marukawa Promotes Community-Circulating Town Development Through Architecture, Food, and Events

Marukawa Construction Co., Ltd. (headquartered in Kawanabe-cho, Minamikyushu City, Kagoshima Prefecture; hereafter “marukawa”) is strengthening its efforts around local production for local consumption by making use of regional resources. The company is promoting community-circulating town development through three pillars: architecture, food, and events. Background: Choosing to remain in a rural community amid population decline Minamikyushu City is a town of about 30,000 people, surrounded by mountains and tea fields. At the same time, depopulation, an aging population, and a declining birthrate are changing the shape of the community through school reorganizations and neighborhood association mergers. While many companies move their bases to urban areas, marukawa has kept its headquarters here for more than 90 years since its founding. “Because we are a company raised by this community, we want to make this place a more attractive region.” Based on that belief, marukawa is advancing regional circulation initiatives centered on local production for local consumption. Initiative 1: From simply “using” local timber to fully bringing out its value Regional timber utilization hub “Muku - Mukunoki” Wooden houses in Japan still rely heavily on imported timber, creating challenges such as the decline of forestry and forest degradation. marukawa actively promotes the use of Kagoshima-grown timber under the belief that local wood reaches its fullest potential when used locally. The symbolic facility for this effort is “Muku - Mukunoki,” built next to the company headquarters. Its deep eaves protect the building from strong sunlight and rain, while the design enhances the durability of the wood and maximizes the value of the material. This initiative received a Special Award at the Forest and Forestry Promotion Convention hosted by Kagoshima Prefecture. Both the structural and finishing materials of “Muku” use Kagoshima-grown timber. Initiative 2: Creating a place where young people can take on challenges in the community “Kagoshima Gohan Tetote” The kitchen space inside “Muku” is used as a community-based startup hub where young people living in the region can launch new businesses and take on new challenges. The first such project is “Kagoshima Gohan Tetote.” Owner Kumiko Tanaka, originally from Tokyo, previously worked as a nursery school dietitian. Through that work, she began questioning the original value of ingredients and seasonal awareness. Seeking a lifestyle that uses things grown in the land, season, and environment where people live, and a life closer to farming and nature, she moved to Kagoshima. She now lives in a vacant house in the community, participates as a member of the settlement, and serves dishes made with local ingredients. Owner Kumiko Tanaka commented: “In Kagoshima, so many things are available locally: vegetables, meat, rice, salt, miso. The natural environment is also truly abundant.” She added: “I feel joy every day in being able to use rice grown together with farmers and seasonal ingredients harvested nearby, and to deliver the unique seasonality of this land through food.” Tanaka also actively participates in local events and continues to nurture new value while rooted in the community. She is not merely a vendor, but someone who continues to take on challenges while living in the region. Local production for local consumption is not limited to food ingredients. People, too, live, work, and take on challenges within a community, creating circulation. Through its work in architecture, marukawa is building an environment where new ways of living and new challenges can emerge in the region. Initiative 3: Making the region’s appeal visible in a single day “Kawanabe Forest Marche” to be held on May 24, 2026 “Kawanabe Forest Marche” is a community event that began on the occasion of the company’s 70th anniversary. People who live and work in the region bring local food, goods, skills, and thoughts back to the community. The event began as a place to seriously put into practice something that seems obvious but is difficult to achieve. What started as a handmade event will be held for the fourth time this year. It has now grown into an annual May event that attracts many visitors from both inside and outside the region. In a small community of about 20 residents, several thousand people gather in just one day. They laugh, learn, feel surprised, and rediscover the region. marukawa believes that this single day can become a catalyst that slightly changes the future of the community. Overview of “Kawanabe Forest Marche 2026” Date and time: Sunday, May 24, 2026, 10:00-16:00 Venue: Around Marukawa Construction Co., Ltd. (Honbeppu, Kawanabe-cho, Minamikyushu City, Kagoshima Prefecture) Content: Local restaurants and food trucks, miscellaneous goods and craft sales, workshops, ridge-raising ceremony experience, woodworking classes for children, and more Admission is free. marukawa’s vision of the ultimate local production for local consumption Local production for local consumption is not merely local consumption. It means circulating the resources, work, people, and aspirations found in the region to create a community where people can continue to live. It may be inconvenient. It may not offer everything that a city does. Even so, it can become a place where people somehow want to gather and where they want to live. In ways only a construction company can, marukawa will continue to cultivate such a place with its own hands and keep challenging the future of the region. marukawa - Marukawa Construction Co., Ltd. Located in Kawanabe-cho, Minamikyushu City, Kagoshima Prefecture, marukawa is a construction company based on the edge of a region that includes marginal settlements. Through new construction, renovation, and vacant house regeneration, it works not merely to build things, but to create communities where people can continue living. The company views architectural technology as a means of solving regional issues and actively engages in collaboration with government policies and public communication. Address: 2522-1 Honbeppu, Kawanabe-cho, Minamikyushu City, Kagoshima Prefecture Phone: 0993-56-1348 Website: https://www.instagram.com/marukawa_kagoshima/