To Make the World Cry from Kamakura for World Peace on World Mental Health Day (October 10), SDGs Organization 'Kamakura Sustainable' to Host a Tear-Inducing Event (Ruikatsu Fest)

Our company supports April Dream, an initiative to make April 1st a day for sharing dreams. This press release is the dream of 'Namida to Tabi Cafe Akane'.

Consciously shedding tears, or 'Ruikatsu,' is a mental detox method well-suited for modern people. Hidefumi Yoshida, a 'Tear Therapist' also known as 'Namida Sensei,' who conducts 'Ruikatsu' seminars and lectures for corporations, municipalities, educational institutions, medical institutions, and welfare facilities, and is the representative of the SDGs organization 'Kamakura Sustainable,' will hold a Ruikatsu Fest in Kamakura on October 10, World Mental Health Day, and broadcast it to the world. Instead of 'making the whole world smile,' he aims to 'make the whole world's face cry (with emotion)' to provide an opportunity for stress relief. He also hopes to contribute to ending the conflicts that are still erupting around the world with these 'crying faces.'

■The Ruikatsu Fest will feature a live online broadcast to the world of a competition of tear-jerking songs by artists.

A music festival will be held at a historic temple. In addition to performances by individual artists and symphony orchestras, music that will stir the hearts of people around the world will be delivered in various formats, including traditional Kamakura hayashi music. The event will also introduce Kamakura's proud culture through videos of Zen meditation and sutra copying. Furthermore, a Noh stage will recreate the famous speech from 'Azuma Kagami' by Masako, which moved viewers to tears in the Taiga drama 'The 13 Lords of the Shogun' aired two years ago, where she inspired the gokenin (shogun's retainers) to repay their debt of gratitude to Yoritomo.

■'Ruikatsu' is gaining attention in a stressful society.

'Ruikatsu' is an activity to 'detox the mind' by consciously shedding tears. There are three main types of tears: 'basal tears' that lubricate the eyes, 'reflex tears' that are produced when something gets in the eye, and 'emotional tears' that flow when emotions are heightened. 'Ruikatsu' focuses on 'emotional tears.' These are said to be tears that only humans can shed, and it has been revealed that they are useful for relieving accumulated stress.

It is common to hear stories of feeling refreshed after crying hard while watching a moving movie or drama. This is because crying switches the autonomic nervous system from a state where the sympathetic nervous system (which promotes tension and excitement) is dominant to a state where the parasympathetic nervous system (which promotes relaxation) is dominant. Dr. Hideho Arita, a professor emeritus at Toho University School of Medicine, has also presented neuroscientific data on the relationship between tears and stress reduction, focusing on the activity of the medial prefrontal cortex, which is considered the 'empathy brain.' To spread these effects of emotional tears, Hidefumi Yoshida is energetically developing training, lectures, and services related to 'Ruikatsu' as a 'Tear Therapist.' His diverse activities, such as producing the 'crying' cafe 'Namida to Tabi Cafe Akane,' have been frequently featured in domestic and international media.