Report: Guest Talk Event at Kamiyama Marugoto KOSEN 'Wednesday Night'

On June 4, 2025 (Wednesday), a "Wednesday Night" event featuring entrepreneurial guest lecturers was held at the OFFICE of Kamiyama Marugoto KOSEN (Kamiyama Marugoto College of Technology) in Kamiyama Town, Myozai District, Tokushima Prefecture. Naoya Yokota, Representative Director of the Institute for Social Vision and Design (ISVD), appeared as a guest lecturer.

"Who am I — A Journey Around the Questions We Want to Solve and the Questions We Should Solve"

The event is organized by Ryoji Saito, an instructor at Kamiyama Marugoto KOSEN and a board member of ISVD, with the aim of providing students an opportunity to articulate their own questions and take the first step toward making things happen.

Event Overview

• Date & Time: June 4, 2025 (Wednesday), 16:00--20:30
• Venue: Kamiyama Marugoto KOSEN OFFICE (343 Onoji, Jinryo, Kamiyama Town, Myozai District, Tokushima Prefecture)
• Organizer: Kamiyama Marugoto KOSEN Wednesday Night Executive Committee
• Guest Lecturers:
  • Ryo Yamazaki (Representative, studio-L)
  • Akito Abe (Creative Director, Kayac Inc. / Founder of the Unko Museum)
  • Naoya Yokota (Representative Director, Institute for Social Vision and Design / Representative Partner, Correlate Design LLC)

Q&A Highlights

How do you uncover the "essential question" behind a commissioned project?

A common response from the lecturers was to "first engage in thorough dialogue, carefully listening to the background and motivations." Yokota specifically described his approach: "I build trust by sharing meals with clients and then delve deeply into 'why they want to do this.'"

How do you balance user value with self-expression?

The lecturers agreed that "ultimately, end-user satisfaction should be the top priority." It was explained that what matters most is the attitude of "creating value that truly reaches the intended audience," rather than self-satisfaction or self-assertion.

Can "taste" be refined through logic?

The insight offered was that "taste is an accumulation of experience gained through repeatedly comparing and judging quality." Logic (theory) and creativity (intuition) are not in opposition but rather complement each other, and it was emphasized that the key is to deploy each appropriately depending on the situation.

How do diverse experiences nurture inquiry?

The lecturers shared their own wide-ranging career paths, including work as a gardener, telemarketer, and regional revitalization coordinator, and stressed that "volume of action is the soil from which new questions and ideas grow."

How should one adjust when perfectionism becomes excessive?

It was suggested that while valuing one's own convictions, one should simultaneously consider project consensus-building and economic feasibility, thereby channeling that drive toward sustainable outcomes.

Message to Students

The lecturers stated: "The most fundamental and important questions emerge the moment you step off the path of living without inquiry," and offered encouragement: "If you have not yet found your question, simply start moving. That action itself will nurture new questions."

Wednesday Night at Kamiyama Marugoto KOSEN was a valuable learning experience in which students could define their own questions and connect them to practice. We hope this report serves as a source of inspiration for future learning and creative endeavors.