[NON-PROFIT] Activities and Impact — General Incorporated Association kototama
Supporting aspirations through language, culture, and the body
Kototama, a general incorporated association, operates as a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering environments where individuals can discover and pursue their aspirations and desired ways of life. Currently, our activities focus on three main areas: Creating opportunities for hands-on experiences with Japanese culture and traditional techniques. Extracting the passions of artisans and organizations and transforming them into messages that resonate through web and IT platforms. Providing opportunities for individuals to connect with their own minds and bodies. While these activities may appear diverse, they are united by a common underlying principle: to attentively listen to unarticulated desires and empower individuals and cultures to express their inherent strengths in their own unique ways.
Authentic Japanese cultural experience at the foot of Mount Fuji
Passing on Japanese culture to future generations
Based in Lake Kawaguchiko, at the foot of the sacred Mount Fuji, we offer authentic Japanese cultural experiences where you can learn about Japanese culture and traditional techniques. These experiences are designed for Japanese people who want to re-engage with their own culture, as well as for international visitors to Mount Fuji who wish to delve deeper than just a superficial understanding of Japanese culture, exploring its background and spirituality. What we value most is not just observing finished works or acquiring cultural knowledge, but actively participating and experiencing it firsthand. Touching materials, repeating movements, discerning subtle differences in scent and shape—through this time, we convey not only the techniques but also the Japanese approach to things that has been passed down through generations, as well as their perspective on nature, materials, and themselves.
Our Non-Profit Approach
Our Japanese cultural experience is offered as part of the non-profit activities of General Incorporated Association kototama, with the aim of preserving and sharing Japanese culture.
Our aim is to ensure that Japanese culture is not limited to a small number of people, but that more people in Japan and overseas have opportunities to experience authentic Japanese culture and traditional craftsmanship.
Our goal is to make authentic Japanese culture and skills accessible to more people, both domestically and internationally, rather than keeping them exclusive to a select few.
Experience in teaching incense making
The representative director leading this activity has taught incense making to over 30,000 people to date. They teach incense making not merely as an experience of creating something fragrant, but as a time to discern scents, touch materials, and direct one's awareness to their own senses.
Activity support through Web/IT and DX
Translating thoughts into tangible forms.
For Japanese cultural experiences and other initiatives related to Japanese culture, we also provide free support, it is essential not only that excellent techniques and experiences exist, but also that their value is accurately conveyed to those who need them.
However, the thoughts and techniques held by artisans and activity groups are not necessarily articulated in a well-organized manner from the beginning.
They may not know what to convey.
They may not realize what is valuable because it's commonplace for them.
They may struggle to express the appeal of their activities in writing or on a website.
kototama works closely with these unspoken sentiments, and through careful dialogue, organizes the essence of their activities.
Based on this, we provide support to give form to these activities as words, designs, websites, and information dissemination mechanisms, and deliver them to those who need them.
For Japanese cultural experiences and products/activities related to Japanese culture, we also offer free support for website planning and construction, branding, and marketing as part of our non-profit activities to support the preservation and dissemination of culture.
In addition, we provide IT utilization support for local businesses and non-profit organizations, and conduct lecture activities focused on IT, web, and DX.
Key support areas
- Interviews regarding activities and businesses
- Organizing and articulating thoughts and values
- Concept and brand design
- Website planning, information architecture, and development
- Marketing and communication support
- Business and information organization utilizing IT and DX
Support Case 01 | Connecting artisans across Japan with overseas travelers seeking the essence of Japanese culture.
Japonistique
Japonistique is a website where visitors from overseas can learn about and experience authentic traditional culture passed down through generations across Japan directly from the artisans themselves.
In cooperation with approximately 15 groups of artisans and organizations who are custodians of Japanese culture and traditional techniques across the country, we offer cultural experiences, making use of times that fit within the artisans' work and daily lives.
The actual experiences are provided by the artisans who have inherited these techniques.
kototama not only produced the website but also assisted in organizing the purpose and value of the experience itself.
Beginning by Listening to Each Group Individually
We conducted a detailed interview with each artisan and organization individually.
What kind of skills have been passed down?
What history and background do these techniques have?
What do artisans want visitors from overseas to feel through the experience?
What do the artisans themselves value?
Through repeated dialogues, we extracted the unique value of the culture from the techniques and daily activities that have become part of the artisans' everyday lives.
Then, we planned and built the entire website, including organizing the purpose and concept of the experience, writing content, information architecture, branding, and marketing.
More than just a booking site, a place for cultural encounters
What we aimed for with Japonistique was not merely a website for searching and booking experiences.
Instead of presenting Japanese culture by just highlighting its glamorous aspects, we wanted to carefully convey the techniques artisans have inherited, the philosophy behind them, and their connections to materials and local communities.
Furthermore, we sought to create a platform where overseas visitors eager to delve deeper into Japanese culture and the artisans who uphold that culture could connect in a natural and comfortable way.
Even now, we continue to steadily increase the number of featured artisans and cultural experiences, carefully conducting individual interviews for each one.
[NON-PROFIT] Support Provided Entirely Free of Charge
- Clarifying the purpose and concept of the experience
- Individual interviews with artisans and organizations
- Articulating the experience content and cultural background
- Brand design
- Website planning, information architecture, and development
- Marketing and communication support
Case Study 02 | Connecting inherited kimonos to the future in a new form.
ALISA Kimono Robe
ALISA Kimono Robe is an initiative to repurpose kimonos into robes by the hands of artisans, preserving their beauty in a new form for the future.
By transforming kimonos into garments that can be worn in modern life, rather than limiting them to their traditional wearing methods, we are bringing their charm to people who previously had few opportunities to experience them.
kototama provided pro bono support for organizing the project's vision and values, website planning and construction, branding, and marketing.
[NON-PROFIT] Support Provided Entirely Free of Charge
- Organizing activity purpose and value
- Designing brand and information dissemination
- Website planning and development
- Branding
- Marketing support
Understand your body and find the best ways to use it.
Face your mind and body
People don't just express their thoughts with words.
Standing.
Walking.
Breathing.
Moving your hands.
The body is an important foundation that supports daily actions and expressions.
However, people can also experience stiffness and discomfort without being aware of their body's habits or how they use it.
At kototama, we offer bodywork based on ancient martial arts principles, as well as yoga and Pilates classes for the local community.
Instead of forcing yourself to do movements you can't do, we believe it's important to first understand the condition and characteristics of your body. From there, we emphasize finding ways to use your body that are tailored to each individual.
Bodywork based on ancient martial arts
Based on the body mechanics inherited from traditional martial arts and the philosophy of moving the body without relying solely on brute strength, we provide treatments tailored to each individual's condition.
Currently, sessions are held approximately once a week, and the total number of treatments has exceeded 300.
Online Yoga/Pilates Classes
To help you consistently engage with your body no matter where you are, we offer online yoga and Pilates classes three times a week.
Yoga and Pilates Classes at Local Public Facilities
We hold yoga and Pilates classes about twice a month at public facilities so that local residents can participate in a familiar setting.
Yoga and Pilates Instruction Experience
The representative director responsible for this activity has taught yoga and Pilates to thousands of people to date. Rather than simply teaching set forms, they guide individuals in a way that helps them understand their own bodies, tailored to each person's physical condition and experience.
Non-Profit Activities in Numbers
- 【Japanese Culture / Traditional Japanese Cultural Experiences】
Number of people taught incense making:
Over 30,000
Location for traditional Japanese cultural experiences:
Lake Kawaguchiko
- 【Web/IT / DX Support】
Artisans/organizations featured on Japonistique:
Approximately 15 nationwide
Main support examples:
Japonistique,
ALISA Kimono Robe
[MIND AND BODY ACTIVITIES]
Bodywork informed by classical Japanese martial arts: approximately once a week
Bodywork sessions delivered: more than 300
Online yoga and Pilates classes: three times a week
Yoga and Pilates classes at local public facilities: approximately twice a month
Experience in teaching yoga and Pilates: more than several thousand participants
The guidance and treatment results listed include activities carried out by the representative director before the establishment of General Incorporated Association kototama.
What lies at the root of all activities
To convey Japanese culture.
To communicate the aspirations of artisans and organizations through the web and IT.
To create opportunities to connect with one's mind and body.
Underlying these activities are the unspoken thoughts within each individual.
Instead of unilaterally solving immediate problems, we work together with individuals and organizations to consider what they truly value and what they wish to achieve.
We weave these aspirations into words, give them a unique form, and connect them to the future.
Through its non-profit activities, the general incorporated association kototama nurtures the encounters and time necessary for this endeavor.