Minerva大学のZ世代が日本文化を再解釈、NY発カルチャースタートアップYOHAKU NYのGo To Market戦略を提案

YOHAKU NY CORPORATION

Minerva大学のZ世代が日本文化を再解釈、NY発カルチャ

~Minerva UniversityのCivic Partnerとして学生プログラムを実施~

(English follows Japanese)

NY発カルチャースタートアップYOHAKU NY CORPORATION（本社：米国ニューヨーク州ブルックリン、Founder：Yoshimi Nakajima）は、革新的な教育モデルで知られるミネルバ大学のCivic Partnerとして、日本文化の新しい社会実装を探る教育プログラムを実施しています。
本プログラムでは、ミネルバ大学の学生が Ikebanaなどの日本文化を体験しながら、YOHAKU NYの Go To Market戦略をテーマに、日本文化の価値を世界にどのように伝えるかについて議論しています。
日本文化を単なる伝統として紹介するのではなく、グローバルなZ世代の視点を通して現代社会における新しい価値として再解釈する試みです。

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初めての生け花体験

Z世代 × 日本文化の再解釈
Minerva大学の学生は、世界各国から集まるZ世代です。
学生たちは、日本文化を外からの視点で捉えながら
「日本文化をどのように世界へ届けるべきか」
というテーマについて議論しています。
学生達は YOHAKU NYのGo To Market Strategy をテーマに、日本文化の価値を世界に展開するための検討を進めています。
今回の取り組みは、日本文化を観光資源や消費対象として紹介するのではなく、人と人の関係を生み出す体験として再設計する試みでもあります。
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ホテルニューオータニにて

YOHAKU NYがMinerva UniversityのCivic Partnerに
ミネルバ大学（Minerva University：本部所在地米国カリフォルニア州サンフランシスコ）は、キャンパスを持たず、世界4大陸を4年かけて巡りながら学ぶ教育モデルで知られています。学生は現地のCivic Partner（企業、NPO、行政機関、研究機関）と協働し、社会のリアルな課題に取り組みます。2022年から3年連続で「世界で最も革新的な大学」(WURI)として選出されています。
YOHAKU NYは、2025年にニューヨークで設立された文化ウェルビーイング企業です。同大学のCivic Partnerとして、日本拠点の1期生 4名の学生を受け入れ、YOHAKU NYの Go To Market戦略の検討をテーマに、日本文化の価値と可能性について議論を行っています。

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草月会館にて

Ikebanaを通じて日本文化を体験
プログラムでは、YOHAKU NYが提供する
Ikebana Self-Reflection および Ikebana Team Building を学生が体験しました。
Ikebanaは単なるフラワーアレンジメントではなく、次のような体験を生み出します。
・集中と内省
・正解のない創造
・相互理解を育む対話

YOHAKU NYでは、Ikebanaを「対話を生み出す文化体験」として再設計しています。

参加者の声
“The way agreement tends to bloom within a team - the vision somehow developed into a shared experience.”

“I think it transcends the barrier of words and lets us connect at a deeper level.”

“It provides space for people to creatively express themselves and discuss differences in perspectives.”

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いける人の個性が表れる生け花

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チームで1作品制作するTeam Building Ikebana

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Team Building Ikebana

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Team Building Ikebana

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Team Building Ikebana

また学生たちは、日本文化理解の一環として、裏千家の茶道家である保科眞智子先生による茶道体験にも参加し、日本文化に共通する価値観や哲学について学びました。

“I think sometimes we can fail to appreciate things because we are so ready to do everything at once, but when we sit and just spend time focusing on one thing, it lets us value the ‘little’ things in life.”
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茶道裏千家東京茶道会館にて

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学生たちは茶道の所作ひとつひとつの哲学に興味を抱いた

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今後の展開
学生による提案は2026年4月17日に開催予定のシンポジウムで共有される予定です。
YOHAKU NY Founder & CEO
Yoshimi Nakajima
「日本文化の価値は、日本人が説明するだけではなく、海外の人々がどのように受け止めるかによって新しい意味が生まれるものだと考えています。
Minerva大学の学生たちと日本文化の可能性について議論できたことをとても嬉しく思います。」

YOHAKU NYについて
YOHAKU NYは、いけばなを軸に日本文化を現代の「対話と創造」体験へ再構築するNY発のカルチャースタートアップです。
YOHAKU NYでは、企業・大学・文化機関向けに、生け花を通した対話と創造の体験プログラム（Ikebana Self-Reflection / Ikebana Team Building）を提供しています。
プログラムの導入やコラボレーションにご関心のある方は、ぜひお気軽にお問い合わせください。

【会社概要】
YOHAKU NY Corporation
Founder：Yoshimi Nakajima
設立：2025年（NY）
所在地：Brooklyn, New York
Website :https://yohaku-ny.com
Instagram：https://www.instagram.com/yohaku_ny/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/yohaku-ny
Email：yohaku.ny@gmail.com

【関連プレスリリース】
YOHAKU NY の設立背景および代表・中島好美の想いについては、2025年12月1日配信のプレスリリースにて詳しく紹介しています。
「NYで新たに“発見”され、再評価が進む「生け花」新企業が「食」とのコラボレーションで現代に再構築

Gen Z Students at Minerva University Reimagine Japanese Culture Through Ikebana- Student program implemented through a Civic Partnership with Minerva University -

YOHAKU NY CORPORATION (Headquarters: Brooklyn, New York, USA; Founder: Yoshimi Nakajima), a New York-based cultural startup, is implementing an educational program exploring new ways to bring Japanese culture into contemporary society as a Civic Partner of Minerva University, an institution known for its innovative educational model.
In this program, students from Minerva University experience Japanese cultural practices such as Ikebana while discussing how the value of Japanese culture can be communicated globally, using YOHAKU NY’s go-to-market strategy as the central theme.
This initiative seeks not merely to introduce Japanese culture as tradition, but to reinterpret it as a new cultural value in contemporary society through the perspectives of a global generation of Gen Z students.

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First Ikebana Experience

Reinterpreting Japanese Culture Through the Lens of Gen Z
Students at Minerva University represent the global Gen Z generation and come from diverse countries around the world.

Through discussions and cultural experiences, students explore Japanese culture from an external perspective and consider the question:

“How should Japanese culture be shared with the world?”

Currently, students are developing proposals centered on YOHAKU NY’s go-to-market strategy, examining how the value of Japanese culture can be introduced to global audiences.

This initiative also aims to rethink Japanese culture not merely as a tourism resource or consumer product, but as a cultural experience designed to create meaningful human connections.
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Students visiting the Ikebana installation at Hotel New Otani

YOHAKU NY as a Civic Partner of Minerva University
Minerva University (Headquarters: San Francisco, California, USA) is known for its innovative educational model in which students study across cities on four continents over the course of four years, without a traditional campus.

Students collaborate with local Civic Partners - including companies, nonprofits, government organizations, and research institutions - to address real-world societal challenges.

The university has been recognized as “The World’s Most Innovative University” in the WURI rankings for three consecutive years since 2022.

YOHAKU NY, founded in New York in 2025 as a cultural wellbeing company, serves as one of these Civic Partners.
The company is currently hosting four first-year students studying in Japan and engaging them in discussions about the value and future possibilities of Japanese culture through the theme of developing YOHAKU NY’s go-to-market strategy.

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At the Sogetsu Kaikan (Sogetsu School of Ikebana Headquarters)

Experiencing Japanese Culture Through Ikebana
As part of the program, students participated in experiences offered by YOHAKU NY, including:

- Ikebana Self-Reflection- Ikebana Team Building

Ikebana is not simply flower arrangement; it offers experiences such as:

- Focus and reflection- Creativity without a single correct answer- Dialogue that fosters mutual understanding

YOHAKU NY reimagines Ikebana as a cultural experience that creates dialogue.

Participant reflections

“The way agreement tends to bloom within a team - the vision somehow developed into a shared experience.”

“I think it transcends the barrier of words and lets us connect at a deeper level.”

“It provides space for people to creatively express themselves and discuss differences in perspectives.”
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Ikebana expressing the arranger’s individuality

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Team Building through Ikebana

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Ikebana Team Building

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Ikebana Team Building

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Exploring Shared Values in Japanese Culture

Students also participated in a tea ceremony experience led by Machiko Hoshina, a tea master of the Urasenke tradition, as part of their exploration of Japanese culture.

“I think sometimes we can fail to appreciate things because we are so ready to do everything at once, but when we sit and just spend time focusing on one thing, it lets us value the ‘little’ things in life.”

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At the Urasenke Tokyo Tea Ceremony Hall

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Students were intrigued by the philosophy behind each gesture in the tea ceremony.

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Yoshimi Nakajima
Founder & CEO, YOHAKU NY

“I believe the value of Japanese culture does not emerge solely from how Japanese people explain it, but also from how people from other cultures receive and interpret it.

It was a great pleasure to discuss the future possibilities of Japanese culture together with students from Minerva University.”

About YOHAKU NY
YOHAKU NY is a New York-based cultural startup that reimagines Japanese culture - particularly Ikebana - as contemporary experiences centered on dialogue, reflection, and creativity.

[Company Information]
YOHAKU NY Corporation
Founder: Yoshimi Nakajima
Established: 2025 (New York)
Location: Brooklyn, New York
Business: cultural well-being experiences
Website: https://yohaku-ny.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yohaku_ny/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/yohaku-ny
Email: yohaku.ny@gmail.com

[Related Press Release]
For more on the background and founding story of YOHAKU NY, please see the press release distributed on December 1, 2025
”Ikebana Reimagined in Brooklyn, New York /YOHAKU NY Launches a Cultural integrated Experience ”

プレスリリース提供：PR TIMES

Minerva大学のZ世代が日本文化を再解釈、NY発カルチャ