The Yokohama Rendez-vous Project is implemented as an undertaking of ZOU-NO-HANA TERRACE (operated by Spiral/Wacoal Art Center Co., Ltd under the commission of the Yokohama Culture and Tourism Bureau.) Artists who work within Japan, as well as those whose activities are focused abroad, are dispatched to facilities throughout Yokohama for individuals with disabilities. The artists' perspectives allow certain points of interest - the monozukuri (making crafts) taking place at each facility; the uniquely talented people involved - to be established, and experimentation with creating a product begins.

Yoshie Kris, who had been undergoing treatment for osteosarcoma since 2010, makes her return to society and assumes the role of director of the Yokohama Rendez-vous Project. SAFARI.inc, a design company based in Osaka and Tokyo, is brought in to head art direction. The various items that result are branded under the name "SLOW LABEL" and shown at exhibitions such as "DESIGNTYDE TOKYO" and "ROOMS." They are subsequently sold at select shops, department stores, and museums all across the country.

SLOW LABEL encounters a number of discrepancies between its ideal practices and their implementation: the more the products sell, the less the project is able to keep up with its "slow" production methods; the number of people able to participate in monozukuri within a given welfare facility proves to be limited; and so on. The creativity of participating artists is accordingly channeled away from product design and into the development of methods and tools that will allow anyone and everyone to enjoy monozukuri. As a result, SLOW FACTORY is opened: a participatory workshop where a diverse range of local individuals, both with and without disabilities, can spend quality time together through monozukuri. SLOW FACTORY's hit item - the palm-sized loom MARUIRO, invented by Yui Inoue - is expanded to a variety of sizes, both large and small, and becomes a popular program that makes its rounds across the country.

With the collaboration of NPO Foundation Tokushima Work Support Co-operative for People with Disabilities, the BLUE BIRD COLLECTION is announced: a new indigo dye product line created using the tennen-aku-hakko-date (natural ash lye fermentation) process, which involves zero chemical additives. Given the rise of SLOW FACTORY's popularity, a do-it-yourself kit is simultaneously announced that allows consumers to make their own indigo dye creations. In Yokohama, a project is begun with the support of Kanazawa Fishing Port that draws on the theme "seaside monozukuri" and focuses on growing the seaweed used to make fishing nets. Misodama (balls of miso paste) are made out of the harvested seaweed, developed by food designer Haruna Nakayama together with local welfare facilities WAKUWAKU WORK and SELP-Mori. A documentary following this process, Hitohiro-han, is directed by Mito Ikeda and shown at the SLOW LABEL THE FACTORY 3 exhibition "Blue Ocean Blue Sky – Sea and Sky Monozukuri."

With the cooperation of Yokohama's Culture and Tourism Bureau and Health and Welfare Bureau, and with the vision of creating places and roles in society for all different kinds of people, the Yokohama Paratriennale 2014* is launched: an international contemporary art exhibition bringing together professionals from a wide range of fields and individuals with disabilities who display outstanding talents or sensibilities. Society is full of barriers; the Paratriennale, through its three installments that will continue through 2020, positions itself as a progressive project that aims to isolate them and use the power of art to break them down. Alongside the exhibition opening, SLOW LABEL is incorporated, becoming Specified Nonprofit Corporation SLOW LABEL. At the first edition of the Paratriennale, an initial attempt is made to tackle the performing arts, but　there proves to be little room for those with disabilities to participate. The effort accordingly serves as a first-hand account of the current state of society, making visible the variety of barriers - present both in surrounding environments and in prevailing states of mind - that persist with regards to individuals with and without disabilities mingling and engaging in activities together. * Organized by: Yokohama Rendezvous Project Executive Committee and Specified Nonprofit Organization Slow Label

Through the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's "Model Enterprise Supporting the Artistic Activities of Persons with Disabilities" initiative, and through SLOW MOVEMENT, a public participation-based performance project, work is done to improve environments for individuals with disabilities to participate in cultural and artistic activities as members of society. Research is simultaneously conducted to develop support positions: "access coordinators" to prepare locations to accommodate individuals with disabilities, and "accompanists" to work alongside them. A performance is created for SLOW MOVEMENT by diverse local performers and circus artist Keisuke Kanai. Titled The Eternal Sympony 1st mov, it is based on an original poem by Mizuki Misumi; performances are held at the plaza in front of United Nations University, SPIRAL, Toyosu Park, and more. As part of the project, an electric power-assisted wheelchair that plays music, "&Y (Andy)," is developed in collaboration with Yamaha (music production) and Yamaha Motors (vehicle production.)

SLOW GELATO -MADE IN NONOSHIMA- is opened in collaboration with Nonoshima Gakuen in Kumamoto prefecture's Koshi city, as an initiative to develop a new, creative workplace for individuals with disabilities. In Tokyo, Shin-Toyosu Brillia Running Stadium opens opposite the Tokyo Olympics Athletes' Village location, under the theme "SPORTxART." It becomes the rehearsal base for SLOW LABEL's aerial and physical training. SLOW ACADEMY, a program allowing all kinds of people to learn together, is also started. As a JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) delegate at Bangkok's APCD (Asia-Pacific Development Center on Disability), SLOW LABEL and animator Mimi Shinko implement a program for individuals with intellectual disabilities and their families in Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos, generating opportunities for collaborative learning through the process of creating animation. In the summer, SLOW LABEL director Yoshie Kris is appointed stage advisor for the Rio Paralympics closing and flag handover ceremony. Together with access coordinators and accompanists, SLOW LABEL contributes to the performance's success. The SLOW MOVEMENT project holds "SLOW MOVEMENT Showcase&Forum" at Spiral Hall, with the goal of connecting players who work in the context of disabilities to the greater performing arts world. The program serves as a showcase of work displaying a high level of artistry, as well as a forum to consider environments for individuals with disabilities within the performing arts.

SLOW HAND TRADE STORE opens in Tohoku prefecture's Kamiyama, a village that has garnered attention for its creative approaches to the issue of depopulation. The store creates opportunities to connect speciality handicrafts related to food, clothing, and shelter from nationwide community workshops to creators and enterprises that will use them in the development of goods and services. At the second Paratriennale opening, accessibility is improved due to continued research efforts; the participation of individuals with disabilities increases dramatically, compared to the previous edition; and a large-scale outdoor performance production is realized. Additionally, SLOW MOVEMENT composes its "second movement," welcoming the direction of Kaiji Moriyama. A Tokyo show is followed by one in Osaka, where a performance is unveiled that involves over 100 local participants. The project evolves according to a diverse series of needs, holding experiential workshops and mini-performances in Shizuoka, as well as all over the country. Back in Tokyo, Tina Carter from London's National Center for Circus Arts, who served as the aerial trainer for the opening ceremony of the London Paralympics, holds workshops training talent in the instruction of aerial arts for individuals with disabilities. Likewise, physiotherapists, physical trainers, and other personnel knowledgable about the physical needs of those with disabilities, are added to the team, and begin research and development on physical training for individuals with disabilities.

Frédéric Loiselle, an occupational therapist who applies methods from Cirque du Soleil's philanthropic program "Cirque du Monde" in the rehabilitation of individuals with disabilities, is invited from Montreal on the occasion of the 2nd SLOW MOVEMENT Showcase & Forum. He teaches about the difference in approach between the circus arts, which focus on creation and recreation, and the Social Circus, which focuses on fostering the social skills needed by participants to survive in our problematic society. Development for a Social Circus program is begun, marking a shift in gear from the SLOW MOVEMENT circus activities that had, since 2014, focused on a target year of 2020 with a goal of producing creative work and locating/training talent to support such endeavors. The goal of this new program will be to empower individuals with disabilities, setting as its target the shape that will be taken by society in 2025. A project is additionally undertaken to create environments that will allow individuals with disabilities to continue enjoying art and sports in regional areas post-2020, sharing* the accessibility know-how SLOW LABEL has cultivated thus far with the personnel and instructors at sports and culture facilities, directors at professional dance and theater companies, and other industry figures. In terms of creative work, a new piece is produced as part of the Nippon Foundation DIVERSITY IN THE ARTS initiative. Directed by Keisuke Kanai, choreographed by Sonsherée Giles, and helmed by Kazuyo Morita and Natsumi Sadayuki, dancers who have worked with SLOW LABEL since 2014, Onna Matsumushi is performed in Singapore at the True Colours Festival: Asia-Pacific Festival of Artists with Disabilities.* An FY2018 Cabinet Secretariat Research Project for Promoting the Basic Policy for the Olympic and Paralympic Games

With an eye to encouraging future independent businesses, a circus school is opened that utilizes the circus arts to support those in the younger generation who, for whatever reason, have been unable to find their places in society. Classes are held on the first Saturday of every month in Yokohama's Minato ward. In November, SLOW CIRCUS PROJECT is launched as a platform for integrating these circus-related undertakings. The event "OPEN CREATION & TALK SESSION SHIBUYA" is held at Shibuya Stream Hall to showcase the project's work. More than 200 attend, and SLOW CIRCUS PROJECT garners attention as "Japan's first social circus company."

2019 additionally sees the debut of Glue Crew, a three-year joint venture with Sun Chlorella. Focusing on the creation of a sustainable form of corporate culture that sees diversity as its strength, Glue Crew implements hands-on training led collaboratively by those with and without disabilities. SLOW LABEL also helms the various tasks required for the training of "co-creative human resources" and development of interdepartmental networks. The SLOW CIRCUS SCHOOL program is used for employee training and is well-received.

SLOW CIRCUS SCHOOL takes the initiative to develop a series of workshops that apply the social circus method to areas beyond disability welfare, bringing its program to schools, childcare facilities, and others who fall outside the corporate sphere. Exploration of other avenues is currently in progress, with a focus on tailoring each program to its target audience. "Yukku & Lee of the Spiral World," developed for business professionals in partnership with Dentsu Para Initiative, is implemented for NewsPicks Academia members and receives high praise.

In the wake of the Covit-19 outbreak, we took on the challenge of bringing various programmes 'online'. We supported internet accessibility for people with disabilities, their parents and carers, and developed the SLOW CIRCUS workshop, a programme that allows for interactive communication between the trainers and participants, even online. We also started selling beginners' circus kits that can be enjoyed at home or in facilities.

The 'Yokohama Paratriennale', the culmination of this year's event, was also held as an 'online x real fusion festival'. It created new encounters with friends from all over the world and with people who are unable to go out for various reasons. The circus programme, which was expected to be a large-scale performance, was changed to animation due to infection control measures. The work was created by filming each member in front of a green backdrop and compositing the footage. Circus artists from Canada, Italy and Chile were also invited to participate, resulting in an animation work that transcended borders and time and space.

As part of the Minato City Cultural Programme Cooperation Project, SLOW MOVEMENT -Showcase & Forum vol.5- was held online. Under the theme 'Well-being Arts - Let's create a healthy future', the first part of the film was a documentary about the six years leading up to the launch of the SLOW CIRCUS PROJECT. In the second part, a performance experiment of 'Hagoromo' from a classical Noh piece was conducted. The Amplified Elephants, a music group of people with disabilities in Melbourne, Australia, and Ryoko Aoki, a Noh vocalist chanting at the Spiral Hall in Tokyo, performed together. An attempt was made to superimpose media art generated by a programme developed jointly by Jonathan Duckworth, Associate Professor at RMIT University, and Shigenori Mochizuki, Associate Professor at Ritsumeikan University, on the video. The third part of the event, which lasted for five years, concluded with a review of the Social Circus activities in Minato City, and a discussion on the healthy future that art can bring, under the theme 'Well-being Arts'.

The Yokohama Paratriennale 2014 served as the driving force behind our endeavors to enhance accessibility in stage activities, and the outcomes have been fruitful. We provided comprehensive support for the Paralympic ceremonies, encompassing all aspects of planning, production, and management. This ensured that performers with disabilities were able to participate without concerns or anxieties. In the future, by sharing this expertise with those involved in stage production and event management, we will enhance opportunities and options for people with disabilities to play a more active role in society. SLOW CIRCUS utilized social circus as a medium to convey its message of "Diversity and Harmony" throughout Japan. This involved the creation of a logo, uniforms, and the renewal of its introductory video and official website. The members will provide workshops as the trainer. Additionally, we will develop training courses to cultivate social circus performers in diverse regions of Japan and establish a comprehensive training system. In September 2021, Slow Label was designated a "Certified Specified Nonprofit Organization" by the City of Yokohama. Donations, including those in the form of supporting membership fees, are eligible for tax deductions. As we develop a sustainable management system, we will contribute to the realization of a SLOW society, in which all individuals are able to live their own lives.

A new six-month program, SLOW CIRCUS ACADEMY, has been initiated. It combines the methods developed by Slow Label for the Tokyo Paralympics Opening Ceremony and Cirque du Soleil's Social Circus. The "Empowerment Major" is designed for individuals seeking to challenge their own potential, while the "Acampanist Major" is intended for performers and choreographers interested in engaging in creative activities with a diverse group of individuals, with the aim of facilitating their own self-realization through co-creation. All 17 students who completed the program were awarded a certificate of completion. Furthermore, a Japan-U.S. Social Circus Exchange Program was launched in 2022 as a three-year initiative with the support of the Japan Foundation. The exchange commenced with a reciprocal exchange of knowledge and experiences. In the domain of accessibility programs, the Commentary Guide team, a pioneering information security method developed for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games ceremonies, is undergoing a period of growth and expansion. We are currently developing accessibility for all to enjoy flowers and greenery at the Garden Necklace Yokohama, which is being held in preparation for the 2027 Green Expo.