A hub connecting Japanese culture and the world.
We carry the appeal of culture alive across Japan to the world, connecting those who make culture with those who receive it.
Through online education, e-commerce and cultural experiences we build the means for Japanese culture to be used in modern life and handed to the next generation.
Carry Japanese culture to the world, and create a cycle in which both Japan and the world grow richer.
A future in which people worldwide meet Japanese culture, learn it, live with it and pass it on.
Not culture consumed as a passing trend or a tourist resource, but culture that sustains the people and places behind it.
Values
We handle background, locality and the makers' intent with care.
No exaggeration or one-sided reading; we rely on specialists and custodians to review.
Rather than imposing Japanese culture, we value dialogue with other cultures and values.
Value created by our work flows back to artisans, artists, regions and businesses.
Not preservation alone — we develop culture into forms that live in modern life.
Profile
Our Work
We share the techniques and background of Japanese culture through an online community and workshops.
We support products, crafts, food and artworks from across Japan in reaching overseas markets.
We plan events and retreats for participants at home and abroad to experience regional culture.
We use web, social, video and editorial to communicate culture and regions in several languages.
We work with local governments, companies, cultural bodies, artisans and schools on culture-led regional projects.
Message
Not to guard Japanese culture as something of the past,
but to carry it forward as culture that keeps living in people's days around the world.
Skills refined over a very long time are quietly being lost. The quality of an object may come across, but the thinking behind it rarely does. Much of why makers are dwindling and producing regions are thinning out lies, we believe, in exactly that gap.
And yet there are people around the world who look at Japanese handwork with real seriousness. Each of those encounters becomes culture's next step. We will take our time building a cycle that ties people to people and regions to the world, so that both grow richer.
Member
Founded the organization after years of work in Japanese culture, handwork and education. Builds the means of communication from the side of the people who carry the culture.
An instructor specialising in gift wrapping and Japanese culture. Designs the curriculum and runs the classes at TSUMUGU.
Started his first company at 17 and founded a marketing firm at 19. Delivered web projects for Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications and Fukuoka Prefecture, and served as a marketing supervisor for the ANA Group. Public-sector work promoting traditional crafts introduced him to the depth of Japanese handwork; he now leads sales and cross-border support here.
We welcome partnerships with companies, local governments, artisans, artists, schools and cultural organizations working on international communication and cultural continuity. A small question is a fine place to start.
Talk to us about working together