Japan has long been a country that has valued gifts. The custom of ``Oshibo'' held at the end of the year originally had the meaning of expressing one's feelings of support over the past year. While taking care of that, can we transform it into a gift for the future? In order to create something with a sense of fun that is typical of BEAMS, BEAMS JAPAN and ifs Future Research Institute (hereinafter referred to as "Future Research Institute") have formed a team and launched a new project.

What I ended up with was "Japan's God Gift." Inspired by the Seven Gods of Fortune, which have brought ``auspiciousness'' to the lives of Japanese people, we have created a collection of gifts related to the seven gods.

By combining BEAMS JAPAN BEAMS JAPAN passion for Japan and Miraiken's passion for the future, we want you to smile as you choose something to give to that special someone. This is a new proposal from Nishikawa, who worked on the project, Kakinohara who handled the art direction, Hayashi who came up with the project, Kawashima who was in charge of the project production, Kunii who handled the concept writing, and Masuzaki who was in charge of the planning process.

The preparation period was a hectic one and a half months, but the team's enthusiasm made it a fun event. The participating members looked back on the project and talked about it.

Until you reach the Seven Lucky Gods

Kawashima: Where did the plan to rethink ``year-end gifts'' begin?

Kunii: Miraiken has been working with the Isetan Shinjuku store on a mid-year gift project called ``Future Summer Gift.''

Kawashima: Similar to this project with BEAMS, the Miraiken team consisting of Mr. Kunii, Mr. Kakikihara, Mr. Nishikawa, Mr. Nobi (Mr. Hayashi's nickname), and Mr. Masuzaki will collaborate with Isetan to proceed with this project. This is the third year of this project.

Hayashi: As an extension of that, the starting point for our work with BEAMS was to consider what kind of things we could come up with if we thought of another traditional Japanese gift, the year-end gift, as a gift for the future. was.

Kawashima: That's right. By the way, do you all have "Oshibo"?

Suzuki: To be honest, I only give gifts to a limited number of people who have really helped me, but I feel like it has some kind of ceremonial meaning, so to be honest, I rarely do it.

Nishikawa: I haven't done it at all. Maybe it's something my parents' generation did.

Kawashima: Me too. The words ``midyear gift'' and ``year-end gift'' have a somewhat conventional image, and I feel that they are difficult to enter. However, I quite like giving things to people. There are times when you want to convey your feelings and put your thoughts into something.

Kakinohara: I think I give it to people who have helped me a lot, but I don't get to see them often, as a way of expressing my gratitude.

Kawashima: In this way, we wanted to reconsider the ``year-end gifts'' that were somehow becoming obsolete, and as a result of everyone's discussion, we came up with ``God Gifts.'' Looking back, Nobi-san was the one who created the opportunity. It was, wasn't it?

Hayashi: No, I wasn't the one who started it, I just started it. When I was thinking about BEAMS JAPAN in Shinjuku, I thought what if we divided it into 9 or 16 shelves and assigned each one a kanji appropriate for the year-end and New Year holidays, such as ``fortune'' or ``wealth''. is.

Kawashima: From there I jumped to the Seven Lucky Gods!

Suzuki: I had just met a painter whose theme was the Seven Lucky Gods, which left an impression on me, and I thought that the Seven Lucky Gods would be catchy.

Kakinohara: I also happened to be working on the Seven Lucky Gods in another project, and I felt that they were good characters because they had a Japanese feel and were familiar to everyone. I feel like we have some kind of connection.

Kawashima: Until then, we had been talking about it and couldn't see a way out, but when Mr. Suzuki and Mr. Kakinohara started talking about the Seven Lucky Gods based on Mr. Nobi's idea, we got so excited that it was decided! It became. The team's spirit at that time was really fun.

Let's send "Congratulations".

Kawashima: Once we decided on the theme, we started creating the concept. Mr. Kunii, what was your intention when you wrote the copy?

Kunii: First of all, I thought the Seven Lucky Gods was a very good theme because it has the meanings of ``bringing good fortune'' and ``giving happiness.'' On the other hand, I was a little hesitant about the name ``God Gift'' at first. I wonder if it's okay for those of us who planned it to call it a ``divine gift.''

Kawashima: It feels like you're looking at it from above.

Kunii: That's right. But when you think about it, BEAMS JAPAN is a solid foundation, and the idea of calling it ``God's Gift'' is stylish and fits the store's image. With that in mind, we moved on to the naming and concept.

Kawashima: I re-read the concept that Mr. Kunii spelled out for me.
``Giving'' is a human treasure that we want to take with us to any distant future. Whether it's a year-end gift or BEAMS JAPAN, the giver must enjoy it. We offer gifts. Seven disasters will be removed and seven blessings will be bestowed. If you send a gift of congratulations, a slightly better future may come to you."

Kunii: I think Japan is a country that has a good culture of giving. I also thought that it would be wonderful to look ahead to the coming year at the end of the year and send congratulations to those who have been indebted to you. I also thought that it would be great if we could continue to move toward the future, rather than ending it as an old custom.

Kawashima: But I knew the name of the Seven Lucky Gods, and I had some idea of the names of the seven gods, but I didn't actually know what kind of "goriyaku" they would bring. The key thing about this time is that we took that and connected it with a gift.

Kunii: If you look into “Goriyaku”, each one is unique. For example, Daikokuten is the god of good fortune and fortune, so he is in charge of "wealth," Fukurokuju is the god of good fortune and popularity, so he is in charge of "friends," and Benzaiten is the god of fulfillment in love, so he is in charge of "love." We started by assigning a kanji character to each god and deciding who was in charge of ``good luck'' so to speak.

Make the Seven Lucky Gods into characters!

Kawashima: Inspired by this concept, Mr. Kakinihara and Mr. Nishikawa turned the Seven Lucky Gods into characters. In other words, they are the birth parents.

Kakinohara: My Chomo (Mr. Nishikawa's nickname) has always loved characters. I said, ``Why don't you try it?'' and he got hooked.

Nishikawa: I really love creating characters, so I kept doing it (lol). First of all, I thought the Seven Lucky Gods were a good design. After doing some research, I found that the original form was quite detailed and complicated, but this time I took the plunge and drew it using only line drawings. For example, if Daikokuten is the god of wealth, I would imagine that he looks happy or loving, and I would try to make him look a little smiling. It was fun to make each god into a character without being too descriptive, but in a way that conveyed the meaning!

Suzuki: As soon as I saw the character Nishikawa-san had created, I thought, ``This will sell.''

Kawashima: So we are working hard to commercialize it. The collaboration between Mr. Nishikawa and Mr. Suzuki was amazing.

Suzuki: It's all thanks to Mr. Nishikawa's continued efforts in designing. In my mind, I was immediately connected to the idea that this item could be made there.

Sano: It seems like Mr. Nishikawa was a bit reckless (lol).

Nishikawa: No, the characters I created are turned into products and given as gifts. It was a very happy experience.

Hayashi: This is the first time that Miraiken has created an original character. I felt that when it comes to products, it takes on a different perspective.

Suzuki: Actually, by turning it into a product, the character expands. You can take it home and use it, or give it as a gift to someone. Tenugui, tin badges, soba choko (all-purpose choko), and pochibukuro, all of which I am proud of!

Kawashima: I hope this sells.

Selected from all BEAMS JAPAN locations

Kawashima: This time, we also created a leaflet for "God's Gifts," which has items selected from all over BEAMS JAPAN, and it has a mischievous and energetic feel typical of BEAMS! Moreover, it makes me feel “happy”.

Sano: This is actually the first time we've held an event that selects items from all five floors of BEAMS JAPAN.

Suzuki: It was a little difficult to choose something with a ``happy'' image, but it was fun.

Kawashima: And each product was categorized according to its own god.

Suzuki: Yes. For example, as Mr. Kunii said, if Daikokuten = ``wealth,'' it means good luck (= clothes, etc.) that brings wealth.From the idea of gifts, we have created cherry-colored wear in collaboration with the sweatshirt ``Loop Wheeler,'' and a ska cardigan. And. Benzaiten = ``Love'' has items from ``Shin Yoshiwara,'' a brand that originated in Yoshiwara, which flourished as a red-light district during the Edo period. Hotei Takashi = ``Feast'' had the image of everyone getting together during the New Year holidays, so I included a card game called ``Rocca'' created by Mr. Kakinihara.

Kakinohara: Thank you (lol)

Kawashima: The ceramic raccoon dolls at Ebisuten = ``Sho'' are also cute.

Suzuki: That raccoon doll is often seen in front of soba restaurants. That's because it's meant to be a raccoon dog that stands out from the rest, and it's placed there for the sake of business prosperity. But I thought it would be great as a character, so I went to Shigaraki, where raccoon dolls are produced, and had BEAMS JAPAN make an original one. BEAMS orange color and small size.

Masuzaki: It's cute. I felt that by editing from the perspective of ``giving'' from BEAMS JAPAN, the same product could be seen in different ways.

Making “God’s Gift” a standard to the world

Hayashi: I'm a journalist, so I've always thought that it's important to tell the story of something. I was thinking that it would be nice to be able to experiment with new ways of communicating this in stores.

Kawashima: Nobi-san is extremely knowledgeable about cutting-edge technology.

Hayashi: I came up with a variety of ideas, such as what if we showed something that animated the characters of ``Kami Gift'' in stores, or what if we showed the process of making the product in a video. On the other hand, I am no more than an amateur when it comes to the sales floor, so I would like to do various experiments in collaboration with BEAMS, who are professionals in the field.

Kawashima: Lastly, everyone, please tell us your dreams for what you would like the future of "Kami Gift" to be.

Sano: “Oshibo” is a part of Japanese culture that I had forgotten about. It would be great if it could spread by changing the way we look at it, like a ``divine gift.''

Nishikawa: I think "giving good fortune" is easy to understand, and the stage is BEAMS JAPAN. I want it to spread more and more to young people. I also want the characters to continue living.

Kakinohara: Looking back, what the store BEAMS JAPAN is aiming for is to create a new image of BEAMS by highlighting the sense and wit that is unique to Japanese people, and to spread the word ``JAPAN'' to the world. I thought that ``I'm going'' perfectly matched the concept of this time. I would like to continue to spread the word.

Masuzaki: When it took shape like this, I once again felt that it was very typical of BEAMS JAPAN. I hope it becomes established.

Suzuki: I would like to see the character of "God Gift" eventually become a standard gift character and spread beyond the framework of BEAMS.

Kunii: It would be great if he became a character that is loved all over the world.

Hayashi: The beauty and uniqueness of Japan is that it is attracting a lot of attention from developed countries. Is there any possibility of BEAMS JAPAN expanding overseas? I think there is great potential in introducing wonderful Japanese products to the world.

Kawashima: My happy dreams are expanding more and more. Dreams of the future are exciting. I definitely want to make this happen. To everyone reading this, please come to BEAMS JAPAN!

BEAMS JAPAN will be holding "Japan's God Gift" in collaboration with Miraiken.

As a new way to give year-end and Christmas gifts, we will be proposing carefully selected products from all BEAMS JAPAN locations based on seven keywords related to the "Seven Lucky Gods", which symbolize "celebration" unique to Japan.


What is “Japan’s Divine Gift”?
Japan has long been a country that has valued gifts. The ``Oshibo'' event held at the end of the year was originally meant to convey the feeling of being taken care of throughout the year. While taking care of that, can we transform it into a gift for the future? It's also typical of BEAMS, with something playful. BEAMS JAPAN and ifs Future Research Institute became one team, and after many discussions, we came up with ``Japan's Divine Gift.'' Inspired by the Seven Gods of Fortune, which have brought ``auspiciousness'' to the lives of Japanese people, we have created a collection of gifts related to the seven gods. By combining BEAMS JAPAN 's feelings for Japan and Mirai Lab's feelings for the future, we want you to choose something to give to that special someone with a smile on your face - from BEAMS JAPAN and Mirai Lab teams. This is a suggestion.
How about wishing for ``future happiness'' and sending ``congratulations'' to that person?