Torrance Journal for Applied Creativity

oar meat and tanned skin. They are
very active.
The other village has proposed
a village “karuta” game by the students.
“Karuta” is a set composed of cards
with texts to be read and corresponding
picture cards. The village children enjoyed
the village “karuta” at the summer
festival.
5 Concluding Remarks
108
Fig. 3. The Photo KJ-Ho and the rest of photos
The second day, all students visited the villages and took photos by guiding
the representative of the village. The photos are candidates of the village treasures.
In the evening, all students try to make the Photo KJ-Ho. It shows understanding
the status quo of the given problem (i.e., the current situation map).
The third day, all students continue to observe the Photo KJ-Ho and get
many ideas for regional regeneration. They make an idea illustration map about
possible recommendations of the village.
The fourth and last day consisted of further refinements of the recommendations.
In the evening, we set up the second workshop. All students, the residents,
and the local government attend the workshop. The first presentation of the idea
illustration map is done by the students, which is the outsiders’ opinion. The residents
and students discuss the recommendations, but evaluations are done by the
residents themselves. This is the most important. After the evaluation, the plan for
the village’s regeneration is presented by the residents.
After Session
Fig. 4. “Karuta” in Nomi City
The idea illustration maps and the Photo KJ-Ho maps are exhibited at the
local community center. The student representatives are invited to the village meeting.
Several recommendation plans are put into practice by the residents. They are
as follows:
One village established an NGO to pursue this regeneration project—in
particular, to improve inter-generational interactions through learning. More detailed
plans are still in progress.
Another village has a troublesome problem of increasing numbers of wild
boar. Students interested in the matter established a venture business company.
They are now considering a business model that would generate money for wild
We explained The KJ-Ho and
The W-shaped problem solving methodology,
and its application to real world
problems. There are many applications
of The KJ-Ho in Japan. They are
KAIZEN (i.e., “Continuous Improvement”),
TQC (i.e., “Total Quality
Control”), Requirement Engineering,
Creative Education, Social Innovation,
Artifact Creation, Care/Nursing Workshop,
Design Thinking, and so forth.
The most successful application is the
mini Nomadic University for Regional
Invigoration.
The KJ-Ho is a most popular
creative design thinking method in
Japan. In fact, my students studied
the KJ-Ho and The W-shaped problem
solving methodology. Thirty-one
students in my lab were awarded with
their Ph. D.’s and all doctors got tenure
positions. One hundred three students
in my lab got their master’s degrees.
They researched and developed many
innovative software tools and devices.
They are RFID (i.e., radio-frequency
identification) mat, Aroma Chips, Decision
Making Support Groupware, Brain
Writing Support Systems, Group KJ Ho
Support Systems, and so on.
Acknowledgements
The author acknowledges my colleagues,
Dr. Toshio Nomura, Dr. Mikio Naganobu,
Dr. Susumu Maruyama, Mr. Haruo
Yamaura, Dr. Kunio Shirahada, and Dr.
Takaya Yuizono. They contributed to
my mini Nomadic University projects
and The KJ-Ho workshops in the U.K.