| Title | SAMURAI AVATAR |
| Brand | ALL NIPPON AIRWAYS |
| Product / Service | IS JAPAN COOL? |
| Category | E06. Co-Creation & User Generated Content |
| Entrant | ENJIN Tokyo, JAPAN |
| Idea Creation | ENJIN Tokyo, JAPAN |
| PR | AUR Tokyo, JAPAN |
| Production | BIRDMAN Tokyo, JAPAN |
| Name | Company | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Shiro Nomura | ENJIN TOKYO | CREATIVE DIRECTOR |
| Shiro Nomura | ENJIN TOKYO | CREATIVE DIRECTOR |
| Yusuke Kashiwagi | ENJIN TOKYO | PRODUCER |
| Yusuke Kashiwagi | ENJIN TOKYO | PRODUCER |
| Yuya Yamazaki | ENJIN TOKYO | COMMUNICATION DESIGNER |
| Yuya Yamazaki | ENJIN TOKYO | COMMUNICATION DESIGNER |
| Takayuki Nagai | Birdman | CREATIVE DIRECTOR / FILM DIRECTOR(SAMURAI ver.) |
| Takayuki Nagai | Birdman | CREATIVE DIRECTOR / FILM DIRECTOR(SAMURAI ver.) |
| Shudai Matsumoto | BIRDMAN | TECHNICAL DIRECTOR |
| Shudai Matsumoto | BIRDMAN | TECHNICAL DIRECTOR |
| Ryota Mishima | kaibutsu | ART DIRECTOR / DESIGNER |
| Ryota Mishima | kaibutsu | ART DIRECTOR / DESIGNER |
| Shunpei Torii | BIRDMAN | FRONT END ENGINEER |
| Shunpei Torii | BIRDMAN | FRONT END ENGINEER |
| Shunpei Torii | BIRDMAN | FRONT END ENGINEER |
| Shunpei Torii | BIRDMAN | FRONT END ENGINEER |
| Kyohei Yamano | BIRDMAN | FRONT END ENGINEER |
| Kyohei Yamano | BIRDMAN | FRONT END ENGINEER |
| Mura saki | FREELANCE | WEBGL DEVELOPPER |
| Mura saki | FREELANCE | WEBGL DEVELOPPER |
| Masanori Nagamura | BIRDMAN | BACK END ENGINEER |
| Masanori Nagamura | BIRDMAN | BACK END ENGINEER |
| Sho Kakazu | BIRDMAN | CG DESIGNER |
| Sho Kakazu | BIRDMAN | CG DESIGNER |
| Robert Sundelin | BIRDMAN | CG DESIGNER |
| Robert Sundelin | BIRDMAN | CG DESIGNER |
| Iku Ando | BIRDMAN | PROJECT MANAGER |
| Iku Ando | BIRDMAN | PROJECT MANAGER |
| Iku Ando | BIRDMAN | PROJECT MANAGER |
| Iku Ando | BIRDMAN | PROJECT MANAGER |
| Masatoshi Hato | BIRDMAN | PROJECT MANAGER |
| Masatoshi Hato | BIRDMAN | PROJECT MANAGER |
| Ray Kunimoto | FREELANCE | MUSIC |
| Ray Kunimoto | FREELANCE | MUSIC |
| z Ak | FREELANCE | MIX |
| z Ak | FREELANCE | MIX |
| Tamami Tono | FREELANCE | SHO |
| Tamami Tono | FREELANCE | SHO |
| Yoshinori Tamura | Zero C Seven, Inc | 3D PRINTER COORDINATOR |
| Yoshinori Tamura | Zero C Seven, Inc | 3D PRINTER COORDINATOR |
| Katsuhiro Akiyama | CAD CENTER | 3D PRINTER DIRECTOR |
| Katsuhiro Akiyama | CAD CENTER | 3D PRINTER DIRECTOR |
| Sachiko Kawase | FREELANCE | WRITER |
| Sachiko Kawase | FREELANCE | WRITER |
| Yusuke Ando | ROBOT | PRODUCER |
| Yusuke Ando | ROBOT | PRODUCER |
| Junichi Matsuzaki | FREELANCE | MOVIE DIRECTOR |
| Junichi Matsuzaki | FREELANCE | MOVIE DIRECTOR |
| Kouji Okihara | Maxstar film | EDITOR |
| Kouji Okihara | Maxstar film | EDITOR |
| Noboru Uchino | Maxstar film | EDITOR |
| Noboru Uchino | Maxstar film | EDITOR |
| Kazunari Tanaka | FREELANCE | CAMERAMAN |
| Kazunari Tanaka | FREELANCE | CAMERAMAN |
| Kenichi Murase | FREELANCE | CAMERAMAN |
| Kenichi Murase | FREELANCE | CAMERAMAN |
| Takashi Yasui | FREELANCE | PHOTOGRAPHER |
| Takashi Yasui | FREELANCE | PHOTOGRAPHER |
| Erik Reiff | audioforce | MUSIC PRODUCER |
| Erik Reiff | audioforce | MUSIC PRODUCER |
| Kenny Dalls | audioforce | MUSIC PRODUCER |
| Kenny Dalls | audioforce | MUSIC PRODUCER |
| Kenichi Ikuta | Fuji soft | PRODUCTION MANEGER |
| Kenichi Ikuta | Fuji soft | PRODUCTION MANEGER |
| Ryosuke Mistuoka | FREELANCE | PRODUCTION MANEGER |
| Ryosuke Mistuoka | FREELANCE | PRODUCTION MANEGER |
| Fumika Danjo | Robot | PRODUCTION ASSISTANT |
| Fumika Danjo | Robot | PRODUCTION ASSISTANT |
| Ashita Iju | AUR Inc. | PR PLANNER |
| Ashita Iju | AUR Inc. | PR PLANNER |
| Miyabi Ishida | AUR Inc. | PR PLANNER |
| Miyabi Ishida | AUR Inc. | PR PLANNER |
| Daisuke Katayama | All Nippon Airways | MARKET COMMUNICATION |
| Daisuke Katayama | All Nippon Airways | MARKET COMMUNICATION |
| Asami Toyama | All Nippon Airways | MARKET COMMUNICATION |
| Asami Toyama | All Nippon Airways | MARKET COMMUNICATION |
| Emily Cebula | All Nippon Airways | MARKET COMMUNICATION |
| Emily Cebula | All Nippon Airways | MARKET COMMUNICATION |
Elderly people over 65 are expected to account for over 40% of the Japanese population by 2060 (it was 12% in 1970). For youths under 14, the percentage is expected to drop from 18% to 10%. Although many developed countries face the challenges of an aging society, Japanese society is aging at an unprecedented pace further complicated by a declining birthrate. As a result, it is becoming increasingly difficult to pass on the skills and spirit of craftsmanship nurtured by countless nameless Japanese craftsmen. In fact, there are only five or six kacchu-shi (Japanese armor makers) left in Japan to carry on the tradition. This is creating a crisis because it requires over a year to finish one set of kacchu armor. That is why we need to focus more on the young generation to improve this situation.
Being a Japanese craftsman means living to continuously refine one’s skills. This project focuses on the unrivaled skills of Japanese craftsmen passed down through generations. Samurai Avatar lets anyone experience the digital creation of Japanese samurai armor embodying the spirit of armor craftsmen from the past. Just upload a photo of your face, select a helmet and other parts, and finish with your favorite color to create unique armor from over one trillion combinations. You can also download your Samurai Avatar data and output a full-color figure via 3D printer to transform the digital experience into a tangible object and help revive samurai culture today.
The culture of craftsmanship passed on for centuries is considered too complex to understand and difficult to attract interest. Craftsmen also tend to silently immerse themselves in honing their skills and shy away from media communication. So young people have little point of contact with the culture. This is why we prepared content that would open people’s eyes to the joys of craftsmanship and the true value of crafted works, and made it easily available to anyone in non-verbal form in the digital space. We also wanted the platform to allow participation on a global scale since the bearers of this unique Japanese culture may not necessarily be Japanese.
In Samurai Avatar, users first select their face photo, then pieces of armor, the helmet and other parts before finishing with their favorite colors. The avatar is finally completed when the background family crest design and country/region are selected. The completed avatar can be viewed from 360 degrees and zoomed in and out. Samurai Gallery shows all created avatars on a world map in real time. Selecting a country on the map shows a list of all avatars made in that country. The website also includes documentary videos of seven craftsmen that can be watched on all flights aboard ANA, Japan's largest airline. Samurai Avatar data can be downloaded and output via 3D printer as a 17cm-tall, full-colored figure with your face. We recommend plaster as the material. The digital creation experience is free, while 3D figure production requires a fee.
Samurai Avatar swept the world within three months of its publication, inspiring over 530 articles in 60 countries and over 12 million movie views. As a result, it gained over 50,000 SNS shares, 5.5 million impressions, 1,400,000 website visitors from 140 countries and 15,000 samurai figures within half a year of publication. Moreover, the website was shared by many influencers around the world after Steve Aoki, one of the world’s ten most popular DJs, broadcasted a video of himself producing his own avatar via Twitter and Instagram to 15 million followers. Both the PC and mobile sites received FWA Of The Day awards from FWA, which recognizes the world's most cutting-edge websites.