I'm posting my past Facebook posts here as notes.

December 21
, 2012: We released the "Momotaro-san" app!

December 11
, 2012: “NPO CANVAS Launches Programming Classes for Elementary School Students in Ishinomaki, Sendai, and Other Areas”
—an article was published about us.
https://tech.nikkeibp.co.jp/it/article/NEWS/20121203/441641/?fbclid=IwAR3Q82KUuNcvgP0OsqT-myZaaB7ps6NEnnAW4qEHg-OAickCFDb1ol4vi5E

November 27
, 2012: CANVAS 10th Anniversary. Thank you, everyone.
The CANVAS 10th Anniversary page is now live!!
http://www.canvas.ws/canvas10th.html

The other day, we held a workshop where the children imagined cars of the future.
A car with a theater on the ceiling.
A car that creates its own side roads as it goes, so it never causes traffic jams. A car that can go anywhere freely—to the
sea, the sky, or even outer space.
A car that’s soft and fluffy, so it’s safe even if it crashes. A car that runs
solely on solar power. A car that helps people without homes.
Throughout history, “dreams” have shaped the future—
cars, airplanes, rockets, and cell phones alike. “I want to fly through the
sky.” “I want to stand on the moon.” “I want to talk to people far away.”
Those who have continued to pursue the dreams they had as children have built the future and given hope to people.

It has been 10 years since we founded CANVAS.
We have held approximately 2,000 workshops, with about 200,000 children participating.
We have met so many children whose eyes sparkled and whose beaming smiles lit up the room—children who absorbed so much,
learned new things, and shared their dreams.

Children possess a mysterious power—
the power to brighten everyone’s day with smiles, to engage those around them, and to energize society.
We wanted to create a space where children could be creative and express themselves!
That was the vision behind the launch of CANVAS
, and just like
children ourselves, we’ve spent every day filled with excitement and anticipation, as if we were participating in a workshop.
Before we knew it, the CANVAS community had expanded. Supported by approximately 1,000 volunteers
—including artists, school teachers, art museum and museum staff, university faculty, corporate representatives, and government officials—we’ve been able to advance our activities through collaboration with so many people.
We would like to take this opportunity to express our heartfelt gratitude once again.

In the 15th century, Gutenberg invented the printing press, and
many people began reading books and engaging in deep thought.
Then, three or four centuries later, concepts such as modern society and capitalism emerged.
At the time, those people may not have considered the impact that technology would have.
Technology continues to advance rapidly, and we are now experiencing the digital revolution—a transformation that could be described as a once-in-a-millennium revolution.
But are we using our imagination to envision what the future beyond that might hold?
In the midst of this era of technological transformation known as the digital revolution,
I hope we can join our children in imagining what life might be like three or four centuries from now.

It is the next generation of children who will shape the future. I want to create a society where
children’s eyes sparkle, where they can showcase their creativity and expressiveness to the world,
and where people around the globe look up to Japan!

I hope to spend the next 10 years pouring my heart and soul into this endeavor!
I look forward to your continued guidance and support.

November 15
, 2012: Last week, we released “taprap:
Create & Transform,” the fourth title in the taprap series, which has also won the Good Design Award.
We’ve made it a point to release Digital Ehon alongside “creative” tools, with the hope that users—not just children, but also grandparents, parents, and friends
—will take on the challenge of creating and expressing themselves together. We hope you’ll enjoy creating 10 million different faces! ♪
*Just a little inside joke… “tap*rap Henshin” was created based on an idea from my college friend Makki (Sports
Love Volleyball Club ’10). This latest “Create & Transform” is a sequel to that. And, there’s actually more to come after that… but I’ll save that for another time♪

July 12
, 2012: Fellows' Meeting at the CANVAS office. I was delighted to have over 100 members join us.
Thank you for celebrating my birthday as well!

May 24
, 2012: We released tap*rap Photo Shiritori!
http://resemom.jp/article/2012/05/23/7820.html?fbclid=IwAR0oPyUdE1IVLmATJGndL9Ex5r71B4psj38HsqxMWc77XkahDquuMC7dgrU

May 12
, 2012: I appeared on the NHK program “Japan’s Dilemma.”

March 15
, 2012: I became the Chair of CANVAS. Thank you for featuring this in your article.
https://resemom.jp/article/2012/03/14/6822.html?fbclid=IwAR1eNr9Wp9EApDOWVD286H8scu3lrDZSXwKBHyrSup0Gi2kjY_PeSUJ7NmY

February 26, 2012. Maybe because of the rain
yesterday, we
had 25,000 visitors—a little fewer than last year! Every year, Sundays see a few percentage points more visitors than Saturdays, and with two TV news segments covering us yesterday and clear skies
today, we’re going to give it our all again today!

February 5
, 2012: We’re hosting the Workshop Collection at the end of this month.
It’s an expo that brings together creative workshops for kids from all over the country. Last year, 60,000 kids came to play over the course of two days!
About 90 workshops will be participating! Mr. Kubota, known from “Wakuwaku-san,” will be there! Lots of Yoshimoto comedians will be there, too!
Please come and join the fun with your whole family!!!
We look forward to seeing you!
http://wsc.or.jp/?fbclid=IwAR05w_qI24Y4TFS7xs3Z3ar1c_XAcHJPwfk4b9bhJb7saM4bUtis_X_gme8

On February 5
, 2012, we'll be holding a workshop at the Ginza Apple Store to celebrate the release of tap*rap!

February 5
, 2012: taprap Shiritori is now available! On the count of 3-2-1
, the screen explodes!?
Try tapping the screen lots of times!
When you tap, sounds gather and form words.
When you tap, particles gather and form pictures.
Shiritori… ri… ri… ri… rin… rin… ringo!!
Shiritori is a game where you break
words down into sounds, draw the next sound from your mind, and build new words!
It’s
as if your finger has become a magnet, drawing in scattered sounds and grains of sand.
Your finger movements, words, and pictures all sync up.
Now, what’s next? What do you see?
Let’s play while doing shiritori!
The colorful, warm illustrations are a huge hit with kids.
This Digital Ehon is perfect for read-alouds, so parents and children can enjoy it together.

February 4
, 2012:
Digital Ehon Award Judging Panel. We were honored to have Digital Hollywood President Manabu Sugiyama, Kadokawa Chairman Tsuguhiko Kadokawa, Kenichiro Mogi, Tetsuya Mizuguchi, Rika Kayama, Koji Ishikawa, and Tokyo University Professor Emeritus Noboru Kobayashi join us for a serious discussion.We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone for their cooperation. Thank you very much!

February 3
, 2012: Masato Kawahara, Chairman of the NPO CANVAS (and former President of the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK)),
passed away on January 30, 2012. He was 90 years old. We offer our deepest condolences.

July 10, 2002.
I visited the Honorary Advisor’s Office on the upper floor of NHK. My purpose was to ask Mr.
Kawahara to serve as the chairman of the board for an organization that was in the process of being established.
A former NHK president and honorary advisor—a figure akin to a member of the aristocracy who held no
other titles—I went straight to him.
The floor was filled with security guards and secretaries, creating an intimidating atmosphere. As a recent
college graduate, I was extremely nervous.
How thrilled I was when he readily agreed on the spot!
That was how it all began.

Then, about four months later, on November 27,
the organization was born.
Its name was CANVAS.
TSUMIKI, Crayon, CANVAS.
Mr. Kawahara chose this name from among the three candidates.
He answered immediately.“Let’s go with CANVAS.” Then she
added,
“I’m the one who came up with the term ‘High Vision.’”
I was convinced that there was no mistake in the name she had given us.

In reality, he was someone far above us, like a figure in the clouds.
However, I quickly forgot the nervousness I felt when we first met,
and before I knew it, Mr. Kawahara had become like a
grandfather to me.
He didn’t say much, exuding dignity while always maintaining a cheerful demeanor.
There was even a time when I brazenly showed up
at NHK carrying a huge stack of certificates for the children’s workshop.
Even then, Mr. Kawahara silently signed every single one of them.

He never failed to attend our board meetings, even when they were held in our
NPO office—a space smaller than the NHK president’s office, furnished with nothing but folding chairs.
As a small token of our hospitality, we provided
a very long shoehorn so he could put on his shoes without having to bend down, and it remains a favorite among visitors to CANVAS to this day.
Whenever someone asked about the shoehorn, it was
my secret pleasure to explain, “Well, it was Mr. Kawahara who…”

When I asked the Chairman to prepare the necessary documents,
his wife kindly took care of everything and contacted the secretariat on his behalf. Their son accompanied them to and from the
meeting.
I could sense Mr
. Kawahara’s character in the couple’s affectionate relationship and the strong bond within their family.

I’d always ask you to say a few words before the banquets,
but you’d always just say one word:
“Cheers.” And that was wonderful, too.
And no matter what, you’d always give me this kind of encouragement:
“That’s great. You should just do whatever you want.”

There is a message that Chairman Kawahara sent to us when CANVAS was founded.

Children lead busy lives every day.
At school, they learn how to read kanji and memorize their multiplication tables—
their days are packed.
However, when it’s art class, they really let loose.
And when they’re outside of school, they act even more freely.
Our job is to help children feel even more free and at ease.
Children do some rather outlandish things,
but it’s best to let them do whatever they want.
A blue sun or a red forest—that’s fine, too.
Let’s give them that freedom. This is how artists like Picasso and Van Gogh grew up.

It wasn’t the children who
were most encouraged by these words—it was the CANVAS Secretariat.

"I'm fine with both the blue sun and the red forest."

That’s right—there’s nothing to fear. I want to keep painting
colorful pictures freely and spontaneously on this big white canvas. Chairman, please watch me!!!!!

January 11
, 2012: We held our Digital New Year’s Party. Thank
you to the 500 people who attended!
We took a group photo with the Ankō Nabe members.