This word always pops into my eyes when I visit their homepage. This is the homepage of Three Peaks Winery, by the Oikawa family. They aim to establish a winery in the Sanriku region and create a new culture that would last a century, as well as a business that can broaden the dreams of the children.

I, as a coordinator, met the Oikawa family along with Driv, the designer from Malaysia, and Seiji, the designer from Japan. Unlike the other groups, Three Peaks Winery is still a new business that began after the tsunami, when Take-san returned to his hometown in 2013. The two designers were met with a challenge: how could they use communication design to properly convey the strong message of Take-san and his family in such a short period of time?

First, we were led not to the vineyards or the winery, but to the apple farm. In Rikuzentakata city, the Yonezaki apple has a history of 120 years. The apple farm even has apple trees aged over 50 years old, and we were able to taste the freshly squeezed apple juice from these trees. Despite the difficulty in comprehending why there was an apple farm at a winery, we were amazed by this deliciously sweet flavor of the Yonezaki apple.

Later, we found out that the main products at Three Peaks Winery were both the wine and the Yonezaki apple juice. We then heard about the story behind these two products. The apple juice had even been listed in the magazine Cuisine Kingdom’s “Top 100” of the year 2015.

Why did Take-san decide to start a winery, something entirely different from his past career, after the tsunami? Why did he also have an apple farm? More questions developed about his life; we were eager to deepen our understanding about his wine and apples. We eventually realized that there was a reason behind Take-san’s strong will to continue the 120 year apple history in Rikuzentakata.

Take-san’s career, his previous job before the tsunami, his thoughts at the time of the disaster, what he felt after the disaster, why he began the apple farm, his first wine-making experience... All the stories he shared with us were fascinating, and they were all packed with his passionate words. The designers were desperate to catch every detail and information to grasp his business in its entirety. When we realized, the first day of the fieldwork had already finished.

On the second day, we visited the vineyard that was being prepared for the next season. Unfortunately, we couldn’t help out with the preparation as planned, due to bad weather. However, we had the chance to hear further about the future of the vineyard and the process of making wine. Through this conversation, the designers also learned about Take-san’s feelings towards Ofunato city and the Sanriku region. What they found was that Take-san wished to connect all the wineries in the Sanriku region, and to realize a future where people from all over Japan and the world come to visit the region. It was from here that the designers began to get inspired, but at the same time, began to feel overwhelmed by Take-san’s numerous ideas for his grand vision.

Take-san’s strong passion, his actions to realize his dreams, and his new ideas weren’t simply about ideals, but he was actually moving them forward as proper plans. As the designers pondered more about what to do with their project, they began to wonder more about Take-san’s family and the people around him: what did they think of his ideas? The more they felt charmed by Take-san’s passion, the more they wished to get to know the others around him. The second day ended with the designers leaving a request to talk with Take-san’s family and friends.

We were all extremely grateful for the generosity of the Three Peaks staff, because they had welcomed us despite it being the busiest season, with them having to risk even halting their business for a couple of days while we stayed. And this was the exact reason why the designers were having such difficulty coming up with their design – they were at such a loss that they had no other choice but to even request an interview with Take-san’s family members. To what extent could they ask about him? Was it okay for them to ask such deep questions? The designers were so inspired and mystified by Take-san’s passion that they couldn’t refrain from trying to decipher his thoughts and feelings.

“I’m having the time of my life making these apples. It’s as if I’m raising my own child. They’re so adorable I don’t want to let them go!” These were the words of Take-san’s mother. She was the one who chose the slogan “Every day is a new day” for the website.

“This perfectly represents how we should feel if we want to work with Take-san, since he’s such a happy-go-lucky person! I truly think, now that we moved back to this town, we now have more family time with each other. That is what makes me truly happy.

The two designers both successfully came up with their works. Although they gave separate proposals, they both shared the same feelings as they presented their communication design. A logo that serves as a key visual to create a new brand image. A new application and business model. In all these separate ideas lie the designers’ strong will to support Take-san’s dream: to spread the word about Ofunato and the Sanriku region, and to welcome many visitors into this region. We were able to witness the true “power of design” made for conveying the message to the world.

After their presentations, Take-san gave the following comment: “I will create a new culture for Sanriku. This project helped shift my perspective to the world.” The days spent with him were wonderful beyond words. As “Three Peakers”, we truly hope that Take-san’s dreams become a reality, and we will continue to support him until his dreams are realized.