08/08/2026
KISSY2026-Day3
The final presentations of KISSY2026 were held. Three participants gave presentations of about 10 minutes, focusing on one of the main points of KISSY2026: looking at major events and changes that have influenced society from a birds-eye view, within the fields they were interested in.
One participant focused on changes in population. By looking at population changes from a historical perspective, the participant tried to connect historical events with their effects on population. The second presenter chose “Sangaku” as a topic and introduced the culture, the process of its transformation, and some parts of the culture that still remain today. The third participant focused on matcha. She introduced matcha itself and its culture, including “Tōcha,” a traditional tea-tasting competition. One of the backgrounds of her presentation was the recent worldwide matcha boom. She explained how the rising demand for matcha has caused the price of Japanese tea leaves to increase, and how this influence has also spread to other types of tea, such as sencha.
For their presentations, the participants gathered information from museums and other sources. They also paid particular attention to their references and tried to make sure that the information they used was reliable. Perhaps because of these efforts, the quality of the presentations was much higher than what might be expected from an activity that lasted only three nights and four days.
After finishing their own presentations, everyone focused on listening to the other participants’ presentations. For some participants, it was difficult to understand presentations in English, and some of them said that they wanted to work harder on their English skills. During the reflection session, everyone found their own challenges and things they wanted to try in the future through this activity.
On the day of the presentations, everyone had put a lot of effort into preparing and presenting their ideas. Even after finishing their presentations, some participants felt disappointed about things they could have done better. However, they tried to turn those feelings into motivation for their next challenge. At KISSY2026, no one felt that everything had gone perfectly. Everyone experienced some kind of difficulty or failure, but they were able to learn from it and connect it to their next step. In this way, the final presentation was not only an opportunity to share what they had learned, but also an important experience for each participant to discover their own challenges and possibilities for the future.
