FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 2025

A new way to study traditional Japanese material culture and its techniques, accessible from anywhere in the world.

Kyoto, Japan – Kyoto Research Institute (KRI), an independent research organization dedicated to traditional Japanese materials and craftsmanship, is proud to announce the upcoming launch of its immersive online program, Fieldwork Club, beginning Autumn 2025.

Fieldwork Club is a global, membership-based learning initiative that provides hands-on access to Japan’s material traditions, including textiles, architecture, crafts, and culinary practices. Designed for mostly remote participation, this innovative format connects participants worldwide with the people, processes, and places behind Japan’s heritage materials through video-based curricula, interviews, interactive sessions, and collaborative creation with farmers, artisans, and technicians.

“We created Fieldwork Club to explore the practical value of heritage materials in contemporary life,” says Momoko Nakamura, Founding Partner of Kyoto Research Institute. “This program goes beyond aesthetics or design, it’s about understanding the cultural, ecological, and social contexts that give materials their meaning, and ultimately proves their practical use case today.”

A Hands-on Approach to Sustainable Making

At the heart of Fieldwork Club is the belief that sustainable creation is rooted in cultural and systemic respect and understanding. Heritage materials are most often birthed from seed, eventually harvested, and met with traditional technique. Members examine how natural resources in Japan become functional materials through agricultural cultivation, ancestral craft, and ecological knowledge.

And perhaps the most important aspect of Fieldwork Club is that members are asked to leverage those heritage materials to actively participate in the creation of functional, beautiful, sustainable forms that we actually want to use today.

Program Structure

Fieldwork Club is a rolling enrollment program, meaning participants can join at any time. Upon enrollment, new members receive an orientation email and immediate access to content. Case Study topics change every six months to traverse genres that make up our living, relying on natural resources and traditional technique.

Through a video-based curriculum, several key interactive sessions, and optional biannual in-person fieldwork day, members not only “watch,” but also feel, share, and use, experiencing KRI’s full research and development cycle of how heritage materials become practical materials in modern everyday life.

Fall 2025 – Spring 2026 Case Study

Sustainable Fashion: Traditional Japanese Workwear for Today
The inaugural theme explores traditional Japanese workwear: its fabrics, forms, and functions as understood through the lens of artisans, farmers, and textile makers.

GOAL: Members will participate in the co-creation of original workwear, designed in collaboration with traditional artisans, farmers, textile makers, and KRI researchers.

Program Details

Name: Fieldwork Club
Enrollment Begins: September 2025 (Open Enrollment)
First Fieldwork Day: March 25, 2026 (Wed) *Optional*
Case Study Cycle: Updated every 6 months
First Case Study: Sustainable Fashion: Traditional Japanese Workwear for Today
Language: Japanese & English (all video and written material are bilingual)
Format:
- Membership-based
- Primarily online self-paced learning
- Several key interactive sessions throughout
- Optional biannual in-person fieldwork day
- Membership Plans and Pricing: To be announced

About Kyoto Research Institute

Making a case for heritage Japanese materials.

Founded in July 2024, Kyoto Research Institute is an independent organization dedicated to the study and proliferation of Japan’s heritage materials. Through field-based research, KRI studies a wide range of sectors from clothing, cuisine, forestry, architecture, and craft, to prove the relevance and practical utility of traditional materials and techniques today.

KRI develops bilingual publications, educational content, original product collaborations, and maintains a materials archive collection. Its mission is to bridge traditional knowledge and modern application, turning hyper-local fieldwork into global purpose.

Kyoto Research Institute
Founded: July 30, 2024
Location: Kyoto, Japan
Founding Partner: Momoko Nakamura
Website: https://www.kyotoresearchinstitute.com
Instagram: @kyotoresearchinstitute

Media Contact
For interviews, press inquiries, or partnership opportunities:
Kyoto Research Institute
info@kyotoresearchinstitute.com

Press Release: Launching “Fieldwork Club”: An Immersive Online Program Exploring Heritage Japanese Materials