News

Osaka-Gunze Limited (Headquarters: Osaka, Japan, President: Toshiyasu Saguchi) [TOKYO: 3002] is pleased to announce that Gunze is sponsoring the Second Ayabe Beetle Sumo Tournament in Ayabe City, Kyoto, which is where the company was founded. Gunze is going to provide Gunze Museum Tsudoi-Gura as the venue for the tournament and Mirai-Gura as the public viewing venue. Since 2010, Gunze has been working with the "Kyoto Model Forest Movement Activity in Ayabe" to preserve Satoyama (traditional rural landscapes) in certain areas of Ayabe City. The nonprofit "Satoyama Net Ayabe" organized the activity, and they successfully cultivated beetles outdoors using materials like wood chips and bamboo chips that they fermented and composted. We've been hosting the "Ayabe Beetle Sumo Tournament" since last year to spread the word about the importance of maintaining forests and the natural cycle of beetle reproduction. This year, the event has been selected as one of the projects commemorating the 75th anniversary of Ayabe City's establishment, and it will be held on a larger scale than last year.

A beetle born in a breeding facility

■About the second Ayabe Beetle Sumo Tournament

Date

July 20 (Sun.),2025 09:00 - 15:00

Place

Match venue: Gunze Museum Tsudoi-Gura
Pubic viewing venue: Gunze Museum Mirai-Gura 　　　　　　　　

Fee

Free of charge

Hosted by

Ayabe Beetle Sumo Tournament Executive Committee
(Local specialty store “Tokusankan”, Gunze Museum, Ayabe City Tourism Association, Ayabe City Tourism Exchange Division, Suigen no Sato Kanbara, NPO Satoyama Net Ayabe)

Cooperation

Society for the Protection of Obata Castle, Satomachi Reiwa-kai

Sponsor

Gunze Limited

The first Ayabe Beetle Sumo Tournament held last year

■About Gunze and Gunze Museum
Gunze was founded in 1896 by Tsurukichi Hatano in Ikaruga Ward (now Ayabe City) to promote the local silkworm industry. The founder had an enthusiastic determination to contribute to the development of his hometown community by promoting the local silk industry. He believed that this should serve as Ikaruga's policy, so he named his company Gunze Silk Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (later renamed Gunze Limited), with "Gunze" meaning "district policy" in Japanese. Today, Gunze is a leading designer and manufacturer of plastic films, engineering plastics, medical devices, apparel and other products. Gunze employs more than 4,300 people in 10 countries around the world. The Gunze Museum was set up in 1996 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Gunze's founding. It was renovated from a silk cocoon storage facility that was used during the Taisho era. The museum has three historic Kura‑style exhibition halls that show off Gunze's history. There's the Sogyō-Gura (Establishment), the Gendai-Gura (Present), and the Mirai-Gura (Future). The Museum also has a Tsudoi-Gura. "Tsudoi" means "gathering" in Japanese, and it's a great place for workshops, local events, seminars, and educational programs.