Mitsui Fudosan to Conduct Photography-themed Educational Program in Collaboration with GAKU, a Learning Center for Teens, as Part of its Next-Generation Education Initiative in Nihonbashi
Accepting applications for participating students starting today, May 23 (Thursday)

May 23, 2024
Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd.

Key Points of this Press Release

• Working with GAKU, a learning center for teens, Mitsui Fudosan will conduct a photography-themed educational program. The goal is for students in their teens to create their own unique “way of seeing” through photography.
• Students who are eager to learn about photography in depth will create works over a period of four months while receiving full-fledged lectures on photography from a team of distinguished instructors. The completed works are scheduled to be exhibited in the Nihonbashi area in October of this year.
• Participation is free. Student applications will be accepted starting today, May 23 (Thursday)．Selection will be made based on reasons for applying and other factors.

Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd., a leading global real estate company headquartered in Tokyo, announced today that as part of its next-generation education initiative in the Nihonbashi area, it will team up with GAKU, a creative learning center for teens, to conduct a photography-themed educational program for teens from June 22 (Saturday) to October 26 (Saturday). Applications for the program, which will be based in Nihonbashi, will be accepted starting today.

This year marks the second educational program in Nihonbashi held jointly by Mitsui Fudosan and GAKU. This year, a team of (tentatively) four creators, led by Yuji Hamada, will be invited to conduct a total of 10 classes aimed at working with teenage students to create their own “way of seeing” through photography. In this age when everyone has a camera and can express themselves, the course will rethink photography itself as the students look at society and themselves from a new perspective.

The works completed through the 10 classes, along with works by the instructors, are scheduled to be exhibited in the Nihonbashi area, where the Mitsui Group was founded, in October of this year. The exhibits will be on view to the general public.

Mitsui Fudosan is undertaking the Nihonbashi Next-Generation Education Project, a project in collaboration with leading players in the Nihonbashi area aimed at expanding the future potential of children. The educational program being held in conjunction with GAKU will be tuition-free, and by creating opportunities for teen students to learn in earnest from creators active at the forefront of their fields, aims to expand the potential of children who will lead the future.

GAKU “Creating your own ‘way of seeing’”

■Across 10 classes, the program will work with teenage students to explore each student’s own “way of seeing” through photography

■The team of instructors, led by photographer Yuji Hamada, are all creators active at the forefront of their fields

The lead instructor will be Tokyo-based photographer Yuji Hamada, known for his work rooted in the diverse expressive capabilities of the photographic medium. Others will include photographer Rinko Kawauchi, recognized with the Kimura Ihei Award in 2002 (also known as the “Akutagawa Prize” of photography); fashion designer and leader of “coconogacco,” a place for learning and experimenting with expression through fashion, Yoshikazu Yamagata; and other creators from a variety of genres who will participate as guest instructors.

Lead Instructor
Yuji Hamada

Guest Instructors
Rinko Kawauchi

Guest Instructors
Yoshikazu Yamagata

■Completed student works scheduled to be exhibited in the Nihonbashi area, where the Mitsui Group was founded, in October of this year

Works completed by the students over the course of 10 classes, along with displays describing their creative processes, are scheduled to be exhibited in the Nihonbashi area in October of this year. The exhibition will display not only the students’ own works, but works by famous photographers as well, and will be on view to the general public.

Mitsui Main Building

Atrium

Edo Sakura-dori Underground Walkway

Mitsui Fudosan’s Next-Generation Education in the Nihonbashi Area

Teaming with Nihonbashi Muromachi Area Management, Mitsui Fudosan is undertaking the Nihonbashi Next-Generation Education Project, a project to expand the future potential of children in the Nihonbashi area through an ongoing collaboration with leading players in the area. Through this project, Mitsui Fudosan is committed to creating opportunities for children, who will lead the future, to gain a broader, deeper understanding of the world. In FY2023, four projects were conducted with a total of 1,000 participants.

At the Nihonbashi Kids Summer Camp held in August of last year, multiple workshops were held in conjunction with venerable Nihonbashi shops as well as pharmaceutical companies, hotels, and other, creating opportunities for children to engage in activities contributing to a sustainable society and learn about a variety of professions. In March of this year, Mitsui Fudosan held the Nihonbashi Mirai School in cooperation with three Chuo-ku municipal elementary schools. This classroom-style event around the concept of “what they don’t teach you in school” created an opportunity for participants to think about what each of us can do in the face of climate change at home and abroad.

During the Edo period, Nihonbashi was home to many so-called “temple schools” and other private schools, and at the time was considered one of Tokyo’s leading academic centers. Just after the start of the Meiji period, the passion and hard work of the area’s citizens brought about the establishment of the first school in Chuo-ku. Part of that history was that Nihonbashi was also a merchant town, so large stores in the neighborhood pulled together the funds to provide a place to teach children reading, writing and arithmetic—skills necessary in business.

As we carry on the spirit of those times in the present day, Mitsui Fudosan will continue to undertake other Next-Generation Education projects together with the neighborhood’s leaders to expand the potential of children who will lead the future. By doing so, Mitsui Fudosan aims to not only generate new value for the future of Nihonbashi, but to contribute to the SDGs and the realization of a sustainable society.

The Nihonbashi Kids Summer Camp 2023, held in August 2023. The event created opportunities for children to engage in activities contributing to a sustainable society and learn about a variety of professions.

At the workshop held by Chugai Pharmaceutical, children considered diversity through the work of para-athletes and by learning sign language.

The workshop by Mitsui Fudosan Residential had participants assemble houses in whatever shapes they chose, made from recycled materials, fostering creativity.

Starbucks also held a workshop where children learned about upcycling used coffee bean sacks and about sustainability.

The Nihonbashi Mirai School held in March 2024. Weather forecaster Masaaki Masuda and Akihiko Haga from WWF Japan gave presentations including content such as quizzes, experiments and video that was easily understandable for children on the current status of climate change in Japan, its mechanisms and the impact that climate change has on wild animals.

GAKU, a creative learning center for teens

GAKU is a creative learning center for teens operated by LOGS Inc. As a place for creative education for teens, mainly junior high and high school students, GAKU invites creators at the forefront of their fields as instructors to conduct activities in which students and instructors together address creation through trial and error, connecting those results to society. By nurturing their individual creativity, GAKU not only helps students build richer lives for themselves going forward, but aims to create a foundation for a new society in which life is easier for all types of people. A wide range of programs is offered, including music, architecture, food, fashion, design and art.

In its first collaboration with Mitsui Fudosan, in FY2023, GAKU offered a graphic design program on the theme of the “Pathos of Graphic Design.” The 10 students who participated—of varying ages and backgrounds, from junior high school students with no design experience to art school students—learned about visual expression from graphic designers.
Upon completion of the classes, an exhibition bringing together the finished works was held in an underground walkway in Nihonbashi where it was seen by many. The students themselves were responsible for preparing the venue, cleaning the underground walkway and setting up the exhibits. The exhibit also provided opportunities for interaction between visitors and the teen student creators, giving students a way of becoming aware of their connection to the neighborhood. Through their classes and joint exhibition, students enriched their way of seeing the neighborhood, allowing them to sense growth in the breadth of their interests and means of expression. Through their creations, they also realized how the cityscape changes, and how viewers’ impressions of the neighborhood also change. The program was designed to give teen students an experience that was unique for being set in the city.

The “Pathos of Graphic Design” classes held in 2023. Four instructors took turns handing out and critiquing assignments, with the students working around four different themes. The nine students produced 196 works over the course of the 11 classes.

The 40-meter-long underground walkway that crosses Showa-dori Avenue in Nihonbashi, which opened about 100 years ago, was decorated with the students’ passionate artworks.

A report on the “Pathos of Graphic Design” program can be found at the URL below.
https://www.bridgine.com/2023/09/20/gaku_graphic_design_no_pathos/ (in Japanese)

Program Overview: GAKU “Creating your own ‘way of seeing’”

■Sustainability in the Mitsui Fudosan Group

Based on the meaning of its “& mark,” “to generate new value with society through cooperation, coexistence and co-creation, we forge ahead, innovating,” the Mitsui Fudosan Group views the “creation of social value” and the “creation of economic value” as two wheels of a cart. Accordingly, we believe that the creation of social value leads to the creation of economic value, and that this economic value then creates even greater social value.
Moreover, we identified six Group Materiality priority issues when formulating our new management philosophy in April 2024. These Group Materiality priority issues are (1) Contribute to industrial competitiveness, (2) Coexist with the environment, (3) Health and Vitality, (4) Safety and security, (5) Diversity and inclusion, and (6) Compliance and governance. The Mitsui Fudosan Group will work to address each of the materialities through its core business activities and contribute to the promotion of sustainability.

(References)
・Group Management Philosophy and Long-Term Vision
https://www.mitsuifudosan.co.jp/english/corporate/innovation2030/
・Group Materiality
https://www.mitsuifudosan.co.jp/english/esg_csr/approach/materiality/

* The initiatives outlined in this release are designed to help address the following one Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).