Developing the Human Capabilities
that Drive Value Creation in the Age of AI
EGAKU® - An Art-Based Approach to
Unlocking Human and Organizational Capability
Developing the Human Capabilities
that Drive Value Creation
in the Age of AI
EGAKU® —
An Art-Based Approach to
Unlocking Human and
Organizational Capability
In an era of AI-driven uncertainty, the organizations that will thrive are those that invest in something no algorithm can replicate: the capacity of each individual to lead with purpose and clarity, and create value from within.
EGAKU® is an art-based experiential method for developing the human and organizational capabilities that matter most today. Through deep reflective experiential practice, it helps individuals reconnect with their own authentic purpose and creative agency, bridges individual purpose with organizational vision, and fosters a culture of psychological safety and shared learning that enables organizations to grow with genuine resilience and creativity.
Since 2008, EGAKU® has empowered over 220 global organizations
and leading corporations to unlock their human capital
Since 2008, EGAKU® has empowered over 220 global organizations and leading corporations to unlock their human capital
IN CONVERSATION
The Power of Art in the Age of AI —
Embodied Intelligence, the Art of Inquiry, and the Living Organization
Takashi Nawa (Professor, Graduate School of Business Administration, Kyoto University of Advanced Science)
and Kunihiko Yazawa (Artist, Co-Founder of White Ship, Inc.)
IN CONVERSATION
The Power of Art in the Age of AI —
Embodied Intelligence, the Art of Inquiry, and the Living Organization
Takashi Nawa (Professor, Graduate School of Business Administration, Kyoto University of Advanced Science) and Kunihiko Yazawa (Artist, Co-Founder of White Ship, Inc.)
The Impact of EGAKU® on People and Organizations
The Impact of EGAKU®
on People and Organizations
The human capabilities that matter most today — creative thinking, adaptability, curiosity, resilience, the capacity to generate new ideas — are precisely the ones conventional training struggles to develop. These capabilities cannot be "taught" — they must be cultivated through experience.
EGAKU develops these capabilities through a process of experiential learning — a repeating cycle of self-awareness, action, and deepening understanding of others. The result is not just individual growth, but lasting organizational impact.
The EGAKU® Core Module
Strategic Alignment:
Connecting Individual Growth to Organizational Evolution
Where We Create Impact
Our Approach:
Cultivating Human Agency for Value Creation
Connecting Individual Purpose to Collective Impact
In an era of accelerating uncertainty, organizations can no longer afford to extrapolate from the past or look to AI and predefined frameworks for answers. They can only emerge from human insight, creativity and purpose
EGAKU is built around a simple but powerful premise: that when individuals are connected to their own intrinsic motivation — their sense of what they want to create and why it matters — they become capable of imagining futures that go beyond the given. Through a backcasting approach, participants expand their thinking beyond the horizon of the obvious, cultivate the human capabilities required for value creation, and translate vision into meaningful action and results.
What Participants Say
Next-Generation Leaders
"I was surprised to find such strong alignment between my professional mission and my individual purpose. Reaffirming this connection amidst the demands of daily work was both rewarding and energizing.”
"I was struck by the importance of giving form to inner emotions that words cannot capture. In the process of drawing, I realised that something I had long expressed in words was not something I actually wanted to draw — and that gap revealed a contradiction I had been carrying within myself. This was a valuable opportunity to face that honestly, and to move forward."
" I had always believed that emotions had no place in business. But through the experience of giving form to inner feelings through art, I came to feel that we cannot truly live — or think — without them. This has shifted how I want to lead: not just through rational logic, but with a genuine awareness of how the people around me are feeling, and what it takes to move hearts as well as minds. "
"It helped me recognize what I truly value and what lies at the core of my own aspirations. As I drew, the concept I had in mind kept shifting and taking new shape — and in the end, the painting itself revealed ways of thinking I hadn't known were there. The feedback from other participants also surfaced perspectives I hadn't noticed on my own, and points I genuinely wanted to take away. It was a deeply meaningful experience."
"I came in with a mix of excitement and uncertainty about whether I could do it. But once I began, something shifted. Reflecting on my core values — that working together, we can spread happiness — and expressing them through the work itself, I felt a deep sense of accomplishment and fulfilment. I want to carry this feeling forward."
"Art was a world I had no connection to and no particular interest in. But by taking the challenge, I gained new awareness and learning I hadn't anticipated. I came away with insights that brought me closer to a question I want to continue exploring: what do I truly want (in work, in life)?"
Who We Are
Kimi Hasebe
Co-Founder | Chief Executive Officer
Creative Learning Director
Kimi aspired to become a social entrepreneur in her 20s and founded White Ship in 2001 with the artist, Kunihiko Yazawa. Together, they developed the art-based learning program, EGAKU®. Kimi built out White Ship's organizational development consulting business — using EGAKU and communication design — alongside a creativity development training program for executives, managers, and next-generation leaders, and has to date brought EGAKU to more than 200 companies, primarily major corporations. She is equally committed to school education through the general incorporated association ELAB. She is co-editor of EGAKU: An Art-Based Practice Empowering the Next Generation to Shape Their Future(次世代が『自分を生きる』ためのアートの実践 EGAKU) (Nakanishiya Shuppan) and a contributing author to Social and Emotional Learning: Education that Carves a Path to the Future through SEL and Non-Cognitive Skills (Toshindo).
Ryoko Maria Nakamura
Global Projects, Corporate Solutions
Creative Learning Director
Ryoko joined White Ship in 2013 and heads global projects and leads our programs for multinationals and global organizations. She is passionate about exploring the role of art in human development in all its dimensions. Prior to joining White Ship, Ryoko worked in various global investment management roles in Hong Kong, New York, London and Tokyo at Goldman Sachs, TPG Axon and Deutsche Asset Management where she focused on sustainable investments in Asia. Ryoko holds a Master of International Affairs degree from Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs and read Politics, Philosophy and Economics at the University of Oxford.
Mari Mori
Manager & Creative Learning Director, Corporate Solutions
Business Coach
After completing her undergraduate studies at Meiji University School of Commerce, Mari joined Nippon Boehringer Ingelheim as a medical representative. She subsequently worked in corporate sales the clinical research organization, Mebix and consulted for pharmaceutical companies at health-tech company, MedPeer. Mari holds an MBA from Globis University and is currently studying coaching. Mari joined White Ship in 2023 and hopes to use her own experience of transforming her life and career, to support people and organizations on their journey of transformation and growth.
Miho Kitaaki
Director, Corporate Solutions
Miho joined Hitachi, Ltd. as a new graduate, working in IT sales to government and public-sector clients, handling R&D and pilot-trial projects in the information and communications field. From 2014, Miho was at Recruit, supporting mid-career recruitment for major corporations, before moving into employee engagement surveys and organizational development training from 2022. Drawn to work that helps people think and act with greater autonomy while embracing diversity, she joined White Ship in July 2026, where she leads the design and delivery of EGAKU programs for corporate clients.
Misako Ishii
Creative Learning Director, Corporate Solutions
After graduating from Keio University, Misako worked at a consulting firm, leading project management for new business development and system implementation projects for major corporations. Her involvement in a talent and organizational development project in collaboration with White Ship led her to experience firsthand the richness of art-based learning, and she joined White Ship in 2018. She is responsible for the design of corporate programs, while also leading education-related business development at ELAB, White Ship's social impact division, working to build a creative learning ecosystem that connects education, academia, and the corporate sector. She currently serves as Representative Director of the general incorporated association ELAB. She is co-editor of EGAKU: An Art-Based Practice Empowering the Next Generation to Shape Their Future(次世代が『自分を生きる』ためのアートの実践 EGAKU) (Nakanishiya Shuppan).
Program Advisor
Kunihiko Yazawa
Artist | Co-Founder | Chief Visionary & Creative Officer
Born in Shizuoka, Japan. Kunihiko Yazawa is an artist based in Tokyo. After graduating from the Bunka College of Fashion, he taught at the college from 1985-1990. He won a number of fashion design competitions in Japan and was awarded the Grand Prix at the International Textile Design Competition for his original textile creation. He taught as a part-time lecturer at the spatial design department of the Musashino Art University (1989-2006) and worked on various spatial design projects including stage set design. He began his art practice in 1994, in addition to painting and his object-making practice he also works on various art projects. In 2022, he published his first monograph - a comprehensive survey of his entire practice - KUNIHIKO YAZAWA Complete Works 1994-2021.
kunihikoyazawa.com >>
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