Masuda's seminar conducted fieldwork in Kasai City, Hyogo Prefecture, on the theme of "Regional revitalization through the restoration of old houses."

From April 2024 to January 2025, the Masuda Seminar at the Teikyo University Faculty of Economics values practical learning opportunities that connect with the local community beyond the classroom, and conducted fieldwork in Kasai City, Hyogo Prefecture, which is blessed with abundant nature, on the theme of "Regional revitalization through the restoration of old houses." Through this initiative, students aim to become people who can contribute to society and continue to grow.
This seminar activity is now in its fourth year, and was started by Associate Professor Masuda Rika of the Faculty Department of Business Administration who wanted to teach students the importance of coexistence with nature and cherishing old things. The old house, which is over 260 years old, has a history of serving as a village headman and money exchanger during the Edo period, and the house still has a large number of old documents that record money exchange scales and monetary activities, and historical research is also being conducted there.

In the field work, students experienced the regeneration process through interviews and interactions with city hall and local residents, and practical tasks such as papering shoji screens and organizing barns in old houses, photographing storehouses, and creating herb gardens in the backyard. Through these activities, students came to believe that community building plays an important role in regional revitalization, and are currently working with local residents to expand the scope of their activities. In 2024, in collaboration with the local government of Kasai, a herb garden initiative was launched where anyone can freely harvest herbs. This initiative is modeled on the "Incredible Edible" concept implemented in Todmorden in the north of England, where people say "if you eat, you're friends." By planting herbs and having a barbecue with local government members, intergenerational exchanges are being created.

This activity also contributes to SDGs Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities and Goal 15: Life on Land. In recognition of these activities, the project was selected for Teikyo University's 2024 Student Challenge Program. Kasai City is ranked first in Hyogo Prefecture for hometown tax donations. During a factory tour of Sengoku Co., Ltd., a local company that supports this hometown tax donation and manufactures Aladdin toasters, we had a valuable opportunity to see the passion that goes into the manufacturing of the product and realize the significance of contributing to the community.
Toshikatsu Horii (4th year, Faculty Faculty of Economics), who joined Masuda's seminar last year and was offered a position at Saitama City Hall, said that through his experience working on local issues in the seminar, he gained a concrete understanding of his role as a public servant and a clearer direction to take. Under the guidance of Associate Professor Masuda, who is a certified professional social researcher, he will continue to learn survey methods and rules to follow, use that knowledge to go to the field and tackle problems, analyze what he learns there, and disseminate the results to society in the form of presentations and reports.

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