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MIRAI: National Summer Homework Project - Japan

Mirai Green Map was a national-scale project led by Green Map Japan during the summer of 2004. The word “mirai” means “future” in Japanese. With a sustainable future in mind, this project was dedicated to children and students, who are the catalysts of the future. Various channels of communication were used to encourage children from all over the country, aided by older students, teachers and community leaders, to submit their neighborhood maps at http://greenmap.jp/mirai. The project's leadership team consisted of Tokyo Mapmaker Masahiro Horiuchi and Aika Nakashima, with exclusive support of Shoichiro Sendai, Hiroshima University professor and Mapmaker, and students of Tama Art University. The team produced a Starter’s Kit, which was a set of useful mapping tools for youth that came with a magazine, an Icon poster and Icon stickers. The magazine featured interviews with exemplary youth projects from 5 different countries. The Mirai project was promoted through three advertorials in national Asahi Newspapers. The team distributed the Starter’s Kit for free to every individual, group or school who showed interest in mapmaking as a summer challenge. The team has managed to collect approximately 300 completed maps so far. These works are all showcased on online.

Although the website is entirely in Japanese, the navigation is simple and easy, and it is certainly well worth a visit. Not only are the youth-authored maps colorful and inspiring, but the site images from various places in Japan also offer a glimpse of everyday Japanese life where cultures, traditions and nature intersect. You can access the maps and photos by either clicking the color-coded regions of Japan, or search by Green Map Icon.

Here are easy directions to help non-Japanese users look around.