"How do we give thanks to those who came before us?"

I spent three years of high school in England and one year of university in Australia. When I returned to Japan for long vacations, I became more interested than ever in "culture," which is the reason why Japanese people are so highly regarded, and I visited many places to experience it firsthand. Among them, my post-study visit to Eiheiji Temple in Fukui Prefecture was a turning point in my life. I went there to sort out my feelings from my time as an exchange student and to create a vision for the future, but what I kept thinking about while doing zazen was my grandfather, who had passed away a week before I went there for ascetic practice. I was thinking about how I should have talked to him while he was still alive about what he thought about and lived his life, and at the same time, I was thinking about how I would lead my life in the future. While I was thinking about this during my training, a monk preached the following sermon to me.

"Live in gratitude to those who have gone before you. Live in gratitude for those who have gone before you, and know that you will see them only for the last time."

I was angry at myself for not even knowing if I had done it or not. I felt that all I had done so far was "thinking I was grateful. When I thought about how I could express my gratitude to my predecessors who are now deceased, I found my own answer: to pass on their thoughts and feelings to future generations, and to weave the thread of those thoughts and feelings and keep them unbroken. In doing so, I decided to live my life with the theme of "how to express my gratitude to my predecessors" as my life theme.

After returning home, when I thought about which area of modern society can carry on the intentions of our predecessors and pass on our gratitude to future generations, "artisans" who have contributed to Japanese industry with their meticulous skills came to mind. When I researched the craft market, it was obvious that the industry was in decline, and one of the reasons was mass production to meet the demands of the digitalized market that is driving the development of this world. In a world that demands efficiency, craftsmen's handiwork exists relative to digitalization. I thought it was a waste that this handiwork should disappear without being handed down to the next generation as time goes by, and I began to wonder if I could do something about it. After graduating from university, I worked for a general company as a new graduate in order to understand society, and then proceeded underwater to prepare for what I could do for the craft industry, and founded Suigenkyo Co.

With the establishment of Suigenkyo, we would like to offer suggestions to artisans on how to market and promote their products, and for consumers to become more aware of the appeal of crafts through SNS and online sites. We are sure that you will encounter wonderful crafts.

We believe that by making crafts and artisans more widely known, both domestically and internationally, and by resolving the various issues involved, we can make a significant contribution to solving the declining craft market and other social problems facing Japan. We are committed to making Japanese culture known to the world, and to making the industry more colorful and lasting for future generations. We look forward to your continued support.

Career

At the age of 15, he studied abroad in England by himself. After graduating from high school, he enrolled in the Department of International Management, College of Business Administration, Ritsumeikan University. After graduating from university in 2020, he joined Mynavi Corporation's Recruitment Business Division. After leaving the company, he founded Suigenkyo Co. in March 2022.