CLOSE THE GAP:
a conversation with
Tomoya Maekawa
TOMOYA IS A WELL-KNOWN CARDIST FROM JAPAN. HE’S CURRENTLY RUNNING A CARDISTRY BRAND CALLED WELCOMEBACK AND PRODUCED 3 DECKS OF PLAYING CARDS. HE HAS ALSO HOSTED MULTIPLE EVENTS IN TOKYO, JAPAN
by Luca Lanciotto, 2025.
Hi Tomoya, first of all, thanks for having us! you’re a friend of ours, but some of our readers may not know you yet, so let’s break the ice, how’s it going? Please introduce yourself to our readers!
Thank you as well for giving me this opportunity.
Hello readers! I’m Tomoya, a cardist from Japan. I’ve been into cardistry for about 14 years now. I especially love doing cut-based cardistry, but I also really enjoy watching all kinds of different styles. Lately, I’ve been having a great time connecting with many cardists through my work with Welcome Back.
We know you for your awesome cardistry, how did you get into it?
I got into cardistry because of my older brother. Ever since I was little, I loved copying whatever he did, and we used to do card magic together. Then one day, he brought home The System by Dan & Dave. It completely blew our minds, and we started practicing flourishes right away.
If you could choose only one deck of cards to use for the rest of your life, which one would it be?
If I could use only one deck for the rest of my life, I’d choose the Welcome Back Original Logo, because I’m really attached to it, haha.
You’ve started a cardistry brand called WelcomeBack. How did the idea come about, and how’s the project going so far?
When I started WeLcome Back, I was still a university student. At the time, I was going through a lot and couldn’t attend school much. Cardistry became a huge emotional support for me. One day, after a long absence, I finally went back to class, and my English teacher greeted me warmly, saying, “Tomoya, welcome back. That was a short summer break, huh?” I still remember how comforting those words felt, and they came back to me when I was creating the brand.
I named it WeLcome Back with the hope that, through my continued activity, people would always feel like they could return to cardistry whenever they needed to. When I recently relaunched the brand, I made the “L” lowercase – Welcome Back – as a small symbolic change.
I think this might be the first time I’ve actually shared this story, haha. Right now, my goal is to offer high-quality decks at the most affordable price possible and to enjoy cardistry with as many people as I can.
Let’s talk about community now. I’m curious, what’s the current state of the Japanese cardistry scene?
I think the current cardistry community in Japan is in a really good place. Little by little, the number of cardists is growing, and we now have more opportunities to meet offline, which makes the community feel very healthy and genuine. While I do think a sudden boom in popularity could be exciting, I believe it’s more important for the community to grow step by step. That’s why I focus on creating offline spaces where we can meet in person, talk one-on-one, and enjoy cardistry together.
You hosted a “free jam” last May, congrats! Can you tell us more about how it was organized (location, people involved, general costs, etc.)?
Thank you! The Free Jam that I hosted in Japan this year was funded in part by sales from the shop in Japan, and we also handed out some novelty items at the event.
The event was held in May and the total cost was around 50,000 yen. As a gift, I gave drip coffee that I really love to those who had purchased something from the shop. We chose the same venue where Yuya’s video was filmed. Around 30 to 40 people came to the event!
Are you planning to host more jams in the future? Maybe even overseas? (That would be awesome!)
Of course, I will continue to host Free Jams funded by deck sales! Doing one overseas might be a little further down the road, but I’m working hard so I can soon meet my friends abroad who support and cheer me on!
Depending on how overseas sales go, I might even be able to visit your country someday (Italy). I really hope I can!
To wrap things up, what can we expect from WelcomeBack in the next months?
In the coming months, I’m finalizing the design for a new deck. I also see international shipping costs as a big challenge, and we might have some solutions for that soon.
Besides cardistry, I want to work on projects that help people discover beautiful playing cards in general. Welcome Back’s activities are moving forward slowly but surely—so please look forward to what’s coming!
Thanks for your time, and congrats on your projects. Cheers!
Thank you as well for interviewing me! I think your project is amazing too. It would be great if we could do a Free Jam together someday! And thank you to all the readers who made it to the end.
I’m looking forward to the day we can all meet again.
Tomoya socials: @tmymkw & @welcomeback.tokyo
Website: https://welcomeback.tokyo/