Our First collaboration with Ritsumeikan University Delivers a Fun Art Experience Using Digital Technology

08/20/2025　Corporate Activities, Digital Printing

At the KINUGASA ART VILLAGE FESTIVAL held by Ritsumeikan Educational Corporation, we collaborated on a project to create an original sticker production experience based on the “Shutendoji-handscroll” book collected by William Sturgis Bigelow that is now owned and was restored by the Ritsumeikan University Art Research Center (ARC). “Shutendoji-handscroll” is believed to have been created in Kyoto around 1650 and depicts the exploits of Minamoto no Yorimitsu and his retainers.We spoke with Nakamura of the Roland DG Global Sales & Marketing Division, who was in charge of this project.

The fusion of digital and art

ARC was established in 1998 for the purpose of investigating and analyzing human cultural properties such as fine art, performing arts, and crafts, and to record and disseminate the results of their research. ARC's vast digital archives play a major role in promoting joint research with museums and research institutions in Japan and abroad, as well as in passing on historical and cultural properties to future generations.

Please tell us about the background that led to your collaboration with ARC.

Nakamura: I heard that ARC was using digital archives not only for academic research but also for advanced initiatives that combine new technologies such as generative AI and AR with new technologies to make art enjoyable to more people. We were pursuing the potential of our products in the art field through cultural property restoration projects, and we thought that by collaborating with ARC, which is taking on new challenges, we could provide an exciting experience.

Creating a device to jump into the world of the ”Shutendoji-handscroll”

This was the first time the KINUGASA ART VILLAGE FESTIVAL was held. Ritsumeikan University has decided to hold it on June 1st every year under the theme of "A Day to Enjoy Kyoto and Art with All Five Senses." On the day of the event, various performances and experience programs aimed at art were held for everyone from children to junior high and high school students and adults to enjoy, and it was crowded with more than 12,000 visitors.

Please tell us about the details of this collaboration.

Nakamura: In conjunction with ARC's special exhibition, "Shutendoji-handscroll and the Legend of Kyoto Surrounding the Four Heavenly Kings of Yorimitsu," we wanted to provide an opportunity for people who do not know about Shutendoji to learn about and enjoy the work.

Visitors could apply their favorite photos of themselves, their family, pets, etc., to the portrait of Minamoto Yorimitsu drawn in Shutendoji on their smartphones, and automatically generate original characters. Using our VersaSTUDIO BN2-20 inkjet printer-cutter, we created one-of-a-kind stickers.

In addition, a special banner was installed at the venue printed on gold leaf film using our TrueVIS LG-640 UV printer. By having visitors place their own face stickers on the banners, it provided an experience as if they were characters in a story.

What was the reaction of the visitors?

Nakamura: On the day of the event, not only Ritsumeikan University students and those interested in art and culture, but also many families, from children to adults, came to the event.

It was impressive to see them taking photos with unique expressions such as scared or painful faces to match the situation of being bitten by the demons depicted in the picture scroll, and then watching the original stickers being created with great enthusiasm.

I was very happy to be able to observe their reactions. With the finished stickers in hand, they said, "I want to show it to my friends!" or "I will cherish it!"

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  Original stickers made with BN2-20

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  Watching stickers printing

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  Original stickers

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  Attaching original stickers to the venue banners

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  Lots of stickers on the venue banner

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  Our booth was crowded with many visitors

Creating new ways to enjoy art

Ryo Akama, professor at the Graduate School of Letters at Ritsumeikan University, said, "We are very pleased that a wider range of guests came to the venue than we expected. Even those who did not know about the Shutendoji-handscroll were able to learn about its existence and enjoy the world view of the story. It was a very meaningful collaboration for our activities to pass on and preserve historical and cultural properties to future generations. I would like to continue to create new ways to enjoy art with Roland DG."

What future efforts in the art field are you planning?

Nakamura: Through this collaboration, I realized that we can create new expressions and experiences through the fusion of digital and art.

In addition to the BN2-20 that was used this time, we have a lineup of products that can be expected to play an active role in the art field, such as the DIMENSE DA-640, which can print three-dimensional textures, and the PB series, a powder 3D printer that enables 3D printing of ceramics.Utilizing these products, we would like to continue to challenge new artistic expressions that have never been seen before, and to deliver their value to as many people as possible.