Our project

When:
Before and during Tokyo Olympics 2020

Where:
Tokyo, Japan

What:
Make a new type of sportswear (functional but casual and fashionable)

Who:
① Japanese enterprise making sporting goods (plan)
② Japanese factories and craftsmen (produce)
③ Athletes and staffs of Tokyo Olympics (wear)

      Why:
Today, the way of sports is changing and most people are enjoying some kinds of sports. Likewise, sportswear is also becoming more casual and fashionable and some foreign companies are starting to produce such sportswear. Tokyo Olympics is the best chance that Japanese sports bland increase its share in the world by making outstanding sportswear and appealing its prominent skills.

How:

< 1. Examination>
Examine needs of athletes and general people in the world
                ↓
Ex: The image of Japan, comfort to wear, material, function, design


<2. Visual design>
Ask a Japanese designer of its design which is associated with Japan and fashionable

The uniform Japanese representations of gymnast were wearing represents Japanese national flag.

 

In Sochi Winer Olympics, the uniforms of some countries were designs of the famous bland and very fashionable.

America (by Ralph Lauren) 







France (by Lacoste)

< 3. Functional design>
Draft a design which is considered high functions

< 4. Make>
Make in Japan

This is the most important point to appeal Japanese features of making, for example, the prominent skill of sewing, the good materials like thread, and the spirit of mottainai. Furthermore, it leads to the regional activation.

< 5. Promotion>
Promote to Olympics committee or contract with athletes

 

~Explain about our project~

When we talked about this topic, we thought the Tokyo Olympic 2020 becomes good opportunity to expand Japanese products, culture and spirits. Japanese companies are particular about the details of products and Japanese designers have original Japanese feelings. Then we thought Japanese sports companies can create more functional and comfortable products and Japanese designers can take some Japanese traditional design into Japanese products. In addition, nowadays, when we play some sports, we wear sports clothes and when we are in daily life, we wear general clothes. So we thought it will be epoch-making to create some clothes which we can use in sports and daily life. Those are the origins of our projects.

Then we thought about how to expand Japanese products and culture in Tokyo Olympic and we get a conclusion. First, we meet the Japanese company’s technology and Japanese traditional design. To say concrete, we invent sports clothes which have precision details. Moreover, our sports clothes have special texture which we can use in sports and daily life. In addition, we cooperate with Japanese fashion designer and take in Japanese traditional design in modern sports clothes. We want to fuse traditional Japanese culture and modern Japanese culture and take those cultures into sports clothes by thinking about the arrangement of colors, the shape and so on. However, when we invent new type sports clothes, we don’t forget not only design but also functionality. When people play some sports, all people eliminate sweat and in many sports, there are lot of actions like jumping, throwing a balls, running and so on. To make those actions easier and keep our skin comfortable, we should use more elastic and evaporative texture. Likewise, it is important to make our products in Japan because ‘’Made in Japan’’ will be an important element to promote our products to all over the world. It is difficult to take all of those factors into one product but if there are Japanese technology and spirit, it is sure to realize it.

After we invent products, we should promote our products. To be known our products, we should make contract with professional athletes and Japan Olympic Association (JOC) then we supply our clothes to professional players and volunteers who supports the managements of Tokyo Olympic. In addition to this, before the Tokyo Olympic is held, we make advertisement. We should strongly promote about Japanese product’s functionality, detail, the fusion of traditional Japanese culture and modern sports clothes and ‘’Made in Japan’’ in our advertisement. To do those promotions and advertisements, we can spread the greatness of Japanese products and Japanese craftsmanship to all over the world.

(693 words)

 

My thoughts on Ariana Miyamoto

  Ariana Miyamoto is a winner of Miss Universe Japan. She is twenty one years old, she is from Nagasaki prefecture, and surprisingly, she is mixed. She has a Japanese mother and an African American father. In modern Japanese society, it is not remarkable to be mixed of some ethnic. However, she is a representative of Miss Universe Japan. So it is very controversial.

  【Ariana Miyamoto’s background】
ž   Born on May 12th, 1994 in Nagasaki
  Went to a high school in America, after having graduated from a junior high school in Japan
ž   Worked as a bartender
ž   Hobby: motorcycle touring

My opinion about this is critical. I think she is not appropriate for a representative of Miss Universe Japan. She does not　look like Japanese. It should be a pure Japanese at least as a representative of Miss Universe Japan. (I know, of course, that a winner is selected not only by appearance but also by behavior and ability which are suitable for a “Japanese” beautiful woman. However, as far as I looked over, I cannot say she is totally suitable for a representative of Miss Universe Japan even from the point of such element. )

   However, do not misunderstand. I am saying just she is inappropriate for “a representative of Miss Universe Japan”. I am not saying she is not beautiful or she is not Japanese. In fact, I really think she is a very beautiful and cool woman. The blackish skin, muscularity body, chiseled face, glamorous lip…, they are her wonderful individualities regardless of the race.

  Nowadays, an international marriage is becoming common and we can find mixed people easily. There are also various mixed friends around me. What I feel as far as I have communicated with them until now is that the factor which determines one’s character and the way of thinking is not blood but the environment in which he or she has been growing up. Japaneseness does not arise from the race.

  You may say it contradicts what I said in the first part. It is because when it comes to appearance, the situation is different. You know many people get impression from a look. So in the miss international contest in which women from various ethnics compete, Japaneseness of appearance is thought important. For this reason, I think she is not appropriate for a representative of Miss International Japan.

 

World news

 The news I chose was about the U.S. deployment of special operations forces to Syria. But I could not understand the whole news because of my poor English comprehension skill and background knowledge. So, summing up the content of this news simply as far as I could understand, it is like following.

  The United States is going to send forces to Syria to support revels against Islamic State. U.S. officials are insisting that American forces are not going to fight at the forefront, so they would not be exposed to danger. However, everyone knows that there is no saying there would be no danger and some person says that this scheme would not succeed and not make situation in Middle East better as long as there is no consistent and firm plan.

  Though it is not related to this news itself, I thought when I read some article in English, not only English reading skills but also background knowledge is very necessary. Language is different from country to country or from nation to nation, however, knowledge is common all over the world.

 

  I had a question that why the United States was always involved in almost all major war. I knew that the U.S was said like the police of the world, but I did not know why. So I searched about this.

  In the first time of American history, it had taken a policy not to interfere with other countries. However, thorough the First World War and the Second World War, the U.K. defeated and there was no country other than the U.S. which could lead world politics. And many European countries were thinking the U.S. could prevent communism to spread and wanted the U.S. to have relations with them. In this way, the U.S. was becoming to have big power in the world. It is kind of duty of the U.S. to interfere with many issues.

  However, recently president Obama said the U.S. was not any more the police of the world. It means America will give up world issues. If it will be really so, the balance of the world would collapse.

 Anyway, I want to and have to be able to have more deep thought and opinion about world news. So I should be more careful about what is occurring in the world. I will use time to check news instead of twitter, instagram or other SNS.

 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/us-special-forces-syria_56337c06e4b0c66bae5c079d?utm_hp_ref=world