What is Heiwa Matsuri?

Heiwa Matsuri was born out of respect for the “Sapeurs.”

The Sapeurs are active in the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo — among the world’s poorest nations, where conflict continues to this day.

They dress in colorful, high-end suits, and live by the belief: “We never fight, because we never want to stain our clothes.” Through this, they send a message of world peace.

Moved by their activity, we wanted to send a message of “peace” from Japan as well — and so Heiwa Matsuri was born.

We adopted the concept: “The Attire of Peace = Kimono,” “We never stain kimono, so we never fight.”

We designed this project so that people across Japan — and eventually the world — could wear kimono as a symbol of peace, and send a message of “peace” to the world.

Founder & Representative: Mayu Ogawa

~Profile~
Founder of Heiwa Matsuri and representative of its organizing committee.
Launched Heiwa Matsuri in February 2021.
An entrepreneur in her 11th year of business, featured on Japanese television as a rising business leader.

She is a speaker ranked 2nd worldwide on a major podcast platform, an author with 13 #1 rankings on Amazon, a business consultant certified at an hourly rate of ¥400,000, and has achieved ¥100 million in sales over six consecutive days for five months running. Her clients’ cumulative sales exceed approximately ¥5 billion. She has also planned and sponsored international events attracting audiences of 100,000+ people, among many other achievements.

For five years until 2019, she traveled abroad every month, sharing the wonder of Japanese culture — as seen through the eyes of the world — with people of all generations. As a global-scale social activist, she continues to run various communities and online salons today.

The Spirit Behind Heiwa Matsuri

Heiwa Matsuri is a peace movement, but it is also a festival — and above all, we want everyone who takes part to enjoy it.

One of our visions is to make September 21, the International Day of Peace, a public holiday — using Heiwa Matsuri as an opportunity for people around the world to think about peace.

Just as more and more companies are now embracing the SDGs, we hope that engagement with September 21 will spread across the world in the same way.

By then, we believe the word “HEIWA” will have become a universal word.

What Heiwa Matsuri Aims to Achieve

By making Heiwa Matsuri an annual event held around the world, we create opportunities for people everywhere to think about “peace.”

We aim to make September 21, the International Day of Peace, a public holiday, and to make “HEIWA” a universal word. We are working, as quickly as possible, to create a day that people all over the world look forward to.