Why was zenschool created?

We don't have any "correct answers" that we can teach you. However, as people who have walked the same path, we can support you in your quest. We will talk about the ideas behind zenschool and the journey of its two founders.

We too are lost, troubled, and continue to walk

Miki and Utsunomiya's former workplace.png

The Story of Koji Miki

I (Miki) was laid off in my 40s. After working at Fujitsu and graduating from Keio University Graduate School, I was working as an executive at an IT venture, but suddenly lost everything due to a business downturn.

The experience of having my career, status, and pride that I had built up crumble in an instant was a shock that threw me off balance, and made me realize just how fragile external success is.

It was to recover from this shock that I started practicing zazen every morning. But zazen was not just healing. When the noise in my mind quieted, ideas for a new business began to well up from deep within me.

This experience led to the core philosophy that would later become ZenSchool. Finding what you truly want to do inside yourself, rather than external evaluations or success indicators, is key. I didn't find the perfect answer, but I began to see my own path, and I'm still working on it today.

The Story of Shigeru Utsunomiya

I (Utsunomiya) worked at Suzuki for 18 years as a production engineer, experiencing every stage of manufacturing, from mass production to prototyping, from cost planning to the mold department.

However, in my 18th year, I felt stressed about my relationship with my boss and was exhausted by micromanagement. I asked myself over and over for about six months, "What is the purpose of my life?" I couldn't find an answer no matter how much I thought about it alone, and I seriously wondered whether I should continue working at the same company.

After that, I worked as a production technology manager at a local factory in Hamamatsu for two years, and then worked at an IT venture supporting small and medium-sized enterprises, similar to a technology trading company. There I met Miki-san, and we co-founded enmono in 2009.

My 20 years of experience in the manufacturing industry was by no means a waste. However, at the time I wondered, "What is the point of this experience?" Now, it is being put to use in an unexpected way, as a technique for creating a "place" where people can talk frankly with each other.

We haven't found the perfect answer yet, but perhaps that's why we can understand the feelings of those who are also lost and unsure.

Applying ancient wisdom to the present

The "zen" in zenschool represents our desire to use the wisdom that people have used since ancient times to face the doubts of life to help us with our current worries.

One thing we particularly value is the ancient teaching of the "Ten Oxherding Pictures." This is the story of a man searching for cows, but it also has deep relevance to modern value creation.

The Ten Oxherding Pictures and ZenSchool's "Passion" Discovery Process

In the Ten Oxherding Pictures, the ox symbolizes "your true self" and "true values." At ZenSchool, we interpret this in a modern way as "your passion" and "what you really want to do."

Stage 1: Searching for passion (Start searching for passion) "I don't know what I want to do" → Opening retreat: Take stock of your life and search for clues to what you really want

Stage 2: Finding traces of passion "Go on a journey of self-discovery to find what you want to do" → Exciting treasure hunting: Discover traces of childhood passions and forgotten values

Stage 3: Finding your passion "Finally, you find what you want to do (your passion)" → Online presentation: The source of your value begins to emerge

Stage 4: Getting the Gyu (Making the passion your own) "Struggling to make the passion your own" → Monthly follow-up: Developing the passion you have found into a realistic form

Stage 5: Cattle ranching (taming passion) “I finally caught my passion!” → Prototyping: The challenge of giving a concrete shape to passion

Stage 6: Riding the Bull Home (Controlling Passion) "Controlling the Passion You Have Captured" → Final Integration Session: Preparing to Return to Daily Life as a New You

Stage 7: Forget the cow and realize that your passion is within you. "You realize that your passion is already within you, not outside." → Realization after graduation: I was looking for the answer outside, but the answer was within me all along.

Stage 8: Ren-Niu-Ku-Wan (Freed from attachment) "Become absorbed in the passion you have extracted and enter a flow state" → Immerse yourself in a project or activity: Experience flow while passionately working on something

Stage 9: Return to the origin (return to the original state) "A series of good fortunes leads to greater success than expected" → Unexpected results: SKYDRIVE, lunar rovers, and other results beyond imagination

Stage 10: Leading others: "Learn to naturally convey to others what you have learned" → Alumni community: Natural support and mentoring for juniors

This ten-step process is what happens during the seven months of Zenschool and the changes that follow.

But we won't use complicated jargon. We'll focus on the essence of this ancient wisdom:

We won't tell you the answer, we'll help you find it together. Your value is already within you. We'll just help you find it together.

Take your time, don't rush it The seven-month period is designed to allow for this gradual discovery process.

We don't know the answer

This may be the most important feature of zenschool: we don't have a "formula for success" or "correct answer."

Our role is to create a space where you can feel safe and confident to face yourself, and to ask the right questions at the right time.

As a teacher, I don't just teach you knowledge, but I listen carefully to what you have to say. We think together and get lost together. Sometimes, I even share my own doubts and failures.

As a creator of the space, the small number of participants (2-3), the special location of Kamakura, and the seven-month period are all measures taken to create an environment where you can speak frankly.

As people who walk the same path, we too are still searching. We are not teaching you because we have found the perfect answer, but because we continue to search together, we understand how you feel.

You won't know until you try it

Let's be honest: you never know what's going to happen at zenschool until you try it.

What we can promise you is:

A psychologically safe space. No matter what you say, you won't be criticized. It's a safe space with only two instructors and two or three students.

Take your time. Don't rush, take your time during the seven-month period.

Continuing relationships: Connections with peers and seniors continue even after the program ends

But we can't guarantee success, because the real value is yours to discover.

No one expected Fukuzawa to start a company that makes flying cars, no one expected Kajikawa to turn a factory into a museum, and no one expected Nakajima to develop a lunar rover that would actually reach the moon.

But in the end, everyone said they were glad they participated.

First, let's hear the story.

"I don't know if it's really right for me"
"I'm worried about the seven-month period."
"I want to know exactly what you're going to do."

If you have any questions or concerns, we are holding a free consultation session.

You can hear about the actual atmosphere at zenschool and the stories of other participants. Of course, after listening to the stories, you may feel that "this isn't for me." This is also an important realization.

We, the founders, will talk to each and every person directly. There will be no forced solicitation.

Metaverse's own product seminar is Kamakura's ZENschool | Business realization from various works based on true innovation theory applying mindfulness