Takagi Hoso has a 70-year history, founded in 1955. Takagi positions the participation in the Co-Design Challenge as a “step toward developing future products.” The company’s main factory, which will serve as the stage for the experience-based event scheduled for June 2025, is called “TSJ (Takagi Studio Japan).” Taking inspiration from a popular theme park near the site of the Expo 2025, the company hopes to position its manufacturing facility as an “entertainment venue.” They believe that while it’s important to pursue high-quality underpinned by basic standards, it’s equally important to not forget the spirit of playfulness. This is because it’s essential for the future of manufacturing in Japan. Even before participating in the Co-Design Challenge, the company has been open to the local community. At the “Thanks Festival” for the families of employees and business partners and local residents, employees run various stalls and around 200 people visit it.

As part of the experience-based event aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), they plan to offer activities such as factory tours, hands-on experiences of assembling the developed display stands, and workshops using “SD Kids,” crafting kits made with scrap pieces of cardboard.

The crafting kit was born quite by chance three years ago in summer when a family friend of Takagi’s visited the factory. A third-grade elementary school student was collecting pieces of cardboard that had fallen on the floor, while the adults listened to the employee’s explanation. “When I asked him what he was doing, he replied with a happy expression, ‘I’m going to take it home for my friend.’” Takagi thought to herself, “Even though it’s useless for us adults, it’s a treasure to children.” That is when they started collecting scrap materials and making kits, which became very popular.

Another highlight is cardboard sumo wrestling. According to the “Nihon Shoki” (Chronicles of Japan), sumo originated in the vicinity of Katsurazi City, Nara Prefecture, where Takagi Hoso’s headquarters is located. Based on this historical account, they created a giant “Dan DAN Sumo” (a play on words for “cardboard” and “sumo”). Two cardboard wrestlers, approximately 1 meter in height, face each other on an octagonal ring about 1.1 meters in diameter, and participants tap the ring with both hands to determine the winner. In July 2024, just before the Paris Olympics, it was exhibited at “JAPAN EXPO Paris 2024,” where Parisians enthusiastically participated.

“We want to continue connecting our history to the future and connecting our local community with the world. And through the display stands and the experience-based event of the Co-Design Challenge, we want to create new value for cardboard together with everyone, with dreams and love,” said Takagi. She is looking beyond the many functions of cardboard, such as providing protection against impact and enabling storage and transportation, toward its future possibilities.