111 sheep, each with its own face: Fukuoka students turn waste plastic into Christmas ornaments
Fukuoka Women’s University students and Karatsu Farm&Food molded111 sheep ornaments from waste plastic and drew their faces individually. They will join Daimaru Fukuoka Tenjin’s Sprout tree; cow keychains have a separate, limited December giveaway.
Small sheep with swirling colors will soon become part of a Christmas tree in Fukuoka. Karatsu Farm&Food worked with students at Fukuoka Women’s University to melt waste plastic and mold111 sheep ornaments, with students drawing a face on each piece. The sheep will hang alongside wool ornaments on Daimaru Fukuoka Tenjin’s Christmas tree, titled Sprout.
The November1 announcement shares details of a workshop already held on campus on October19. The tree itself had been announced on October28. This is therefore a record of making the decorations, rather than a workshop now open for readers to book or the tree’s first announcement. Visitors can plan around the display beginning November7 and a separate December gift event with membership conditions.
Bringing the molding machine to campus
Students from Associate Professor Ryo Takeuchi’s laboratory joined the workshop. Two people from Karatsu Farm&Food brought Precious Plastic Karatsu’s injection-molding equipment into an open space on campus. The organization supplied molds based on sheep and Akaushi cattle from Aso, filling them with melted waste plastic. Operating the lever involved applying body weight, sometimes with two or three people working together. The photographs document this actual workshop with assisting staff present.
Participants operate an injection-molding lever together in a classroom with assistants nearby
As the plastic colors mixed differently each time, the sheep emerged with individual, marble-like patterns. Their faces were not uniformly printed: students used pens to draw them after molding. Material reuse and individual handwork are both visible in the process. The announcement, however, provides no quantified carbon savings or full life-cycle assessment; specific environmental benefits cannot be calculated simply from the use of recycled material.
Aso grass, wool and plastic become different parts of one tree
The tree was co-created by the university’s students and Kyushu Tankentai, using grass grown in Aso as its principal material. Decorations include pieces inspired by the grassland flower higotai, ornaments using wool from Aso sheep and these waste-plastic sheep. The plastic pieces are one component, rather than the material for every decoration. A rendering of the completed tree should also be distinguished from a photograph of a finished installation.
The display runs from November7 to December25 at Daimaru Fukuoka Tenjin’s Elgala Passage Plaza. Normal lighting hours are10:00–23:00 Japan time, but the first evening starts at18:30 and December25 ends at21:00. The opening ceremony begins at16:00 on November7, two and a half hours before the lights come on. Anyone visiting primarily for the illuminated tree should plan around18:30 rather than treating the ceremony’s start as switch-on time.
The cow keychain giveaway has different dates and conditions
Akaushi cow keychains made at the workshop are planned as gifts at the same plaza on December19 and20, from10:30 to18:00 Japan time. Visitors must show the Daimaru Matsuzakaya app as members. Each day is limited to50 pieces, while supplies last. Visiting the tree in November does not qualify someone for a December gift, and arriving before the event’s stated closing time does not guarantee stock.
Panels beside the tree will also introduce certified nature coexistence sites associated with organizations in Kyushu and Okinawa, including Yokomakura in Ochi, Karatsu, where the nonprofit works with local people on conservation. The display connects seasonal decoration with regional environmental education. That designation concerns particular areas and conservation activities; it is not an environmental certification for every ornament. The makers and materials are part of the story, along with the practical dates and conditions for a visit.
Questions and answers
When can visitors see the Christmas tree lit up?
The display runs November7–December25. Lights begin at18:30 on the first day, normally run10:00–23:00, and finish at21:00 on December25. All times are local to Japan.
Did students hand-sculpt all111 sheep?
No. The bodies were injection-molded from waste plastic, creating differently mixed patterns. Students then drew each face individually with pens.
When and how can visitors receive a cow keychain?
The giveaway is scheduled at Elgala Passage Plaza on December19 and20,10:30–18:00. Visitors must show Daimaru Matsuzakaya app membership; each day has50 pieces, while supplies last.
