As part of the "PIECE of PEACE" project, which aims to experience peace through the five senses, the Takao Ito Laboratory of the Department Department of Social Design Faculty of Art and Design, has collaborated with Furuta Katsuyoshi Shoten Co., Ltd. (Nagasaki City) and Komatsu Beverage Co., Ltd. (Karatsu City) to create a new product called "Heiwa no Ramune" (Peaceful Ramune), which recreates the design of Nagasaki's "Otebiki Ramune," one of the oldest ramune drinks in Japan, and reproduces the taste of the original ramune.
The label of "Otebiki Ramune," which was created in Nagasaki in the early Meiji period, featured a design of "two hands shaking hands," embodying the founder Katsuji Furuta's wish that "people all over the world could shake hands in friendship and drink ramune in peace." The new label for "Heiwa no Ramune" inherits the historical "handshake" motif, but evolves it into a design where overlapping hands form a "dove," a symbol of peace. Furthermore, the taste has been recreated based on the Meiji-era recipe preserved at Komatsu Beverages, reproducing the flavor of that time.
On April 29th (Wednesday, a national holiday), a talk event was held to coincide with the launch of the product at the "Peace Cafe" inside the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum. Professor Ito, Masayoshi Furuta (Furuta Katsuyoshi Shoten), and Saburo Komatsu (Komatsu Beverages) took the stage to introduce the history of ramune and the process of its development. At the venue, visitors from overseas and people of all ages, from children to adults, picked up "Heiwa no Ramune" and experienced the taste that is filled with history and hope.
This project, which began in 2025 to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the war, has so far focused on "trees that survived the atomic bombing" and planned various products that appeal to the five senses, such as videos recording the sounds of these trees (auditory), incense (olfactory), amulets (tactile), and paints (sight). With the completion of this ramune soda that appeals to the sense of taste, this attempt to allow people to experience peace from multiple perspectives has deepened even further.
Professor Ito explained his thoughts behind Heiwa no Ramune, saying, "With Heiwa no Ramune, conversations about peace are born when people who drink it share and spread its story. Creating peace may seem like a big problem, but I believe that the first step towards peace is to try to understand each other and talk on equal terms while drinking ramune."
[Department of Social Design]
