MUJIcom Hikarigaoka Yurinoki Shoutengai Created "Koi Nobori (Carp Streamer)" with Members from the Shopping Street

The MUJIcom Hikarigaoka Yurinoki Shoutengai has been carrying out a wide range of exchanges with local residents since it opened in December 2018, including having conversations with residents of the housing complex, holding workshops, participating in Christmas festivals, etc. In this spring, we planned a new event called“Koi Nobori (Carp Streamer) made by Everyone”.
Initially, the plan was that people from the shopping street would make the carp base first, and then paint them together with neighboring residents, and display more than 200 carp streamers in the shopping street. However, the event was cancelled due to the spread of COVID-19.

However, people of the shopping street had a forward-looking discussion, saying, “We have made preparations so far, so we will decorate it as much as we can this year, and from next year onward, we will hold a workshop as a new annual spring event.”

The cloth for making the carp base is prepared by Social Good Business Unit using the remnant of MUJI curtains. To reinforce carp mouths, we gathered unused files from Hyakuhana Day Service, another shop in the shopping street, and we also applied used sponges and cushioning materials to paint pictures. It was a difficult task to create the carp streams while operating each store, however, not only the members of the shopping street, but also handmade artists living in the neighbourhood offered us their generous help.

Although the time gathered together was limited, we frequently communicated with each other and took on different roles such as carp-making, hardware making, painting, etc. Over a four-day period, we made more than 100 carp streamers and decorated them at the shopping street.

Due to the impact of COVID-19 Pandemic, a dark and heavy atmosphere is emerging everywhere. However, we hope that the carp streamers swimming in the sky in the Yurinoki shopping street would provide residents in the housing complex and the neighbourhood with some bright topics. MUJIcom Hikarigaoka Yurinoki Shoutengai will continue its efforts to make contributions to the local community. Please keep informed with its future initiatives!

*Information is current as of the date of issue of the individual article.