DIALOGUE 05

TELL US WHAT YOU LOVE
Nitobe Bunka Gakuen, located in the Nakano area of Tokyo where MARUI GROUP was founded, has defined its goal of fostering
happiness creation and is cultivating individuals with the capacity to help resolve social issues. This school also has the facility
VIVISTOP NITOBE, which is a creative space that is not bound by the traditional conventions of schools and that allows teachers andstudents to learn together. VIVISTOP encourages students to freely create based on their interests. In fact, children are able to use
this space to pursue their own interests. VIVISTOP resonates with MARUI GROUP’s goal of developing spaces for co-creation. We satdown with four students from Nitobe Bunka Gakuen and Yusuke Yamauchi, a teacher at the school and core member behind theoperation of VIVISTOP, to discuss the interests that they are using this space to pursue.

The students are pictured sitting on chairs created at VIVISTOPNITOBE by fifth graders of Nitobe Bunka Gakuen together with adesigner. These chairs were awarded with the Prime Minister’sAward in the 15th Kids Design Awards.

Unstructured Environment to Pursue
One’s Creative Interests
Mr. Yamauchi: I teach art at Nitobe
Bunka Gakuen. After school, I engage increative activities together with students
at VIVISTOP NITOBE. Here, we haveaccess to upcycled materials made from
scraps as well as laser cutters andstate-of-the-art tools. Both adults andkids work together to create whatever
we think is possible in this environment.
At VIVISTOP, we do not tell kids what todo. No, VIVISTOP is a place where
everyone can do what they like andmake what they want.
Hikari: You’re not like other teachers!
You sound just like a regular guy (everyone laughs).
Mr. Yamauchi: You’re right, I’m not reallyteaching anything, am I? Anyways, howabout you all tell us what you are doingat VIVISTOP? Hikari, I saw you painting
a gradation pattern on some paper. It
didn’t seem like you had planned anything ahead, and it was more like youwere just enjoying painting.
Hikari: Yep, I just did it, and it ended up
looking pretty good!
Mr. Yamauchi: That’s amazing. I amalways so impressed at how you justhave this natural understanding, thistalent for making things look good.
Hikari: I put a little water in my paint,
and then dunked this piece of paper in it.
When I pulled it out, it had this pretty
pattern on it. I tried all of the colors I

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cutter, the machine that cuts wood withlasers, to cut the wood for the pillars andthen ran kite string between the pillars. I
was somehow able to get the balanceright so that the rails are supported
without the bridge falling over.
Mr. Yamauchi: Yusei won first prize in arobot contest the other day.
Yusei: Yep. If I mess up my program, Ican’t fix it by myself. So, I needed to gethelp from Mr. Yamauchi and otherpeople. To tell the truth, I was actuallyaiming for a different prize.
Miri: What was that?
Yusei: The technology award. I justwanted to win some prize. When myname was called, I was like “huh, I won?”(everyone laughs)
YMr.

Ya m auchuseii

Mir

Growth through Creativityi
HikariR

hadn’t used yet and experimented to see
what patterns I would get when I dunked
the paper.
Mr. Yamauchi: Schools give us paper
scraps that they would have normallythrown away, and we see what we cando with them. What we do at VIVISTOP
is more like an extension of play.
Miri: There are a lot of wood scraps atmy school. I am trying to make a swing

set together with two of my friends. I
want to make a swing set because thekids at Nitobe Bunka Preschool andChildcare don’t have swings. I haveasked the preschool if it is okay for meto make a swing set. I want to make one
with a long seat, like a couch, that youcan relax on. I hope to give it to them asa Christmas present.
Mr. Yamauchi: You might not be done intime for Christmas, but you could givethem a model, you know, to show them
what the finished product will look like.
Miri: No way, you can’t swing on a model(laughs).
Ryotaro: I made a car that can move. I
got the idea when I saw Yusei and Mr.
Yamauchi playing with RC cars they had
made, and I wanted to make one too.
Mr. Yamauchi: What is so cool about

yotaroRyotaro’s car is that he programmed it,
built the controller, and made it so thatthe car could be controlled by himself.
Ryotaro: The hardest part was making
the motor. I had to ask other people how
to do things like make holes for thescrews.
Yusei: I love trains, so I made things likea station platform and suspension
bridge from wood. I used the laser

Mr. Yamauchi: Yusei, it has been abouta year since you started coming toVIVISTOP. What do you think haschanged over this year?
Yusei: Maybe how I use the laser cutter.
I use wood to make stuff like desks andshelves.
Mr. Yamauchi: That’s true. I have seen
you using the laser cutter as well as abunch of other tools, and the range ofthings you make has gotten much larger.
What about you, Ryotaro? You joined us
in the summer, but you seem to havelearned a lot.
Ryotaro: I learned how to use the laser
cutter and the electric saw.

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TELL US WHAT YOU LOVEMr. Yamauchi: I’ve seen that. The laser
cutter is something you would never use
in class. You were quick to pick that up
and to start using the electric saw, which
I recall you initially putting off until you
were more used to things. Now you arereally good at using them by yourself.
How about you, Hikari?
Hikari: I don’t know. I just do what I wantto do.
Mr. Yamauchi: You are really true to yourfeelings. If you want to do something,
you do it. Miri, you have been with us forabout half a year. Is there anything you
have learned in that time?
Miri: I learned how to use a lot of themachines.
Mr. Yamauchi: Were there any tools ormachines that you wanted to use before
coming here?
Miri: Nope (laughs).
Mr. Yamauchi: So, you didn’t think about
it at all (laughs)? Do you prefer to makethings by yourself, or with others?
Miri: It’s more fun to make things withother people. If I’m by myself, I just think
too much and never get started. If I’m
with my friends, we can talk about what
we’re making while we do it.
Yusei: I think about what I want to makenext at VIVISTOP when I am home, buteverything is a prototype (laughs).
Mr. Yamauchi and other people give me
ideas and advice on things like balanceand stuff while I make things.
Mr. Yamauchi: It is natural to make a lotof mistakes. Not even I know what’sbest. It is probably common for everyone to find themselves scratching theirheads while making things.

I won a robot contest! Eventhough I was the one whowrote the program, it is socomplicated that I think of atrain map when I look at it.
I also like trains and photos.
I even held a photo exhibitionat school.

Space Where You Can Make Anything
You WantMr. Yamauchi: What do you all like best
about VIVISTOP?
Ryotaro: I like crafts and how I can makewhatever I want, especially using thelaser cutter!
Hikari: I don’t like to study, but I love artsand crafts, and making pictures. I likehow I can do almost anything I want.
VIVISTOP is a magical place. I comehere at least once a week.
Miri: I want to come to VIVISTOP everyday. If I don’t know how to do something,
I can get help from Mr. Yamauchi andother grown-ups. Even if I make a mistake, they will give me advice on how I
can fix it.
Yusei: I like the freedom, and how I canmake whatever I want. I wish that
VIVISTOP was open from 7 a.m. to
midnight every day, even on weekends(laughs).
Mr. Yamauchi: Until midnight? (laughs)
Miri: I also wish we had a 3D printer.
Ryotaro: Yeah, we need a 3D printer!
Mr. Yamauchi: I will put that on the listof things we need to buy next year. It
sounds like VIVISTOP is a place where
you can give form to your imagination,
where we can make our dreams a reality
together. I am so happy that you all love
VIVISTOP.

— Yusei
Fifth GradeI want to make a swing setand give it to Nitobe Bunka
Preschool and Childcare as aChristmas present. I haveasked the preschool if it isokay. I hope to make awooden swing set with a longseat, like a couch, that you
can relax on.

I made my first RC car withhelp from kids older than me.
I didn’t know how to write theprogram at first, but I somehow got it running. It washard, but fun.
— RyotaroThird Grade— Miri
Fifth GradeI like pretty things. Lately,
I have been having fun pouring ink into water and seeing
the gradations. When I color
the paper scraps I get atschool, they all have different
patterns. I have made somany!
66— Hikari
Fourth Grade67