Winners Announced for the 19th Shachihata New Product Design Competition

On October 9, 2026, the winners of the 19th Shachihata New Product Design Competition (SNDC) were officially unveiled in Tokyo. Hosted by the General Incorporated Association Future Monodukuri Promotion Conference and sponsored by Shachihata Inc., this prestigious design competition has long served as an incubator for transformative stationery and lifestyle concepts, frequently turning award-winning prototypes into commercial reality.

The 2026 Theme: "Marks of Modernity" (現代のしるし)

For over a century, the act of making a mark (shirushi) in Japan was defined by the red vermilion impression of an inkan (personal name stamp). But as physical stamping gives way to digital workflows and society becomes increasingly dispersed, what does it mean to leave a mark today?

Out of 1,610 entries evaluated by a distinguished jury, including Kenya Hara, Naoto Fukasawa, Yugo Nakamura, Haruka Misawa, guest judge Shizuka Tatsuno, and Shachihata President Masayoshi Funahashi, this year’s competition challenged designers to look beyond conventional seals. The selected works examine how we communicate, record, care, and preserve memory in the modern era through touch, packaging, food, and quiet household gestures.

Below are the 2026 winners and their thoughtful reinterpretations of the modern mark.

Grand Prix: Kanshazai (感謝材)

Designer: Anna Shibano (柴野 杏菜)

Concept: Transforming protective packaging into an expression of gratitude. When expanded around an object, standard honeycomb slit cushion paper reveals the words "THANK YOU" depending on the viewing angle.

Analysis & Perspective: In an e-commerce-driven world where packages arrive daily, unboxing has become a routine, transactional gesture. Kanshazai (a brilliant play on kanshōzai / protective packing material and kansha / gratitude) reimagines functional waste into an emotional touchpoint. By embedding typographic lenticular geometry directly into the die-cut paper lattice, the packaging provides both structural cushioning and a delightful surprise when the recipient opens their delivery.

Runner-Up: Fuchidoru Shirushi (縁取る印)

Designer: Yamato Imai (今井 大和)

Concept: A specialized grooved marker designed to fit neatly along the thin edges of a page. Gliding it down the margin dyes the rim of the paper in traditional vermilion red (shu-iro), leaving a sharp, continuous edge-gilt line across the closed bookblock.

Analysis & Perspective: As notes and literature increasingly dissolve into limitless digital scrolls, Fuchidoru Shirushi restores physical boundaries and permanence to paper records. Drawing on the bookbinding tradition of colored fore-edge painting, this handheld tool turns marginal notes into visible cross-sectional landmarks, giving analog notebooks an intentional, tactile presence on a shelf.

Runner-Up: Kirei ni Oseru Inkan (きれいに押せる印鑑)

Designer: Jun Kikuchi (菊池 潤)

Concept: An intuitive stamp engineered for flawless placement. Shaped as a flat, transparent acrylic disc rather than a long cylindrical rod, the user holds the seal without obstructing the page and can look directly through the top to position the character with pinpoint accuracy.

Analysis & Perspective: Traditional hanko stamping is notoriously stressful: blind alignment, accidental skew, or partial impressions can ruin formal paperwork. By shifting the form factor from a tall peg to a low-profile optic lens, Kikuchi eliminates visual blind spots. The act of stamping shifts from an anxious chore into a clear, confident declaration of intent.

Judges' Originality Award (Hara Prize): Watashi no Pudding-sama (私のプリン様)

Designer: Kaju Akimoto (秋本 賀珠)

Concept: A miniature traditional silk zabuton (floor cushion) placed beneath a treat in the refrigerator. It acts as a gentle, non-verbal declaration meaning "I'm saving this for later, please don't eat it."

Analysis & Perspective: In busy households where family members often miss each other between work and school shifts, sticky notes can sometimes feel blunt or confrontational. Giving an everyday custard pudding its own ornate seat of honor elevates a modest snack into revered "royalty" (Pudding-sama). By assigning different colored cushions to each family member, it creates a warm, humorous system of mutual respect and domestic anticipation.

Jury Award (Fukazawa Prize): pac

Designer: Yu Shimura (志村 優)

Concept: A set of patterned ribbons corresponding to Japan’s 9 designated food allergens (eggs, milk, wheat, buckwheat, peanuts, shrimp, crab, walnut, and soybean), visually indicating what ingredients are present in baked goods or packed foods.

Analysis & Perspective: With food allergies increasingly prevalent, sharing treats at school, work, or casual gatherings can carry quiet anxiety. Rather than clinical warning stickers or dense ingredient checklists, pac weaves allergen awareness directly into gift-wrapping aesthetics. It offers a subtle, caring gesture that allows recipients to accept homemade and packaged gifts with peace of mind.

Jury Award (Misawa Prize / Tatsuno Prize): Tezawari no Enpitsu (手触りの鉛筆)

Designer: Kai Kinoshita (木下 快)

Concept: A series of graphite pencils whose barrel surface textures directly reflect the hardness and softness of their internal lead grades.

Analysis & Perspective: Pencils usually communicate core hardness through stamped alphanumeric codes (HB, 2B, 4H). Kinoshita’s design bypasses intellectual reading and digital signals entirely, creating a purely somatic connection. The moment fingers rest on the rough or velvety barrel, the body instinctively anticipates the drag, bite, or smoothness of the graphite against paper before the tip even touches the page.

Special Jury Prize: Nagoya no Shirushi (名古屋のしるし)

Designers: Kanako Yamauchi & Shinichi Yamauchi (Team: kuli-kuli)

Concept: Reinterpreting traditional stamp culture as edible rock candy (kintaro-ame). Users can gift and taste personal name seals as candies, connecting the rich confectionery heritage of Nagoya to modern cultural transmission.

Analysis & Perspective: As procedural stamping fades from modern administrative life, Nagoya no Shirushi preserves the visual identity of the hanko by linking it to regional confectionery culture. Grounded in Nagoya’s famous wholesale candy traditions, these cylinder candies feature crisp red-and-white family crests and surnames running clear through the sugar, turning an institutional symbol into a sweet, collectible souvenir.

Product Commercialization Next Steps

Shachihata’s competition is notable for actively advancing winning entries into actual production. Prototyping evaluations for several of the 19th edition’s top entries are set to begin in the coming fiscal term, continuing the competition's legacy of turning theoretical design concepts into practical daily essentials.