Fuji Enterprise (Part 2) : 1975

We continue with the Fuji Enterprise group, this time for the year 1975. Here is what we will discuss:

- The composition of the group and its official resellers
- The games published in 1975
- Some reflections and questions to conclude

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The group

An advertisement for Fuji Enterprise in the April 10, 1975 issue of Game Machine gives us an overview of the official resellers of the Fuji Enterprise group.

The group consists of:

- A main branch, based in Tôkyô
- A secondary branch based in Sapporo (Hokkaidō). The foundation of this branch was announced on March 20, 1975, in Game Machine. Its president is Masaaki Yamada (山田正昌).

In addition to these, there are official resellers. 

One of them has a name that brings back memories...

The Jônan Blondie Enigma

Jônan Blondie (城南ブロンディ): Based on its name and its address in Ôta-ku (大田区) (Tokyo), Jônan Blondie could be a remnant of the former Blondie group. This company would then be older than the Fuji Enterprise group. 

Jônan Blondie cannot legally be part of the Fuji Enterprise group because it is not incorporated, meaning it does not have a "Kabushiki Kaisha" (株式会社) or "Yûgen Kaisha" (有限会社) legal status. A sole proprietorship (個人事業) cannot be part of an incorporated group. However, there is no doubt that a close connection exists with the Fuji Enterprise group.

The other offical resellers

Regarding the other companies on the list, they are not seen anywhere else except in the lists of official resellers of Fuji Enterprise products (with one exception). 

This could indicate that, although legally independent, they are economically dependent on Fuji Enterprise. Alternatively, it could mean that arcade game trading is only a part of their activities.

- Ace Kôki (エース工機): Based in Higashi-Ôsaka. It is the only company on the list based in the Kansai region. Ace Kôki appears for the last time in an advertisement on November 11, 1975.

- Dôsan Jitsugyô (動産実業): Based in Morioka (Iwate Prefecture). Its name literally means "Movable Property Business," implying that it may have sold more than just arcade games. Dôsan Jitsugyô is not an incorporated company.

- Sanshin (山信): Based in Shibuya (Tokyo).

- Dai Ichi Leisure Seiki (第一レジャー精機): Based in Setagaya (Tokyo). The company quickly disappeared from the network as it last appeared in advertisements on April 30, 1975.

- Vital Shôji (バイタル商事): Based in Furukawa (Miyagi Prefecture).

...and then there is the company Gulf, which is quite a special case on this list.

Gulf

Gulf (ガルフ) is based in Jôetsu (Niigata Prefecture). It differs from the companies above as it is very active and works with other major companies in the arcade game industry, such as Kawakusu (カワクス) or Universal (ユニバーサル). It is an essential player on the coast of Japan's Inland Sea. The company operates several game centers, engages in leasing, and, of course, sells machines. Gulf went bankrupt in December 1977. It was the second company of Haruo Inoue (井上治雄)^{1 2}. Haruo Inoue would later become the president of the infamous company Falcon (ファルコン), which produced the video game Crazy Kong and numerous bootlegs.

Of course, other companies like Tsumura also sell Fuji Enterprise games. However, they are distributors, not official resellers.

An official reseller is contractually bound to the manufacturer. They must apply the sales conditions set by the manufacturer and provide after-sales service according to the manufacturer's terms.

A distributor buys large quantities of machines for resale. They can offer better prices but do not provide the same guarantees.

Fuji Lease

Fuji Lease (フジ・リース) is revealed in an article in the June 1, 1975 issue of Game Machine (page 2), though it probably existed earlier. 

We first learn that the president (社長) of Fuji Enterprise is a certain Takeo Ueyama (上山武夫). 

In a much later issue (page 2), it is mentioned that Tokuzô Uragami (浦上徳三), former president of Blondie, is the chairman (会長) of the group.

Here is what we learn about Fuji Lease :

"The Fuji Group is steadily progressing with the establishment of medal game centers through Fuji Lease. 

According to Takeo Ueyama, President of Fuji Enterprise, which is the core company of the group, as of the end of May, they had already opened 25 locations.

Recently, new locations have been established under the unified name "Casino Plaza" in cities such as Sapporo (札幌), Chitose (千歳), Shizunai (静内), and Hakodate (函館) in Hokkaidô, Yokogawa-machi (横川町) in Hiroshima, and Akabane (赤羽) and Ueno (上野) in the Kantô region. 

The total number of locations is expected to increase to around 40 by the end of this year. 

These locations are not large-scale medal game centers but rather mid-sized venues of about 20 tsubo (approximately 66 square meters). 

The policy is to cover as many surrounding cities as possible. 

Of course, no exchange of medals for cash is conducted, ensuring a clean and legally compliant operation. 

The Fuji Group is highly motivated to directly establish locations as a way to assess the future of the medal game industry, and their upcoming achievements will be closely watched."

Fuji Lease is responsible for opening and operating game centers across Japan. Judging by the company's name, one can also assume that Fuji Lease handles or previously handled leasing within the group.

The president of Fuji Lease is not known until much later, in the December 1, 1976 issue of Game Machine (page 2). His name is then Takeshi Miyaoka (宮岡武司).

Now that we have a better understanding of the Fuji Enterprise group, let's take a look at the games published in 1975.

The Games

Continuing with a formula that works, Fuji Enterprise exclusively publishes lottery/derby-type games (with one exception). 

Some games are clearly updates of previous ones. Therefore, I will prioritize presenting the games by similarity (when possible) rather than in chronological order.

Derby Four (ダービー・フォー)

Derby Four was released in early 1975. 

As with the derby-type games from the previous year, players choose a combination of two numbers from 1 to 7. Two lights move from slot to slot until they come to a complete stop. The two numbers where the lights stop indicate the winning combination. 

In Derby Four, 4 players can participate simultaneously. In other words, Derby Four seems to be Sounder Boy for 4 players. 

It is also sold under the name Sander Four (サンダーフォー) according to a picture on the Nazox website .

Sounder Stop (サンダーストップ)

Sounder Stop was released in September 1975. 

Apparently, it is an update of Sounder Boy. 

It is the "first game of the 'Stop' series," according to the advertisement. 

Two 'Stop' buttons were added for each circle, allowing players to stop the light by pressing a button. 

A 'coin meter' indicator was also added, supposedly to measure the token level in the machine and thus indicate the jackpot amount. 

Additionally, players can play Sounder Stop using 100-yen coins instead of tokens.

Ultra Boy (ウルトラ・ボーイ)

Ultra Boy is known from the 1976 Amusement Machines Yearbook ('76 遊戯機械名鉱) published in November 1975, with excerpts available on Nazox's website. 

The only available information is the photo above. 

The button layout has changed slightly, making it unclear whether a 'Stop' function still exists. 

A row of slots has been added, which, when compared to other machines, I suspect is used for a second-chance draw.

Derby Boy (ダービーボーイ)

Derby Boy is known from the same source. 

Due to the lack of information, comparing the photos of Ultra Boy and Derby Boy makes it difficult to determine the difference between these two games.

Wonderful 6 (ワンダフル・シクス)

I couldn't find an image of Wonderful 6. 

Fortunately, there was one in the database of the site "A Foreigner's Guide to Eremeka Arcades". 

The resemblance between Wonderful 6 (or rather, Wonderful Race 6?) and Grand National Mark III - Jumbo Derby (released the previous year) is striking, suggesting it is an update. 

It is a derby game for 6 players. 

In its AM Show '75 presentation, it was stated that the game follows the 'Renshô Fukushiki' (連勝複式) rule, meaning that to win, one must find the first two horses, but not necessarily in the correct order.

International Dreifach (インターナショナル・ドライファッハ)

International Dreifach is another lottery/derby game. 

The game can be played by up to four players. There may be additional rules compared to a standard derby game, but I am not certain.

Harness Darby (ハーネスダービー)

Harness Darby appears to be a new version of International Dreifach (or is it Tsumura's version ?). 

It is difficult to say if anything has changed beyond the visual design. 

International Dreifach appeared in a Game Machine advertisement in April 1975, whereas Harness Derby was introduced later at the AM Show '75 in October. 

The image is from the site A Foreigner’s Guide to Eremeka Arcades. 

Harness Deluxe (ハーネスデラックス)

Released in early 1975, Harness Deluxe is another lottery/derby game. 

While the core mechanics remain the same as other derby games, the random result is not determined by lights but by jockeys on horses racing around a track. 

This game can be played by up to 10 players simultaneously.

Harness Deluxe is clearly heavily inspired by Harness Race, which was published by Sega the previous year.

The machine’s name was later changed to Harness Deluxe 10 when additional versions of different sizes were released.

Harness Deluxe 5 (ハーネスデラックス5)

Also released around late 1975. 

This is a five-player version of Harness Deluxe.

Harness Deluxe 20 (ハーネスデラックス20)

Released around late 1975. 

Harness Deluxe 20 follows the same principles as Harness Deluxe, but the machine is longer, allowing up to 20 players to participate.

Derby Grand Prix Coin (ダービーグランプリコイン)

Wipe

Fuji Enterprise

Another lottery/derby-style game. 

This one looks so similar to Derby Grand Prix from the company Wipe (ワイプ) that the same photo was used in the 1976 Amusement Machine Yearbook. 

It is unclear whether this is Wipe’s machine being resold by Fuji Enterprise or simply a copy.

Metal Fighter (メタル・ファイター)

Metal Fighter is NOT a lottery/derby game. 

It is described as a mix between a medal gun and Penny Falls (i.e., a money-pusher game). The name of the game is somewhat confusing because, in Game Machine, it is referred to as Medal Fighter (メダル・ファイター), which seems more logical.

I could not find a photo of Medal Fighter, but once again, the database from A Foreigner’s Guide to Eremeka Arcades comes to the rescue. 

In this photo, a game called Metal Fighter can be seen, and Fuji Enterprise’s logo is visible in small print on the machine.

Tsumura released the same machine under a different name—Jaguar Shooter (ジャガーシューター)—with a different visual design. 

Both machines debuted at the AM Show at the same time.

These were all the games published by Fuji Enterprise in 1975, but a few remarks and questions remain.

Some mysteries

Fuji Sepuro

In the advertisement for Sounder Stop, a small note mentions 'Type Approval Number' (TAN) 91-10800, corresponding to the company Fuji Sepuro (フジセプロ). 

This indicates that this company manufactured Sounder Stop. 

This is the second time we encounter this company, as it also produced Sounder Boy in 1974. 

If Fuji Sepuro manufactured two small derby medal games for Fuji Enterprise, it could have potentially produced all of them, including larger ones like Harness Deluxe. Who knows?

Unfortunately, little is known about Fuji Sepuro. 

The TAN was issued on October 3, 1974. 

Considering that a TAN is typically valid for five years and that no further TANs were issued, we can conclude that Fuji Sepuro no longer existed by 1980. Fuji Sepuro's address is 東京都新宿区下落合4-15-7 (Tokyo-to, Shinjuku-ku, Shimoochiai 4-15-7), but this does not provide further insight. 

The real question is: Was Fuji Sepuro part of the Fuji Enterprise group? This could determine whether Fuji Enterprise was a full-fledged game manufacturer or merely a publisher.

It's from a later period, but in the '78 Amusement Machines Yearbook ('78遊戯機械総合年鑑) (page 138), Fuji Enterprise describes its activities as follows: "Manufacturing, sales, and leasing of gaming machines, operation of game centers."

Perhaps it is true that Fuji Enterprise was indeed manufacturing its own games after all.

Tsumura

Once again this year, Fuji Enterprise and Tsumura shared the same booth at the AM Show. 

Tsumura primarily sells Fuji Enterprise machines, sometimes with different visual graphics and names.

One might wonder about the nature of the relationship between Tsumura and Fuji Enterprise. 

These two companies are undoubtedly very closely connected. But why?

Here are a few hypotheses. They do not contradict each other:

- Tokuzô Uragami, president of Fuji Enterprise, stated in the past (in the article about Blondie) that he had helped various people establish their own arcade machine sales businesses. Mimoji Tsumura could be one of those people.

- As seen in previous articles, part of Tokuzô Uragami’s business involved handling debt-related matters. Could it be that Tsumura is indebted to Fuji Enterprise and has to work to repay this debt?

- Tokuzô Uragami and Mimoji Tsumura might simply be friends. Business relationships often start as personal relationships.

- Fuji Enterprise is based in the Kantō region, while Tsumura is in Kansai. The only official Fuji Enterprise seller in Kansai was Ace Kōki, which seemed to be a small-scale operation and disappeared at the end of 1975. Fuji Enterprise may be dependent on Tsumura in Kansai and provides favorable business terms in exchange.

Conclusion

Of course, some mysteries remain unsolved, but we now have a clearer understanding of the economic ecosystem in which Fuji Enterprise operated. 

We also comprehend its strategy, centered around lottery/derby-type medal games.

In the next article, this strategy will change completely. 

In 1976, Fuji Enterprise will become one of the first Japanese companies to enter the era of video games. 

We will also witness the sudden emergence and equally sudden disappearance of a new company.

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¹ https://search.kanpoo.jp/r/19751226h14695p25-5a/ ↩

² https://onitama.tv/gamemachine/pdf/19780115p.pdf (page 3) ↩

Fuji Enterprise (Part 1) : 1973-1974

After the bankruptcy of Blondie Group (ブロンディ) in May 1973, the company was reborn as Fuji Enterprise (フジ・エンタープライズ) in June 1973. Here we will discuss the period from its rebirth until the end of 1974.

A gap in the records

Between summer 1973 and summer 1974, the activities of the new company remain unclear. 

However, we can guess that two sectors were growing in importance: arcade game sales and game center operations.

Fuji Enterprise doesn't appear anywhere in the December 1973 issue of Amusement Sangyô (アミューズメント産業) magazine, nor in the January 1974 issue. This could indicate that there were no new games released during the period.1

Mini Derby

The only certainty regarding games: Fuji Enterprise continued to sell Mini Derby.

https://aucview.aucfan.com/yahoo/f1032842105/

Actually, I had missed it before, but there are two versions of Mini Derby, both by Ômori Denki (大森電気).

https://www.fromjapan.co.jp/japan/fr/special/order/confirm/https%3A%2F%2Fjp.mercari.com%2Fitem%2Fm53684894069/13_1/

Lottery/derby type games were based on an American game from the 40s/50s called Winter Book. This has been well explained in articles by Caitlyn and Nazox2016 

Mini Derby must have been very successful because many companies started selling very similar copies throughout Japan. Similarly, Fuji Enterprise's business strategy until 1976 would mainly consist of selling various versions of Winter Book/Mini Derby.

But before getting into details, we need to talk about how Fuji Enterprise dealt with bad payers. This happened in 1974.

Japan Leisure, Oga Corporation and Fuji Enteprise

For this, let's start by talking about Japan Leisure by quoting this site which features a biography of Yoshiaki Kanazawa (金沢義秋), president of Japan Leisure (ジャパンレジャー), which would later become Jaleco (ジャレコ):

"Jaleco was founded in 1971 by Yoshiaki Kanazawa as a sole proprietorship called "Japan Leisure." Initially, Mr. Kanazawa's main business was running restaurants. He acquired the management rights of a struggling steak restaurant located in front of Shibuya Parco, transformed it into a Western-style grill restaurant, and expanded it into a chain of three outlets.

 So why did Mr. Kanazawa decide to enter the amusement business? It was because one of his university classmates lost his job, and that same classmate approached him with a proposal: 'Why not join forces to start a machine rental business for jukeboxes, pinball machines, and game machines that use a crane to grab tobacco prizes?'

Intrigued, Mr. Kanazawa initially took on the role not of a co-manager but of a sponsor, providing around 10 million yen in funding while leaving the management of the machine rental business in his friend's hands."

 This company was Oga Corporation.

https://onitama.tv/gamemachine/pdf/19740810p.pdf, page 4

Oga Corporation is a sole proprietorship founded by Kazuki (Kazumi?) Ogawa (小川一公).

According to this advertisement, among the rental games were Derby Triple 300 (ダービートリプル300) and Big Time Roulette (ビッグタイムルーレット) :

- Derby Triple 300 is a game in the lineage of Mini Derby. More information about this game here. It was manufactured by Taiyô Giken (大洋技研)(TAN: 91-9428), a company based in Kobe.

- Big Time Roulette is an import. It's a money-pusher sold by the English company Crompton.

Kazuki Ogawa may not have had a good business sense because things went wrong quickly.

"However, once the rental business got underway, the deficits kept mounting rapidly. When Mr. Kanazawa reviewed the financial accounts, he discovered that his friend's management was all talk. The warehouse was filled with a mountain of game machines that had been purchased, and to make matters worse, a burglary occurred at the warehouse in which all the game machines were stolen—a huge blow."

 Maybe it's just my imagination, but we're dealing with a burglary at an entertainment sector company that's heavily in debt, in 1970s Japan. Doesn't this strongly remind you of yakuza clan action? Just a feeling.

And things would get even worse, as shown in this Game Machine article (page 2).

"Oga Corporation, a prominent player in domestic game machine sales, issued a bounced check in early December, making bankruptcy inevitable. The company had been handling a wide range of domestic game machines as well as imported machines such as slot machines, but insiders believe that its overly broad expansion led to difficulties in settling payments. According to reports, the total debt is estimated to be around 130 million yen, and among the creditors affected are Fuji Enterprises, Japan Leisure, Esco Trading (エスコ貿易), Ducks Trading (ダックス貿易), Kaishin Kôgyô (開進工業), and Cosmo Shôkai (コスモ商会)."2

 Let's take a quick look at all the creditors mentioned. We have:

- Esco Trading. This is Japan's largest distributor. The company would be bought by Sega in 1979 and its president Hayao Nakayama would later become Sega's president.
- Ducks Trading. A distributor but also the sales agency for manufacturer Amco (アムコ)(same group). The company would go bankrupt in 1976 and its president would become a fugitive.
- Kaishin Kôgyô and Cosmo Shôkai. No information on these companies but they are both apparently sole proprietorship companies.
- Japan Leisure

- Fuji Enterprise (not Enterprises). The company appears to be Oga Corporation's primary creditor.

The situation is critical. Yoshiaki Kanazawa's biography sheds light on what happened next:

"Determined to recoup at least the amount he had invested, Mr. Kanazawa decided to step into the amusement industry while still managing his restaurant business. In October 1974, the sole proprietorship "Japan Leisure" was incorporated as Japan Leisure Co., Ltd. (株式会社) with a capital of 3 million yen and 20 employees, with the dual purpose of engaging in the amusement and restaurant businesses. Then, in December of that same year, the company suddenly issued a bounced check for 30 million yen. 

The chain of setbacks that began with his friend's poor management was enormous.

However, Mr. Kanazawa did not run away at that point. Instead, he first sent his wife and children to take refuge in his hometown of Nakatsu; then, facing his creditors, he pleaded, 'Please allow me to repay you little by little from the restaurant's revenue.' This appeal prevented a second bounced check—which would have resulted in the company's bankruptcy. 

While the amusement business was in shambles, the game machines operation shifted from rentals to sales. Meanwhile, the management of the three restaurants was running smoothly, generating monthly sales of 7 to 8 million yen, and Mr. Kanazawa managed to pay off all his debts over a period of three years. 

Having finally cleared his debts and taken a breath, Mr. Kanazawa became convinced:

'In this industry, rental and sales businesses yield very little profit. We have to be a manufacturer (maker).' 

By the fourth year of the company's existence, even the game machine sales business had started to turn a profit."3

One might wonder why Yoshiaki Kanazawa needed to hide his wife and children from creditors. What would have happened to them otherwise?

In any case, this is how Japan Leisure/Jaleco was born. It's also how Japan Leisure and Fuji Enterprise started working together. A strong relationship about which we don't know much, but we'll talk about it at the very end.

Shall we talk about the games now?

Games released in 1974

 Fuji Enterprise participated in Game Festival '74 ('74ゲームフェスティバル) in Osaka on October 20 and 21, 1974. This was the most important event of the year. It's where the main companies in the sector presented their new products and tried to establish contracts. Fuji Enterprise and Tsumura did something unique: they shared a booth. And they would do so again in 1975 and 1976. These two companies therefore had privileged ties. Tsumura was founded in January 1973 (perhaps with Tokuzô Uragami's help?). It was primarily a distributor, meaning it bought games from other companies in large quantities before reselling them to smaller distributors or game center operators. However, Tsumura occasionally produced its own games, making it sometimes difficult to know whether certain games were produced by Fuji Enterprise or by Tsumura.

https://onitama.tv/gamemachine/pdf/19741020p

In the bottom photo, in the foreground, we can see Tokuzô Uragami (浦上徳三) discussing with Mimoji Tsumura (津村三百次), the president of Tsumura.

Here are the games presented at the booth:

Grand National (グランドナショナル)

We can't see it clearly in the photo above but it seems to be a 6-player derby game.

By the way, Grand National Mark III - Jumbo Derby (ジャンボ・ダービー), featured in a Tsumura advertisement in the same issue, might be the same game. If not, it's an update.

V6 (ブィ・シックス)

https://aucview.aucfan.com/yahoo/f1032842105/

This is more of a casino accessory than an arcade game. It's a large wheel for playing Big Wheels/Big 6, a simplified version of roulette and a casino classic.

It's more likely a Tsumura product because, in a later advertisement (page 4), Tsumura mentions that it manufactures and sells casino items.

Big6 (ビッグ・シックス)

A 5-player medal game that follows Big 6 rules.

Derby Triple (ダービートリプル)

Oh... wait! Isn't this the game sold by Oga Corporation? We even find Big Time Roulette.

?

There's one last game that I can't identify.

It looks like Victory's games, doesn't it?

In the end, we realize that all machines marketed by Fuji Enterprise are games of chance, which could potentially be transformed into gambling games if they fall into the wrong hands. In Japan, these machines are called "G-machines" (Gマシン). In the United States, they would be called "Grey-Area machines" a few years later. These machines would become less and less tolerated in the arcade industry over the years. For now, they were very popular and Fuji Enterprise intended to develop this activity.

For this year 1974, we have one last game to mention. It was released after the Game Festival.

Sander Boy (サンダーボーイ)

https://onitama.tv/gamemachine/pdf/19741120p.pdf (page 2)

It's a bit tricky but...I'll try to explain why I think this name isn't correct and this photo isn't either :

- First, why talk about Sander Boy when it's Ace Kôki (エース工機) that's promoting it? We'll see later but Ace Kôki's only known activity was selling Fuji Enterprise products. Sander Boy is therefore, in my opinion, a Fuji Enterprise product.

- Then, even if this photo is blurry, we can make out a sticker with the image of a mother kangaroo with a baby in her pouch. This is the logo of Osaka Pacific Vending (大阪パシフィックベンディング), also called Pavco (パブコ), a major manufacturer of small medal games. And indeed, Pavco released a game called Wander Boy (ワンダーボーイ) earlier in 1974

https://aucview.aucfan.com/yahoo/m1075361030/

Sander Boy and Wander Boy are identical.

- I think this advertisement wasn't drawn by Ace Kôki, but by the Game Machine staff. More broadly, I think that in 1974, most advertisements in this magazine were "home-made." 

As proof, here's the advertisement right next to the previous one. 

It indicates that Chance Maker (チャンスメーカー) is a Ducks Trading game. 

However, in the following issue, Game Machine publishes an erratum to apologize because Chance Maker is actually a Tôwa Bussan (東和物産) game. Could such an error have occurred if Tôwa Bussan had made its own advertisement? What I mean is that the same kind of approximation could have occurred in the "Sander Boy" advertisement because Ace Kôki didn't make the advertisement.

- And finally, to make things even clearer, there exists a game published by Fuji Enterprise called Sounder Boy

https://aucview.aucfan.com/yahoo/e1102373607/

In Japanese, Sander Boy and Sounder Boy are both written as "サンダーボーイ".

Apart from the logo, there's no apparent difference between Sander Boy, Sounder Boy, and Wander Boy. In fact, if there was no agreement between Fuji Enterprise and Pavco, we're dealing with an unscrupulous plagiarism.

To summarize, I think someone from Ace Kôki called Game Machine and said "Hello, I would like an advertisement for "サンダーボーイ", please. Here's the information to write. I don't have the machine yet so I can't send you a photo. But you can use a photo of Wander Boy and modify the title. That will work fine."

And Pavco isn't the manufacturer. On the Aucfan advertisment for Sounder Boy, the plate on the back of the machine is too small to read the manufacturer's name. But the advertisment itself mentions that the manufacturer is Fuji Sepuro (フジセプロ). We'll talk more about Fuji Sepuro in the next part.

Conclusion

That's all for the year 1974. Since it was a bit long, let's say this was part one and stop here.

The pace of new game releases would accelerate in 1975. We'll also talk a bit about Fuji Enterprise's structure in the next part.

To be continued.

---

1. Thanks to Caitlyn, Detchibe, and Gaming Alexandria for sharing these scans ↑

2. There's something a bit strange about the dates in this article. The article is from November 1974 but indicates that Oga Corporation issued a bounced check in December. It might be a date error, but it seems there's a lag between the official date and the actual publication date of Game Machine journal in the 1974 issues. For example, the October 20, 1974 issue shows photos of the Game Festival taking place on October 20 and 21, 1974 ↑

3. Small detail: in the book "Jaleco's Archives" (City Connection publishing, 2016), Yoshiaki Kanazawa specifically mentions that Japan Leisure entered the amusement industry through leasing (リース), not rental (レンタル). ↑

Blondie

 For the opening of this blog, I decided to revisit and rework some threads I had written on X. X's format, particularly the character limit, seems particularly difficult and frustrating for clearly developing certain ideas. 

On this blog, we will discuss various companies from the arcade game industry and the golden age of video games. These companies played a pioneering role in the advent of the video game industry but have today fallen into obscurity.
I would like to start with Blondie (ブロンディー or ブロンディ).

What is Blondie? 

Well, there is a very famous music group that bears this name, but this has nothing to do with it.

Blondie was a Japanese arcade company from the 60s/70s. The video game industry didn't exist yet. Their business plan primarily consisted of leasing arcade games.

In other words, they rented arcade games, such as pinball machines or UFO catchers, to neighborhood businesses like snack bars or hotels. These businesses would pay installments at regular intervals. They could stop payments at any time and return the machine. Or they could go until the last installment, and the machine would then be permanently acquired.

This was apparently a lucrative business since Blondie was a group that included 16 companies across Japan, about 200 employees, and more than 1,500 machines on lease in the early 70s. Its headquarters is "a small building in North Shinjuku". This could be the Takazawa Building (高沢ビル), as it's the first address of the company that would succeed Blondie (address: 東京都新宿区北新宿一の七の二十一 / 1-7-21, Kita-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tôkyô).

Takazawa Building

In the forgotten corners of history

And yet, despite its size, Blondie is totally forgotten today, even by those interested in gaming history. Sources are practically non-existent on the internet.

However, if we dig a little, in the weekly magazine Shûkan Sankei (週刊サンケイ) (issues 13/10/1972 and 20/10/1972), there is an 8-page article with firsthand information. I ordered and received a copy of this article from the Diet National Library. This article is a transcription of a conference titled "Seminar on how to become rich" (金儲けセミナー). The speaker is... the president of Blondie himself, Tokuzô Uragami (浦上徳三). During this conference, he briefly discusses his early years, then the events that led him to create his company, as well as some anecdotes and advice on becoming a successful entrepreneur.

The president

Let's start with Tokuzô Uragami. 

Tokuzô Uragami (浦上徳三), president of Blondie

The early days

He was born in 1931. At the age of 6, he became an apprentice in a kimono store and was unable to attend school properly. Around the age of 20, he became "a champion of boxing with a record of twenty consecutive victories in the welterweight category.". He also mentions that he worked in bread-making for a time.

The turning point

Around 1962, while working as a building contractor, a disastrous event changed his life.

He "was conned" under obscure circumstances and lost ownership of his mortgaged house. Furthermore, he barely managed to pay off his debts and found himself penniless.
Then he had to go to the Ebara police station (as a victim, I guess) in Ôta ward (大田区), Tôkyô. 

As it's difficult to explain what happened there in all its nuances, I'll limit myself to a quote:

"Next to me, sitting on the investigator's side, were two men. I heard that one was a snack bar owner, but the other's business was not clear. That mysterious person was bragging excessively, saying things like, 'Hey, if you can't pay, I'll have to take back the goods!' The owner of the snack was pleading with the detective in front, 'Can't something be done, officer? I've already paid nine out of ten monthly installments,' leaning against him.

Without thinking, I interjected into the conversation, 'Just by listening nearby, what nonsense. This guy has paid nine times, and just because he can't make the last payment, this guy here wants to take back the goods. Isn't he an outrageous guy?' But upon closer inspection, it turned out that such an agreement was in place, and the snack owner's argument might not be entirely correct." 

('I want to try that too.') That's when it all began, and the material for it was picked up from the police investigator. So, even now, I don't sleep with my feet pointing towards the Ebara Police Station. Several years later, I went there to express my gratitude. 'Thanks to you, I heard an interesting story, and look, as you can see, I've made money.' The detective who responded at that time, indeed, smiled ironically, saying, 'Cut it out, Uragami, that sounds sarcastic.'"

It seems that the "mysterious person" had a leasing business. It also appears that debt management is a central topic in this profession. Over the course of the article's 8 pages, both subjects, leasing and debt management, are treated with equal importance, but I will concentrate on the amusement machine side.

A first step in the arcade industry

What did Tokuzô Uragami do after leaving the police station anyway? He managed to borrow a total of one hundred thousand yen from various friends and bought three second-hand cranes by paying the first installment. He attached them to the roof of his car for transport and negotiated to install them on the front of a public bath.

Success was not long in coming. The number of machines increased, as did the number of sites.

So we don't know when Blondie officially began as a company, but the business started around 1962 (because Tokuzô Uragami said "about 10 years ago") by operating amusement machines.

It's possible that Blondie maintained this activity as an operator throughout because the company that succeeded Blondie claimed to operate 25 game centers in 1975.

The Blondie's machines

Initially, Blondie was an amusement machine operator, but in 1972 its two main activities are the leasing and producing of amusement machines. As for the leasing, Tokuzô Uragami doesn't name any machines, but there are crane machines (which dispense chocolates and cigarettes), "forks" and flippers, among others. I've never seen the word "fork" (フォーク) used to refer to any type of machine, but it is explained to be a kind of mini-crane. Flippers are imported from America. Tokuzô Uragami also mentions "clippers" (クリッパー) but it is probably a typo for "flippers".

We don't know which companies supply the amusement machines, except that Sega Enterprises is one of them.

Blondie also produces its own machines. There are two: Mini Derby and Juke Machine.

Mini Derby is a medal game in which you bet on the winner of a horse race, represented by numbers. The lamp turns in a circle, and if it stops on the number you've chosen, you win the jackpot.

Mini Derby

This type of machine became quite widespread in the 70s, and you can find more information on Caitlyn's excellent blog.

Juke Machine (that's its name) is a jukebox "combining the mechanism of 'Derby' with a music tape box, allowing you to enjoy plenty of music for the number of medals inserted".

In the introduction to the article, Blondie is presented as a manufacturer (製造). However, we know that the manufacturer of Mini Derby is Ômori Denki (大森電気) since it's written on the back of the machine. This Ômori Denki is certainly the same as the future video game maker.

Back side of the Mini Derby machine mentions Ômori Denki (大森電気) as the manufacturer

Strangely enough, Tokuzô Uragami repeatedly claims to have made his fortune with 10-yen coins. Yet both machines work with medals. Maybe 10-yen coins are considered as medals?

The dark side

Finally, there are the gambling machines. And Tokuzô Uragami has this to say about them: 

"These machines are found in snack bars and late-night restaurants. Instead of medals, you insert 100-yen coins or 50-yen coins, and if you win, 100-yen or 50-yen coins come tumbling out. But, as you can imagine, 'gambling' is, without saying, an illicit activity, and if caught, your hands will be tied. We don't engage in this at my place. You understand, right? What I want to say here is that collecting 100-yen or 50-yen coins is disgraceful. It's best to continue efforts, find places to attract customers, and collect 10-yen coins. If 10-yen coins accumulate, it turns into thousands."

It's funny because that's exactly what happened a year earlier. Tokuzô Uragami had his hands tied by the police for suspicion of running a gambling business. He forgot to mention it, but the Tôkyô district court did not. The conclusions of the trial are available for consultation in this archive.

Let's first establish the context of this trial. It pits the president of American Amusement Company (アメリカン・アミユーズメント・カンパニー) against a newspaper (Yomiuri Shinbun) that he accuses of defamation. 
The plaintiff, Toshio 'Harold' Ôie (大家・ハロルド・俊夫), is a former U.S. Army officer. He imports slot machines, probably from Pacific U.S. base stocks, refurbishes them, and resells them on the Japanese market. Suspected of participating in the gambling business by illegally modifying machines, his workshop is raided by the police. A journalist is present and describes the workshop as "clandestine" and "disorganized" in an article. 

More than the substance, it's the tone of the article that is challenged by the plaintiff.

Here are the quotes in which Tokuzô Uragami is involved:

"Around the time the article was reported on May 7, 1971, modified slot machines that allowed gaming with 100-yen coins were placed in cafes and snack bars in Tôkyô without obtaining permission from the Public Safety Commission. The number of such machines reached several hundred in the city. Each slot machine generated profits exceeding several hundred thousand yen per month, becoming a source of funds for organized crime syndicates. In response, the Tôkyô Metropolitan Police Department's Security Department and Atago Police Station took measures to crack down on these activities."

"Around April 5 of the same year, Tokuzô Uragami, a senior member of the organized crime group Himon'ya Family (碑文谷一家), was arrested on suspicion of engaging in gambling activities with the modified slot machines. As a result of the interrogation, it was revealed that Uragami had known the plaintiff Ôie (大家) since around 1967, and the plaintiff had sold several modified slot machines to Uragami."

"Subsequently, Itô Yutaka (伊藤豊), an associate member of the former organized crime group Tôseikai (東声会), was arrested on suspicion of placing two modified slot machines in the mahjong parlor "Kyôgoku" (京極) and forcing customers to gamble. It was revealed that Itô had met the plaintiff Ôie through an introduction from Uragami, bought at least one of the two slot machines from the plaintiff, and had also purchased similar slot machines from the plaintiff. When selling the machine, the plaintiff told Itô, "The game is fast, and you can make much more money than Rotamint, so you should specialize in this machine."

"The gaming machines inside 'Kyôgoku' used 'Olympia Star' cabinets permitted in Japan. However, they were evidently modified in Japan, deviating from the approved conditions. Reel images, originally supplied exclusively to the US military, were affixed. The coin entry was expanded to accommodate 100-yen coins, and the timer motor, necessary for approval, was removed to increase the reel rotation speed. These slot machines were unmistakably recognized as having been altered in Japan, not adhering to the permitted conditions."

In this document, we discover a new side of Tokuzô Uragami. He was not only involved in gambling activities but also an important member of a yakuza group. Is this so surprising? It is notorious that the arcade industry was plagued by organized crime, just as the video game industry would be later. We have here a concrete example, and it sheds new light on the beginning of the article.
In any case, Tokuzô Uragami preferred to sweep his troubles with the police under the rug and carry on with his activities as if nothing had happened.

The Olympia machine

https://segaretro.org/Olympia_Star

As for the Olympia Star machine mentioned in the text, the original machine is not imported but manufactured in Japan by a joint venture between Taito and Sega called Olympia. It's the first pachislot in history. More details here.

Some more anecdotes

Returning to the Shûkan Sankei article and the seminar, here are a few additional remarks.

The good samaritan

• Tokuzô Uragami mentions that he has helped several people set up their own businesses in the amusement machine industry. However, information is too scarce to determine what these companies are. It's a bit later, but I suspect Tsumura (ツムラ) (founded in January 1973), Kansai Kigyô (関西企業) (founded in June 1973) and Oga Corporation (オガ・コーポレーション) are among them due to the links they will have with the company that will succeed Blondie. 
• He also mentions that he recently bought a restaurant in Senzoku, in the Ôta district (洗足, 大田区) from someone who was deep in debt and paid the debts.
• An interesting aspect is that in Tokuzô Uragami's discourse, we find many similarities with that of "blue sky operators," namely promising unrealistic money against the purchase of a game machine.

"But here's what happened that surprised me. You'll be amazed. It started with a distinguished middle-aged person saying, 'Mr. Uragami, could you help me with a good deal? My husband isn't working well, so I thought maybe if I buy one machine, I could earn something...' and similar requests kept coming, mainly from the wives of salarymen. Reflecting on it, it's quite natural. In today's Japan, stories of the economy getting slightly better, or the GNP, whatever that is, ranking Japan's citizens as the second or third wealthiest in the world, are outrageous lies. Even for the Japanese, it's not the time to relax and enjoy life; you still need to work hard and save money, even if you're just eating bread. However, what surprised me about the consultations I received was that everyone uniformly said, 'Even 10,000 yen a day in earnings.' No joke. Of course, if you set up at ten places, you might earn around 10,000 yen at two of them. But even this is a story that requires that level of effort."

More information about blue sky operators on the defunct site The Golden Age Arcade Historian

As sly as a fox

Tokuzô Uragami recalls an event that took place a year earlier. Blondie had sold 30 "Blondie machines" in exchange for promissory bills worth 11 million yen. But the buyer turns out to be insolvent. Blondie was in great danger. In the reserve stock were machines purchased from three companies he called A, B and C, and Blondie still had to make payment to each of them. These machines were supposed to be leased. Tokuzô Uragami offered to pay A with B's machines. This was still better than not being paid by an insolvent company, so A accepted. He then paid B with machines from C and C with machines from A. He even made a profit at each stage. It ended with the reserve stock being empty but with a big benefit. He also mentions he had some more bounced checks during the next year.

It's interesting because it's probably one of the reasons why some amusement machines are sold by different companies with very light modifications like changing the name with a sticker, etc.

And also, if the story is true, it means that there were already "Blondie machines" a year earlier (1971): Mini Derby? Juke Machine? Another one?

Some dreams for the future

One last thing. Tokuzô Uragami chose to share his dream about Blondie. Here is the quote:

"I want to expand the Blondie group companies to thirty in the next one or two years. The bosses of these thirty companies will collaborate, build a single office building, make the third floor or higher into condominiums, and live here together.

If thirty people contribute 100,000 yen each to a fixed-term deposit every month, within a year or so, we can borrow 100 million or 200 million yen. Since we have thirty guarantors, the bank that lends the money should be at ease. Then, we can use that money for a tourism business, buy a hotel in Hawaii, or perhaps build a large amusement park like Korakuen. When I think about such things, I can't be idle."

He can't be idle

The harsh reality and the conclusion (?)

Things didn't go according to plan, as Blondie went bankrupt only 7 months later (May 1973). In the absence of information, we can only speculate on the reasons for this bankruptcy: uncollectible debts? new troubles with the police and the justice system? In any case, Tokuzô Uragami does not let himself be defeated. The company was reborn the following month (June 1973) as Fuji Enterprise (フジエンタープライズ). Basically, it was the same company with the same activities and the same structures.

And of course we will talk about Fuji Enterprise in another article.