Solid Solutions for Regional Challenges: Ikehara Masaki / CEO, Morutaru Magic

"Direct Talk"

Our guest today is Ikehara Masaki

who runs a company that makes regional souvenirs.

They turn empty seashells

into dolphin ornaments,

volcanic ash

into adorable pig figurines.

They take materials that are hard to dispose of,

and transform them into region-specific souvenirs.

Their solidification technology

is even being tapped for its potential applications in space.

Ikehara's goal is to provide solid solutions that make people happy.

He reflects on the challenges he faced getting his business off the ground,

and talks about his technology's potential.

I'm always looking at different materials

and thinking about whether or not we can solidify it.

I just love to solidify things.

In fall, 2021,

an underwater volcanic eruption in the Pacific Ocean

released a massive amount of pumice.

It drifted to Okinawa Prefecture

and other areas along the Japanese coast,

swamping ports and beaches.

The volcanic stones prevented ships from entering or leaving ports,

and devastated marine life and seaweed farms.

The impact on the local fishing and tourism industries was severe.

Ikehara took the troublesome debris and recycled it into souvenirs

which became a big hit.

There are so many things we have no more use for that are just lying dormant.

Maybe we can give new life to them with our ideas and technology.

I want to transform them into treasures.

Ikehara is based in the coastal city of Tottori in Western Japan.

The area is known for its vast sand dunes.

Stretching 16 kilometers from east to west,

it's one of Japan's leading tourist destinations.

Ikehara's company is located nearby.

Visitors are greeted by a troop of statues

modeled after the "Moai" monoliths of Easter Island.

But these statues aren't made of stone.

They're molded from mortar.

Since I was a kid, I've just really been into Moai statues for some reason.

So I make them.

Ikehara says he first learned of the statues as a young boy

when he read a book on the Seven Wonders of the World.

His company also makes small Moai statuettes.

These are made out of sand from the Tottori Sand Dunes.

This little guy is our most popular item.

This sand Moai is the company's flagship product.

It looks as though it could crumble apart at any moment.

But the sand has been firmly solidified.

And unlike cement mortar or concrete,

it retains a distinct sandy texture without compromising structural integrity.

It was created using Ikehara's unique method

of solidifying particulate material.

I wanted people to be able to see that it's made of sand.

And I also wanted it to retain the texture of sand.

That was very important to me.

If we were going to sell these at the Tottori Sand Dunes,

you needed to be able to recognize it was made of sand at first glance.

These Moai statuettes are available at several shops by the sand dunes.

They've been a huge hit, with 100,000 sold a year.

- Moai, Moai.
- Moai!

It's a fun souvenir.

They're adorable. I wonder how they made a sculpture out of sand?

Ikehara says there were many hardships involved in developing the technology.

It all started back around the turn of the millennium

when Japan was suffering a severe recession.

Ikehara was working at a small civil engineering

and construction company run by his father.

They found themselves in dire straits.

It was getting to the point where I thought the company was on the verge of going under.

He had the idea to expand the scope of their business with mortar molding.

Mortar molding is basically a kind of technique

where you use cement to create sculptures

that resemble real rocks and trees and things like that.

At the time, there weren't many mortar molding specialists in Japan,

and I saw an opportunity.

Convinced that it could open new doors for the company,

he embarked on a three-year journey to learn how to mold mortar.

When he returned to Tottori, he began to take on mortar molding jobs.

But he was operating in the red.

I was importing cement from abroad for my mortar molding work.

The stuff is about ten times the price of regular Japanese cement.

It's really expensive.

So that got me thinking, I should make my own mortar molding cement.

It was easier said than done.

Ikehara knew nothing about developing specialized cement.

The key was a need to develop a binding agent

that would turn sand into the cement.

For days and days on end, he experimented with sand and chemicals.

Eventually, word about his experiments with sand began to spread.

One day, he was approached by the local tourism association.

They wanted him to make souvenirs out of sand from the Tottori Sand Dunes.

If I could make souvenirs out of sand, I'd have a business.

I started to feel this impulse,

this desire to make something Moai-related.

So I shifted gears.

I decided I wasn't going to try to make cement for mortar molding anymore.

He focused his efforts on creating a Moai-inspired souvenir out of sand.

First, he needed a binding agent.

He began mixing various chemicals in different proportions.

You know those chemicals that say "WARNING: DO NOT MIX?"

Well, I went ahead and mixed them.

And that released these toxic fumes.

I fell unconscious in my lab.

I don't remember what happened.

When I came to, I was on the floor.

Despite the close call, Ikehara pressed on with his experiments.

He tested over 20,000 different formulations.

With no end in sight, his employees started expressing their doubts.

I just wasn't producing results.

And so, some of the employees had begun to say stuff like

"What are you even doing?"

I was told, "Stop it already.

Stop wasting your time with that pointless research."

Ikehara finally succeeded in creating

the Tottori Sand Dunes Moai statuette in 2010.

After eight years of hardship,

he devised a way to solidify particulate material

while retaining the original texture.

The company sold 2,000 statuettes in no time.

They ramped up production to keep up with demand,

but the statuettes were selling too fast.

When trying something new, maybe the novice is better suited to the task.

I didn't know anything.

That's why I was able to mix together

unconventional formulations for our binder.

I created a new chemical reaction.

Emboldened by his success,

Ikehara next began approaching municipalities

experiencing volcanic activity.

He asked if they'd be interested in making souvenirs

out of solidified volcanic ash.

I saw news reports about how much work it was to remove all the ash,

and also how the ash was damaging crops.

I had the idea of using our solidification technology

to make souvenirs out of ash.

Those items also became big sellers.

Ever since, Ikehara has gone from region to region,

transforming troublesome detritus into mementos.

He's produced souvenirs and other merchandise in areas all across Japan.

The coloring for some of these items

is done by residents of a home for disabled people.

No two products are alike, which makes them all the more valuable.

On a fundamental level,

I want to utilize all the untapped materials and resources

that we have all across the country.

And I want to give local economies a boost.

Many of our workers down at the home for disabled people

tell me the work is fulfilling.

Ultimately, I want to make every individual

who we've built a connection with through our business happy.

That's what I want to achieve.

It's what keeps me going.

Ikehara had gained a track record of contributing to regional revitalization.

In fall, 2021,

his services were called upon once again.

Okinawa and other areas along the Japanese coast

had been swamped by floating pumice rocks.

The total volume of debris amounted to more than 20,000 cubic meters.

The impact on local fishing and tourism industries was severe.

And disposing of the volcanic pebbles and stones

was proving to be a major headache for local authorities.

The chairman of a tourism business group in Okinawa

heard about Ikehara's technology for solidifying granular material.

He approached him, looking for a way to utilize the pumice stones.

I went down to Okinawa to take a look,

and I brought back some pumice stones.

But I couldn't get them to solidify.

The stones had been floating in the ocean,

so the salt content was a problem.

Also, the stones themselves aren't structurally strong.

It was tougher than expected.

We tested about a thousand different formulations for our binder.

In spring, 2022,

after months of testing, Ikehara finally had a product on his hands.

The souvenirs are modeled after "shiisaa,"

Okinawan lion-like guardian statues

that are placed at entrances and on roofs.

They continue to be popular sellers.

We donate a portion of the sales to areas

that have been affected by volcanic pumice,

10% of the sales price.

We want to take this troublesome detritus and turn it into something positive,

turn negatives into opportunities.

So far, Ikehara has been using his technology

to solidify granular material here on Earth.

But some believe it could have applications in outer space.

Ikehara is currently conducting research

in partnership with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

Right now, we're experimenting with using lunar soil

to build things like structures.

It costs a lot of money to transport things

from the surface of the Earth out into space,

so you want to reduce the load.

Carrying just one kilogram's worth of material from the Earth to the moon

could cost upwards of 100 million yen.

If Ikehara can develop a binding agent

to solidify lunar soil into a building material,

it would lower the cost of building in space significantly.

I just love seeing something that was like

a dream or fantasy become reality.

I hope they'll adopt our technology.

(Do you have any words to live by?)

"Love." I wrote "Love."

I hope that love will bring us all together and make everyone happy.

I want to give new life to the things we don't need.

All they need is a little love.

Then they can get back out there.