Sendai company collaborates with Taiwan’s top art university! Starting in October, I’ll be teaching a new course that transcends borders and cultivates the next generation of craft producers.
Communa Co., Ltd. Press release: October 25, 2025 To Members of the Press Sendai company collaborates with Taiwan’s top art university! Starting in October, he will be in charge of a new course aimed at cultivating the next generation of international craft producers. This hands-on program promotes Taiwan’s traditional crafts to the world. Taiwanese crafts produced by students as part of the course will be sold on the company’s cross-border e-commerce website and at a sales event in Paris. Communa Inc. (Headquarters: Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture; CEO: Takaharu Saito), a Sendai-based company that develops community-based businesses through translation, design, and marketing, has announced that CEO Takaharu Saito has been accepted into the National Taipei University of the Arts (NTU), one of Taiwan’s top art universities. I am pleased to announce that I will be in charge of one of the two courses in the new “Intangible Cultural Heritage
Micro-learning Program” (one of the two courses that make up the new program), which will run for approximately six months from October 2025 at the University of Tsukuba (https://w3.tnua.edu.tw/
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/111524/3/111524-3-b69bd352a2776c3836433d3aae79ef15-3329×1258.jpg Background: Utilizing Japanese knowledge to open up new possibilities for Taiwanese crafts This initiative was realized as part of the “Intangible Cultural Heritage Micro-Study Program” offered by Taipei University of the Arts. This course consists of two parts: the “Craftsmanship Group,” which hones traditional craftsmanship skills, and the “Arts Creation Group,” which cultivates producer-level talent responsible for planning, distribution, and sales in the crafts field. Representative Saito will be in charge of the latter, “Arts Creation Group,” whose theme is “developing overseas sales channels for Taiwanese crafts.” Leveraging our expertise in resolving issues facing Japan’s regional crafts, our experience selling crafts overseas, and our track record with Oshinsha, a cross-border e-commerce site specializing in crafts operated by our affiliate, Oshinsha LLC (CEO: Takaharu Saito), we provide practical know-how for bringing Taiwan’s excellent crafts to the global market. [Oshinsha Website]
https://oshinsha.jp/ The exchange between Communa Inc. and Taipei University of the Arts began in 2022, during the COVID-19 pandemic, with an online exchange event featuring Japanese artisans, thanks to a connection with the Sendai City Industrial Promotion Foundation. Since then, we have collaborated in various ways, including inviting Japanese artisans to Taiwan for exchange events, visiting craft studios across Taiwan, hosting interns from Taipei University of the Arts, and hosting Taipei University of the Arts on study tours to Tohoku, leading to this program.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/111524/3/111524-3-8e23d2119e63fe6c2a988115d68433fb-3900×2600.jpg An exchange program held at Taipei University of the Arts, inviting a Nanbu iron kettle maker from Tohoku and a designer with deep ties to crafts (November 2022) Course Features: A highly practical program that lets you experience everything from planning to sales This course goes beyond simple classroom learning. It features an extremely practical curriculum that allows students to experience the entire process from selecting and planning Taiwanese crafts to introducing their appeal to consumers around the world. • Real-life sales experience The products designed by students will be sold on Okushinsha, a cross-border e-commerce site specializing in crafts, run by Okushinsha. Students will hone their marketing and branding skills while experiencing market reactions directly. • Taking on the Global Stage: Sales Event in Paris As the culmination of the program, a sales event in Paris, France, is planned for January 2026. This is a valuable opportunity to communicate directly with local customers and test your ideas on a global stage. • Diverse instructors and a hybrid class format In addition to lectures by Saito, experts from Japan and abroad will be invited as instructors to teach students about developing overseas sales channels from a variety of perspectives. Classes will be held online, with the exception of intensive lectures in Taiwan in October and December, providing a flexible learning environment by connecting Sendai, Helsinki, Paris, and Taipei. Communa Inc. will continue to actively develop businesses that pass on cultural value to future generations through collaboration across regions and borders. About Comuna Inc. Comuna Inc. is a Sendai-based company that combines translation, marketing, design, and other technologies to provide a variety of services. Our work includes developing overseas sales channels, such as for “Okushinsha,” and creating tourism information websites for inbound tourists. Company Name: Communa Inc. Headquarters: 6F, Seikodo Building, 1-12-2 Ichibancho, Aoba-ku, Sendai City Representative Director: Takaharu Saito Established: 2016 (business transferred from a business cooperative established in 2011) Website: https://www.communa-td.net/ About Okushinsha
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/111524/3/111524-3-414d53d60460e6cbaff894fab73be5b3-549×2700.jpg “Oshinsha” is an e-commerce craft site for overseas markets operated by Comuna Inc. since 2021 and spun off into a separate company (Oshinsha LLC, Representative Partner: Takaharu Saito) in 2024. It carries crafts from all over Japan and is currently preparing to sell crafts from Taiwan. Starting in 2023, we will also be working on a project commissioned by Tottori Prefecture to develop overseas sales channels for Tottori crafts and lifestyle products. We receive many orders from Europe and the United States, and ship directly from Sendai to customers all over the world.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/111524/3/111524-3-5e11ee9c15d965c282d5a75bee85ea6f-1776×1184.jpg Habitare From 2025 Recent Overseas Activities: September 20-21, 2025: Tottori Prefecture craft workshop at “asaru studio” in Singapore September 10-14, 2025: Participation in the “Habitare 2025” trade fair in Helsinki, Finland August 6-11, 2025: Exhibition “Beauty of Breaking Containers” in Taipei (invited exhibition by the Taipei Industrial Design Development Association) June 14-22, 2025: Pop-up store at the craft store “Or Crafts Window” in Hsinchu City, Taiwan January 18-26, 2025: Pop-up store at “Dejima Store Paris” in Paris Upcoming Overseas Activities: October 31st – November 23rd, 2025: Tottori Prefecture Crafts Exhibition held at MUJI Gallery in Helsinki November 12th – 16th, 2025: Pop-up store at Dejima Store Paris in Paris [Press Inquiries Regarding This Matter] Takaharu Saito, Communa Inc. 080-3197-8053 takaharu@communa-td.net For more information about this release
