Experience the “Life is a combination and a transformation!” The questions to be asked through the “Live Earth Journey” pavilion at the Osaka-Kansai Expo 2025

Kawamori

The theme of the Osaka-Kansai Expo is “Designing a Future Society for Our Lives.”
 
My first thought was to ask whose “life” is being referred to in this theme. As I researched and discussed various aspects, I came to understand that the image is often one of “human life.” So, I altered my perspective a little and saw the important benefits of realizing a society where all of life, every living thing shines brilliantly.
 
Additionally, saying “Designing a Future Society for Our Lives” makes it seem that the present-day society is not shining yet. But lives are already connected and produce a chain reaction, and various forms of life inhabit the Earth together. But although this itself is miraculous and awesome, I noticed that there are many people who realize it. If you appreciate how amazing this is and fully grasp the brilliance of life, your life shines so brightly even now. You may recognize that humans, other living things, and the environment are all part of a continuum, and that all lives are linked together. I wanted to create a pavilion that could express this idea.
 
I considered many ways to express it, but simply appealing to the intellect does not lead to actual changes in behavior. I wondered how to make people truly feel what everyone already knows. One idea we ended up with was the “Super Spacetime Theater” (the main content of “Live Earth Journey”).
 
In the Super Spacetime Theater, thirty people sit in a circle in the same room, watching a live camera feed and “sensing” each other as they embark on an adventure. Just when they think they are experiencing this adventure together, they suddenly enter a VR space and travel to worlds they aren’t normally able to experience: the microscopic world inside the body, outer space and the universe, and other spaces and times, experiencing the awe-inspiring activity of life.
 
I think of life as a chain of combinations and transformations. For example, when we eat a fish, the fish is digested and transformed inside us. After the transformation, it is absorbed and converted, thus becoming a part of us. Then it separates from us and combines with the earth. It’s this sort of infinite chain. Combination, transformation, conversion, and separation. A complex network of such chains acts simultaneously at a huge scale. I want people to experience these incredible things at the Super Spacetime Theater, things that are too astounding to follow with just their minds.

Kojima

That’s wonderful. It’s a truly invaluable experience to be able to engage with our senses the “chain of life” that we are unconsciously taking in now, at this very moment.

Kawamori

Moreover, eating a fish also means eating the seas in which the fish lived. Furthermore, a portion of that seawater came as rain from the clouds. Thinking about it that way, it’s also like eating clouds, breathing clouds, and breathing plants. All structures are created simply through the transformation of essential elements as combinations of atoms change shape and pattern. I find that dynamism itself extremely interesting and appealing.

Kojima

That’s a very interesting story.
I’m interested in the Buddhist concept of the samsara cycle of life and death and things like that. I’m also interested in life itself. It’s said that if you went back a thousand years, there would be 3 billion ancestors.

If even one of those 3 billion people was missing, I wouldn’t exist. I feel the preciousness of those lives and the importance of spinning that thread of life. What’s more, considering the billions of people supporting those 3 billion individuals, we are supported by even more of life.

Kawamori

You’re absolutely right. Just with that number of humans alone, when you think about how many living things there are beyond that, it’s incalculable. If you include microorganisms, it gets to seem like a galaxy of stars.
 
People today often say that they feel lonely. But when we consider that we live within a chain of life, the expression “lonely” doesn’t in fact exist. If someone is feeling lonely, I think it means they aren’t feeling connected to this chain of life. There are some managers who say they feel lonely, but I think that’s more about feeling isolated than true loneliness.

Kojima

That’s right. I’ve never felt lonely, but I was taught by a president whom I respect that the head of a company is a solitary being, and I feel the need to do so. That is why I think it is important to think about business alone.

Kawamori

Absolutely. When you’re detached, for example, it’s when your individuality is at its peak, and you’re exactly differentiated from others. I think the solitude experienced in such moments is something qualitatively different.

Kawamori

When thinking about how to define “brilliance of life,” one way to put it is that feeling the chain of life makes it easier to feel the brilliance. I think another way to say it is that life shines when the individuality of each living thing is maximized. That goes for every living thing—if a creature has a special capability with flight, then it shows its individuality when it’s flying. Furthermore, there are subtle differences, even with the same type of animal, for example greater ability in hunting prey or superior observational abilities. I think true individuality is realized when differences are combined.

Kojima

That’s amazing. My own example isn’t as awesome, but as I’ve taken various steps to transform the company, I have gotten the sense that each member has their own individuality and strengths. Even if there are differences in opinion, it just means there are differences, not some are good and the others are bad. I think it helps both the individual and the company when people do well by demonstrating their individuality and strengths. They shine when they make use of their individuality.

Kawamori

I really think that’s true. People become frustrated when their individuality goes unused. Vocational schools and whatnot often express this with catchphrases like “make your passion your job” or “realize your dreams.” But there are others, too, for example, people who love drawing but will have difficulty making it their profession. It may be cruel to tell such people, “Make your passion your job.”
 
When I thought about how I got to where I am now, I noticed that I had been doing things in ways I was especially good at. What I “like” is inevitably centered on myself. If you do what you are good at, instead of what you like, it is more beneficial for all, I believe. It will be easier for you to do the things you’re good at, and it also contributes to others. I think it’s easier to show your individuality if you focus first on what you’re good at, and then consider yourself lucky if that aligns with what you like.

Kawamori

Some people are influenced by similar genres when they create, and others who, as much as possible, create without referencing similar genres. Although I do refer to other works, I’m the type of person who can’t sense the originality in myself unless I start with something I have experienced.
 
Of course, there are people who create new things based on historical fact, as there are people who create highly original works that way. I think everyone is different as to where they find their input and how they change zero to one. It’s not whether something is good or bad, but that everyone is talented in their own way. Do you find it easier to work from “the accumulated past,” Mr. Kojima?

Kojima

Well, yes. In my case, I may still be operating from Shu—disciplined repetition of prescribed forms—the beginning stage in Shu Ha Ri, a three-stage approach to learning mastery to follow, adjust, then create. I often look at past management practices and what has otherwise worked well, and I think about how I should manage my own business.
 
I have thought there might be similarities between management and the arts. I believe if you have an understanding of the past, or if you develop your own hypotheses about the nature of something, then newly created things will end up being good.
But there are some people who grasp the essence of other artworks and use that in making something new.

Kawamori

I’d say I’m more that type of person. It’s recently become clear to me that it’s easier to start out working from something “far away.” The more distant something is, the more stimulated I am.

Kawamori

It all started with an introduction from Haruka Takagishi, the CEO of CLASS EARTH (and SDGs advisor for “Live Earth Journey”). I first met the people from Tajima at a CLASS EARTH party, and I’ve been interested in Tajima’s work in embroidery ever since.
When I actually saw Tajima’s technologies up close, it was even more interesting than I had imagined. The lasting impression was of the feeling I had when the thread continued to feed without breaking. I was deeply impressed by the way the thread stayed connected while it changed. I realized that this technology known as embroidery was being used as design. I use the word “design” intentionally.
I express it using separate terms, defining the transforming mechanism itself as “design” and the visible form as “styling.” Not only am I involved in engineering, I also work in animation and entertainment, so I love where the design of the mechanism’s functions intersects with the sensibilities of styling. I really like the result of multiplying the two.
 
The embroidery technology they showed me forms the basis of the design, and that foundation is arranged in various ways. I got very excited seeing that. The embroidery is performed while the thread is dyed, and the perforations are made at the same time. Looking at all these different things being performed simultaneously produced in me the feeling that it was like a living thing. Many machines are specialized for a single function, but it is a characteristic of living organisms that they do many things simultaneously. It was very informative to see that simultaneous processing is used frequently and to see one basic technique is applied in many areas.

Kojima

Thank you. I am very honored that you see embroidery technology applied so dynamically and multifunctionally, like a living thing.
We also want to maximize the potential of this technology and expand development into new domains of expression.

Kojima

Embroidery existed before the Common Era. It has been an essential element in religious ceremonies since before the Common Era, and has been used for special clothing and decorations. Embroidery was something special, something that enriched people’s hearts. But with industrialization continuing its advance, embroidery has become a little commonplace. This is the issue confronting us.

Kawamori

You’ve been talking about it for over 2000 years (laughs). Indeed, that’s wonderful. So when embroidery was first created, it incorporated players. And that has been carried on to the present day.

Kojima

That’s right. I think embroidery is imbued with emotion. I think the essence of embroidery is that it enriches the human heart. As that special feeling continues to fade away, I want to remind the world again how wonderful embroidery is.
To that end, we now offer embroidery personalization services, and we’ve also launched a brand called “&T” to create artworks using embroidery, and we’re collaborating with contemporary Japanese painter Hiroko Otake.

Kawamori

I see. What I find interesting about embroidery is that it’s three-dimensional, while printing is flat. There is some kind of power in becoming three-dimensional.
It provides an additional dimension to flat surfaces, reminding me that adding a dimension creates incredibly rich texture.

Kojima

Thank you. I think you nailed it. Furthermore, to reduce our impact on the environment—a major issue for the entire apparel industry—we are working on a number of different initiatives, such as improving productivity with AI-enhanced embroidery machines, promoting the digital transformation, and leveraging technologies to dye threads while stitching.

Kawamori

I think that’s very effective, the idea of ​​personalizing with embroidery to make products special so people use them for extended periods. In seeking alternatives to mass production and mass disposal, I think that personalization is deeply related to improving product quality and increasing satisfaction.
 
Returning to the topic at hand, in the first place, shifting from a human-centered to a life-centered way of thinking means mass consumption will be a thing of the past. I think that basically we will no longer choose it; we will naturally end up saying, “Let’s use what is precious to us, limiting that to the minimum necessary.” We are somehow trying to promote this change in consciousness.
 
This is not just a matter of understanding, not in terms of knowledge or information, rather it’s about how to link it to behavior. The important thing here is to change the point of view. If you get that feeling of being part of the flow of life, you will become more conscious of your own actions and realize that everything you do is an action. Rather than acting, it’s more like noticing that you are acting. Without that awareness, I don’t think behavioral change will occur.

Kojima

I see. That’s fantastic. With this experience of living within the universe, you come to feel that all your unconscious actions are connected.

Kawamori

That’s it. Usually, even if you wastefully discard precious resources, it’s hard to realize that this will break chains within the ecosystem. But when you actually immerse yourself in the workings of that ecosystem, it’s an incredibly interesting and exciting experience. It’s a great question whether what we are creating is enough to match this excitement. It asks whether we can express something equal to the excitement we have thus far experienced. Even when I go to see exhibitions around the world, unfortunately, there is nothing expressed that matches such excitement anywhere. That’s why I thought that we had no choice but to create it ourselves.

Kojima

Your deep insight into human psychology and the fact that you have based your design on that is wonderful. It was extremely interesting to learn how your knowledge and philosophy are integrated and incorporated into the pavilion. Thank you for taking the time to talk with us.