Dentsu Inc. and Heibonsha's joint project, the "Beautiful Living Research Institute," has released "72 Seasons," a calendar application that allows users to enjoy Japanese seasonal living and the bounty of each season in English.

Launched in November 2010 as a joint project between Dentsu Inc. and Heibonsha, the "Institute for Beautiful Living"*1 developed and released "72 Seasons ~A year seen through the ancient Japanese calendar~" on December 8th. This calendar application allows users to enjoy Japan's seasonal lifestyle and the bounty of each season in English, serving as new business content to meet inbound tourism demand.

"72 Seasons" is an English version of the calendar app "Kurashi no Koyomi"※2, which has achieved 350,000 downloads in Japan. It is a free app for iPhone, iPad, and Android devices. Like the Japanese version, it updates approximately every five days, following the traditional Japanese seasonal divisions of the "Twenty-Four Solar Terms" and the "Seventy-Two Sub-Seasons". Based on explanations of each of the seventy-two seasonal subdivisions describing nature's changes, it presents content like haiku and seasonal foods that showcase Japanese life and culture during that season. This content unfolds scroll-style, incorporating photographs and illustrations. It serves as an ideal free app for foreigners to learn about Japan's seasonal highlights and for Japanese people to introduce Japan to foreigners.

With the anticipated increase in visitors to Japan, demand for content introducing Japan to inbound tourists is expected to grow. The Beautiful Living Research Institute will use this app to disseminate Japanese culture overseas while developing it as a new inbound media platform. Additionally, the institute will propose and sell customized content based on "72 Seasons" to companies and local governments.

＜Overview ofthe "72 Seasons" App＞

・App Name: 72 Seasons ～A year seen through the ancient Japanese calendar～

・Price: Free

・Platforms: iOS, Android

・How to Get It: For iOS

　 https://itunes.apple.com/app/72-seasons/id1059622777?ls=1&mt=8

　　　　　　For Android

　 https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.co.heibonsha.app.koyomi_en

Search for "72 Seasons" on the App Store or Google Play and install

・Logo

　 ■Screenshots ofthe"72 Seasons"app

*On iOS, a separate layout optimized for iPad/iPhone screen sizes will be displayed.

※1 "Institute for Beautiful Ways of Living " http://www.kurashikata.com/

Launched in November 2010 as a joint project between Dentsu Inc. and Heibonsha. This institute reexamines practices and philosophies long embedded in Japanese daily life, proposing "Beautiful Ways of Living" that resonate in the modern era.

※2 Calendar App "Kurashi no Koyomi"

Released in November 2010. Offered free for iPhone/iPad/Android devices, it achieved

350,000 downloads (as of November 2015).

Dentsu Inc. News Releasehttp://www.dentsu.co.jp/news/release/2015/1208-008583.html