Six Reasons Why the Ancient Samurai City of Kamakura is a "Mindful City"
- 三木 康司
- 4 days ago
- 2 min read
Why Are Stanford Professors Moving to a Small Japanese Seaside Town?
Kamakura — an ancient seaside city just one hour from Tokyo — was
the first capital of Japan's samurai society, established 800 years
ago. When the warrior leader Hōjō Tokiyori sought a discipline to
regulate his spirit in times of war, he founded a Zen dojo here,
beginning a tradition that still shapes the city today.
Now, Kamakura is transforming into something the world has never
seen: a "Mindful City" where 800 years of Zen heritage meets
cutting-edge technology and diverse global talent. This comprehensive
22-minute guide reveals six reasons why.
1. STARTUP INFRASTRUCTURE — Far from a sleepy temple town, Kamakura
boasts "Machi no Shain-shokudo" (a rotating community cafeteria
serving different restaurant menus weekly), shared nursery schools,
co-living spaces, and Sony's NURO fiber delivering 1.1 Gbps speeds.
Kayac, Inc., headquartered here, has built an entire ecosystem for
entrepreneurs.
2. NATURE THAT OPENS THE SENSES — Surrounded by ocean and mountains,
Kamakura's environment literally rewires how you think. The author
describes how 12 years of living here transformed his work style
from left-brain logic to intuition-led creativity — including
pioneering Synecoculture farming (pesticide-free, fertilizer-free
agriculture developed by Sony CSL).
3. TEMPLES, SHRINES, CHURCHES & MINDFUL COMMUNITIES — Kamakura
hosts the 3.11 Interfaith Conference where Shinto, Buddhist, and
Christian leaders learn from each other. Zen2.0, co-founded by the
author, brings experts from around the world to the 760-year-old
Kenchoji Temple annually.
4. COMPACT DIVERSITY — Within bicycle distance of the station, you'll
find hippie consultants, Buddhist monks, AI researchers, shakuhachi
musicians, Christian Sisters, and Stanford professors — all
organically connected. When Professor Stephen Murphy-Shigematsu
brought Stanford's Heartfulness Lab students for a week-long
immersion, they co-created mindful city ideas with local citizens
and ANA employees.
5. KAMAKON — A citizen-powered community where monthly brainstorming
sessions spawn crowdfunded projects, new companies, and international
events. Zen2.0 itself was born from a Kamakon presentation.
6. MINDFUL BUSINESS CLUSTER — From zenschool's innovation programs
to Human Potential Lab's consciousness transformation, Kamakura
hosts a concentration of businesses dedicated to updating human
awareness — a living laboratory for the future of work and life.
This is not a tourist guide. It's a blueprint for how an ancient
city can become the world's most innovative mindful community.
→ Read the full article on Medium
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Originally published on Medium by Kouji Miki.
Follow "Zen and Innovation" for weekly insights on leadership, AI,
and Japanese wisdom.
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