Elementary school boy Sota Yamauchi is getting an early start on the world of commerce thanks to his love of reading. 

The fifth-grader offers books he has read on a popular shelf called "Maru: So" at the Book Mansion in Tokyo's Kichijoji district, a used bookstore.

Sota is one of the 70 individuals who rents a shelf in the store for 3,850 yen ($37) per month. These sellers can offer their publications carefully chosen based on their preferences at the “shared” bookstore.

“This system can reduce risks associated with operating bookstores from the standpoint of rent, stock and personnel costs,” said Ko Nakanishi, 42, owner and manager of Book Mansion.

Book Mansion is open four days a week and different individuals attend to the shop in rotation. The walls on both sides of the 30-square-meter store are lined with 32-centimeter-by-32-centimeter box-shaped shelves to the ceiling.

Nakanishi in 2013 opened an unmanned secondhand bookstore in the capital on a trial basis with his younger brother, who is an architect, while working at leading online service provider Rakuten Inc. The idea drew considerable attention.

He quit his company to rent a vacant building in Kichijoji in hopes of spreading the shared bookstore business model nationwide. Nakanishi raised 5.75 million yen through a crowdfunding campaign, exceeding his initial goal, and started Book Mansion in July 2019.

In addition to the bookstore system, the people handling the books also bring their own unique stories. 

Goto Shobo consists of six men and women who got to know each other through reading sessions and call themselves a "fictional family." Its shelf features books they select, according to their varying tastes.

“We thought showing them (different people’s selected books) together will create a sort of unity,” said Ayumi Miyazaki, 40, the “eldest daughter” in the Goto family, who is responsible for pure literature.

KIDS AS BOOKDEALERS

A big fan of the Hiroshima Toyo Carp one day posted a message on Twitter to promote his section featuring the pro baseball team at Book Mansion, writing, “Book Mansion is open. Today is for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp.”

The poster also thanked the manager of Maru: So as well as his younger sister and father for “watching the bookstore.”

At Book Mansion, three shelves are used by elementary school children to display their selected books.

Sota opened Maru: So late last year, after he visited Book Mansion with his father, Yusuke, 38, a teacher.

“I thought his (Sota’s) selling books there would be interesting, because his love for books is so great that I respect that,” said Yusuke.

Sota's sister, Iroha, who is an elementary school second-grader, creates handmade bookmarks to be given to buyers to help her brother.

Sota places only works he has read on his shelf. His sales add up to about 1,000 yen a month, but there are limitations to the number of publications that can be put on sale.

To address the issue, Sota decided to show unread books with the label saying “yet-non-purchasable” to fill his corner with many titles.

“Selling books, receiving cash and being admired by others are all precious experiences for him,” said Yusuke.

Yusuke added he wants to offer advice to his son, but holds back to respect Sota's autonomy.

EASIER TO START

Five months following the opening of Book Mansion, Nishi-Nippori Book Apartment emerged in Tokyo’s Arakawa Ward in front of JR Nishi-Nippori Station, which is run by architectural office Hagi Studio Inc.

“I asked Nakanishi for advice because no bookstore is nearby, and he suggested I open one by myself because it would be easy,” said Soichi Tasaka, 29, a staff member of Hagi Studio.

Currently, many of the 78 bookshelves are reserved by writers, residents and other people who want to show off their favorite publications at their own “tiny bookstores.”

In September, Book Studio started offering space on Fridays and Saturdays in Tokyo’s Ikegami district, allowing bookdealers to interact with one another via organized events.

The facility is jointly managed by an outdoor space design firm and video distribution studio to serve as an art gallery and event venue.

“Talking with bookshelf managers was interesting,” Keisuke Abe, 46, said, recalling the time he visited Book Mansion.

Hideyuki Ishii, 40, also described the booksellers as boasting “a strong desire to express themselves and connect with others while displaying books.”

Acting on the thought that “what is important to open more bookstores in towns is providing an environment for people to continue dealing with books,” Nakanishi in early November shared his know-how at a lecture session held in the Mass Mass shared office in the Kannai district in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture.

Masanobu Morikawa, 44, who is in charge of the operations of Mass Mass, praised the project and said he decided to open a shared bookstore next spring in a corner of the office space.

“The store will lead to connections and dialogue between those working in local areas, creators and entrepreneurs,” Morikawa said.

Mitsubachi Koshobu in Osaka’s Abeno Ward, along with other operators, is well known as the pioneer in the shared bookstore business.

Bookshop Traveler was started by Masayuki Waki, 35, who has released books about small bookstores and other topics, in 2018 in Tokyo’s Shimokitazawa district. Many of its shelves are used as a test by bookstore operators and individuals who are considering opening their own stores in the future.

Waki used to be a company employee and hoped to manage his own bookstore. But he quickly found it difficult to operate one without long accumulated knowledge, as the profitability of newly published books is lower.

For that reason, Waki hit upon the subscription model under which he can receive use fees from booksellers.

“There are many people who want to sell books on their own,” said Waki. “I thought I would be able to find those individuals.”

Starting with only eight shelves, the bookstore now has 73 shelves. Various people, including creators, writers and small presses, currently use the site, and a total of nearly 100 shelves are expected to be made available in early January.