[Higashikawa Town, Hokkaido] 6th "Kengo Kuma & Higashikawa Town" KAGU Design Competition Now Accepting Applications

We are pleased to announce the opening of applications for the 6th "Kengo Kuma & Higashikawa Town" KAGU Design Competition. Higashikawa Town, Hokkaido, known as the "Town of Photography," is seeking proposals for new KAGU from young people around the world in collaboration with architect Kengo Kuma. The theme for this year is "Quiet Furniture." The application deadline is September 30, 2026. This period has been set to include the summer vacation, making it easier for students to participate.

Seeking designs for "KAGU" that propose a new, mindful way of living.

Higashikawa Town, a major production center for Asahikawa furniture in Hokkaido, established the "Kengo Kuma & Higashikawa Town" KAGU Design Competition with architect Kengo Kuma to solicit designs for "KAGU" from young people who will lead the next generation, proposing a new, mindful way of living. Since the first competition was held in 2021, we have received numerous applications from around the world, with a cumulative total of approximately 2,800 entries across the first five competitions.

The theme for the 6th competition is "Quiet Furniture." Eligibility is open to students worldwide aged 30 and under. The deadline is September 30, 2026 (pre-registration not required). Ten winning entries will be selected from the submitted works, with the final judging and selection of award winners scheduled to take place in Higashikawa Town in March 2027.

"KAGU" is a general term for things that connect humans and the world, expanding the concept of conventional furniture.

We look forward to receiving new "KAGU" proposals from many of you.

Inquiries regarding this matter:

Secretariat of the Kengo Kuma & Higashikawa Town KAGU Design Competition Executive Committee

(Higashikawa Town Hall, Cultural Exchange Division)

Contact: Sakabe/Yokoyama Tel: 0166-82-2111 (Main)

Mail: official@kagu-higashikawa.jp

KAGU Design Competition Official Website: https://www.kagu-higashikawa.jp/

Overview of the 6th "Kengo Kuma & Higashikawa Town" KAGU Design Competition Application

◆Introduction

Higashikawa Town, Hokkaido, has long engaged in initiatives possible only for a small town that is a furniture production center. This began with "Your Chair," which supports children born in the town and creates a place for them. In elementary school, they learn surrounded by wooden school furniture, and in junior high school, they take home their own wooden chairs, which they have cared for and used for three years, as graduation gifts. These continuous initiatives unique to a furniture production area are now entering a phase of nurturing young people who will lead the next generation.

Architect Kengo Kuma, who has long advocated for the charm of regions through architecture and has a strong interest in utilizing regional resources and educating the next generation, is collaborating with Higashikawa Town, a sparsely populated yet rich and beautiful town with a thriving furniture industry, to envision new ways of living.

◆Application Content Theme

Quiet Furniture

◆Eligibility

Students worldwide aged 30 and under at the time of submission.

◆Awards

Grand Prize (Kengo Kuma & Higashikawa Town Award): 1 winner, ¥500,000, consideration for productization

Runner-up Prize (SOLIZE Award): 1 winner, ¥200,000

Excellence Award: 1 winner, ¥100,000

Honorable Mention: 7 winners

[Special Award] Higashikawa Woodworking Association Award: 1 winner, consideration for productization

◆How to Apply

Please apply through the official website.

Official HP https://www.kagu-higashikawa.jp/

◆Judges

Chief Judge

Kengo Kuma (Architect, Professor Emeritus and Special Professor at the University of Tokyo)

Judges

Eisuke Tachikawa (Design Strategist, Evolutionary Thinker, Representative of NOSIGNER)

Asao Tokolo (Artist)

Hiroshi Nakamura (Architect, NAP Architects)

Masahiro Harada (Architect, Professor at Shibaura Institute of Technology)

Katsuhiko Hibino (Artist, President of Tokyo University of the Arts)

Teppei Fujiwara (Architect, Associate Professor at Yokohama National University)

Noritsugu Oda (Chair Researcher, Higashikawa Town Design Advisor)

Higashikawa Woodworking Association (Organization established by woodworking-related businesses in Higashikawa Town, Hokkaido)

◆Schedule (Planned)

July 1, 2026: Applications Open

July 1, 2026 - September 30, 2026: Submission Period

Mid-January 2027: Selection of Winning Entries

March 21, 2027: Final Judging and Awards Ceremony (to be held in Higashikawa Town, Hokkaido)

*The final judging and awards ceremony are planned to be held with the selected entrants invited to Higashikawa Town.

◆Organizers

"Kengo Kuma & Higashikawa Town" KAGU Design Competition Executive Committee

(Higashikawa Town Chamber of Commerce, Higashikawa Tourism Association, Higashikawa Agricultural Cooperative, Higashikawa Construction Industry Association, Higashikawa Forest Cooperative, Higashikawa Promotion Public Corporation, Asahikawa Furniture Industry Cooperative, Higashikawa Town Council, Higashikawa Board of Education, Higashikawa Woodworking Association, Higashikawa Town)

◆Message from Chief Judge Kengo Kuma

Theme: "Quiet Furniture"

The tranquility of waking up in Higashikawa Town is special.

It is when we compose our minds and bodies that we feel connected to the world again.

Surrounded by the sounds of nature, such as the babbling of water and the chirping of insects, we realize that humans are also living beings coexisting with nature.

Furniture that embraces that quietness. Furniture that contemplates the quietness of nature itself.

Please propose "Quiet Furniture" that creates new encounters between people and the world with rich imagination.

Kengo Kuma, Chief Judge, "Kengo Kuma & Higashikawa Town" KAGU Design Competition