots of products. What product would you like to know about?

How about the weapons?

In terms of the weapons, the first thing is that they are light. You can see that huge sword over there, right? At first glance, it looks pretty heavy but it’s something that our female models have no problem holding and posing with. We made it especially so that you can pose and take cool pictures. It’s something that I’m particular about and it’s one of the benefits. Of course, if it’s too heavy you can’t strike a cool pose because you’re struggling. You won’t have that problem with the weapons we make. Furthermore, it looks heavy due to the way it’s painted. It’s colored to give it a metallic look. That’s another benefit.

The other types of weapons we have are very shiny. Unlike metal and steel, these have a finish that is unique to acrylic and plastic. It’s very shiny and looks like a sword made from a magical crystal. It has a very strong fantasy feel.

When you hold it it definitely doesn’t feel like acrylic.

It has a good heft to it without being too light.

It definitely doesn’t feel cheap, it feels like “this is a good weapon”.

That’s very important when we’re making it. It doesn’t feel cheap and feels like something meant for adults.

It doesn’t feel handmade at all.

That’s one of the benefits.

How do you come up with weapon ideas for Takumi Armory? There’s quite a variety.

That’s right, we have a wide range. Personally, I’m influenced by the fantasy and video games I’ve loved since elementary school. I’m also just good at imagining and designing. Plus my staff all like games so they all design. First we use paper and pencil, and then a week later we all give our contributions and decide which one is the coolest design. The one with the most votes gets made.

With that in mind, what is the creation process like?

The first part of the process is drawing it with pencil and paper. From there we scan it onto a computer and use Adobe Illustrator to make a clean copy of the rough sketch. Then we enlarge it and decide on the size. Once we decide on the size, we convert it to data that the CNC router can read and it cuts out the shape in acrylic. It does this automatically. After that we work on it by hand, smoothing it out with sandpaper, pasting together the parts and adding color with an airbrush.

How long does it take? For example, if you’re making a very large sword?

For that, it would take around 2 weeks. The smaller daggers take about a day, but they’re each made by hand.

You conduct many workshops and seminars. Can you explain their contents?

I’m a craftsman and a creator, so I want to convey the joy of making something with your hands. You can make anything, but if a workshop takes too long you won’t have a finished product. So we always make keychains. It’s easy, and we make crystal keychains with everyone. We had an exhibit at the Japan Tours Festival 2022 in France. It’s about 2 hours by train south of Paris. At that time we made crystal keychains with people from Tours. We often do workshops in Japan as well. If it’s Japan, there’s a lot more that we can prepare so we can do things like hands-on metal painting workshops. We also take PET bottles, add color, and turn them into pen stands. That’s what we do in Japan.

Is that across the entire country?

Yes. We get called to cosplay events, and we go as a weapons maker and also do workshops. The times when we go just as a weapons maker is much more frequent though. It’s very interesting.

What’s a current or future goal that you are working towards?

We have a game where you use a real sword to battle. I want to expand that game and make a theme park where you can have a real RPG experience. The theme park will include lodgings so you can stay overnight. You’d start off with a small weapon and fight weak monsters. When you win then you move up to a bigger weapon and the monsters get stronger. Finally, you’ll fight with the biggest weapon and defeat the final boss. Before that though, you’ll eat monster meat, sleep at the lodgings, and fight the final boss the next day. That’s the kind of theme park I want to make.

If you make that please call us!

I’ll definitely call you. Roasting monster meat and eating it on the bone is fun. You would form a party of about 4 members, and while eating dinner, you would discuss your battle strategy and tactics for defeating the final boss. I really want to make that a reality.

We really want to try that.

Everyone wants to give it a go, so I have to make it take shape.

That’s a great dream.

So this space is the first step towards that. It’s a demo space, and from here, I want to keep building upon it and get bigger and bigger.

Finally, can people purchase your products from overseas?

I’m not skilled when it comes to dealing with things overseas. I can’t speak English, and when we get mail from overseas I can’t reply. I don’t know how to ship overseas from here either. I want to be able to do all that, but right now I’m at 0%. Right now, it’s just Japan.

So when travellers come to Japan they can either buy from here or via a pop up store?

Yes, that’s the only option for now.

This is such an amazing weapons shop we’d love for it to be available overseas. It’s a shame.

Yes, I definitely want more people overseas to know about us.

Do you know about LARPing (live action role-playing)?

I’ve never done it, but I’ve heard about it.

We definitely think that people who like LARPing would appreciate your weapons. In America, there’s the culture of Renaissance fairs. It’s a big festival themed after England in the 16th century, and lots of people carry weapons.

It sounds very fantastical.

That’s right, it’s a place that recreates a fantasy world. So we definitely think that people who like renaissance fairs would appreciate your weapons.

Is it held in England?

It’s mostly America, but they recreate the atmosphere of medieval England. They’ve become extremely popular lately.

That all sounds like so much fun. Wearing armor, wielding a sword and taking photos.

Little kids would wear costumes too.

That sounds like the perfect environment. I definitely want to go.

Wrap Up

Thank you to Takumi Orii for his time and to the rest of the Takumi Kogei staff for accommodating us! For more information on Takumi Kogei and Takumi Armory be sure to check out their home page and their official SNS accounts.

Takumi Kogei Homepage

Takumi Armory Homepage

Official Instagram

Official X

Photos by Mar Arungay