Have you used candles recently? In Europe and the Americas, among other regions, candles are a familiar item used commonly for various purposes and in many places, such as indirect lighting at home, table lighting at restaurants, and ritual articles in churches.
In contrast, Japanese people generally do not have the custom of using candles in everyday life. For many, the item is employed only for special occasions, such as someone’s birthday, which is often celebrated with a candle-topped cake. And, they are unaware that candles have far more to offer than just that. This includes the attractive warmth of natural lighting and the effect of inspiring a sense of gratitude toward the benefits of nature, a key concept of the Slow Life movement, which is gradually taking root in Japan. Wishing to promote public awareness of the value and benefits of candles, I established the Japan Candle Association (JCA) in 2009. The JCA has developed relevant systems to launch candle school courses and qualification and certification programs. We now operate a total of 34 schools in and outside of Japan, and have issued more than 5,000 certificates in cumulative total for completing the courses.

Candles are, first and foremost, attractive lighting equipment, but you can expand the enjoyment of the item―through creation activity. Candles are made mainly from wax, and there are many types of candle waxes with different melting points and viscosity properties.
There are also many wax blending formulas and techniques. Given the huge variety of materials and formulas, even with basic formulation techniques, you can have an infinite number of potential combinations to produce candles. Due to this, the production process has a very intriguing aspect comparable to chemical experiments and artistic activities. This creative pursuit may become irresistibly enthralling, occupying your every waking thought on the work in hand. Candle making is easy to start with materials easily available, and the making process is fascinatingly creative, driving you to inexhaustible explorations of desired techniques. Once completing a project, you can not only enjoy the soothing light of your products, but also appreciate the fantastical minute-to-minute changes in the shape of a burning candle. In Japan, where candles are less popular than in other countries, I am working so that many people understand these benefits and the effects of the items, hoping to build and expand a culture of enjoying candles widely in society.

I entered Aoyama Gakuin from junior high school, attending junior and senior high schools and going on to university. My favorite subject was English, and I was enrolled in senior high school overseas as an exchange student for one year. Returning to Japan, I advanced to university, choosing the School of International Politics, Economics and Communication. The faculty was new and placed a heavy weight on English education. At some time in my earliest days at university, I made an overall student life plan, devoting the first two years to non-academic pursuits of personal interest and the remaining two to academic activities. I immediately began to practice the plan, indulging myself fully in dream-like campus life activities, such as driving my own car to school on the Atsugi campus (closed in 2003), often together with friends, playing tennis day after day, and engaging in a number of romances.

About three years after starting my professional career, I decided to live with three of my best friends outside of the company, and we rented a house in Shichirigahama, Kamakura City, one of our favorite towns, to begin a new life. Sharing an entrepreneurial drive by nature, we planned to do something to help enliven local communities. The four of us formed a group named “Kamaccho,” which was coined to denote “Visit Kamakura,” to launch various activities involving local residents. The first thing we did was to join a local neighborhood association, an essential approach to new comers getting accepted by the established society. Then, the group started to engage in community programs, such as participating in the summer festival every year to set up a shaved ice shop drawing many children, and hosting neighborhood cook-outs inviting locals. One day, through these activities, I met a person pursuing the practice of candle making for pleasure and business together. That brought the electrifying discovery of the possibility of making candles at home. The idea was shockingly new to me, as I usually saw the product around but had never thought of the possibility of its becoming a target of a personal passion.

I had never thought of starting up a business before the “encounter” with candles. However, I rushed out to establish the JCA, even before getting well-prepared by doing market research and other processes, almost being carried away by an uncontrollable impulse. To run a business, I simply thought that in Japan, given its long-established manufacturing industry and culture, the practice of making candles could easily find its way into society and create a sizable market. Nonetheless, my basic motivation came from the desire to be a candle advocate and to communicate what candles have to offer to enrich people’s lifestyles, rather than from interest in business. This can be likened to sharing information via social media about a good restaurant I found.

To develop the JCA’s operations, I utilized my past experience and knowledge built as a student and employee. Among major examples are accounting knowledge employed to process financial duties for managing the association, and consulting skills to support individual Candle Artists and Candle Instructors to build and continue professional careers, giving advice on a range of business tasks, from selecting locations and attracting customers, to performing accounting processes.

Recently, I was invited by Aoyama Gakuin University to participate in its illumination project. It’s a great honor to be given an opportunity to serve our advocacy objective at my alma mater. The recent invitation was possible owing to many persons associated with the school, particularly Rev. Daisuke Ito, a pastor at United Church of Christ in Japan Honda Memorial Church (Shibuya,Tokyo), which was founded to commemorate Yoichi Honda, second chancellor of Aoyama Gakuin. Rev. Ito is also an adjunct instructor at the university. I became acquainted with those concerned through Daikanyama Noël activities. We clicked with each other, proposing lighting-up plans to make a tie-up between Daikanyama Noël and Aoyama Gakuin University. The rapport-driven discussion resulted in the planned candlelit campus event taking place on the Aoyama Campus, highlighting Berry Hall and Majima Memorial Hall, over a period from November 11, 2019 to January 6, 2020. I am truly grateful to be able to be involved in this project, which has provided a precious opportunity to revisit my old school.