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Building a brand around IT study sessions in temples

Repeatedly using temples including Butsugenji and Daikoji as IT study-session venues established a distinctive Kyoto position, creating an entry point for media coverage and industry–academia collaboration.

Background

A Kyoto IT community needed a context specific to the city to stand apart. Generic meeting rooms made the program feel interchangeable with study sessions anywhere else, so the organizers began with the hypothesis that place itself could carry local meaning.

Trigger

The organizers approached the head priest of Butsugenji Temple, who welcomed the event on the basis that temples are gathering places. Strong participant response to the first session in April 2024 led to regular events.

How it developed

The brand began with the observation that a meeting-room study group could happen in any city and would not remain memorable. Based on the hypothesis that Kyoto’s context could be incorporated through the venue, the organizers approached the head priest of Butsugenji Temple, who welcomed an IT study session because temples are places where people gather.

The archive records 23 events at Butsugenji Temple from co-working session #28 in April 2024 through #58 in May 2026. Beyond regular sessions, the venue hosted the 2024 and 2025 year-end gatherings, the AI GHOST STORY SHORT CONTEST in September 2025, and a ghost-story event in July 2025. On May 23, 2026, the community first met at Daikoji Temple in Fushimi Ward, founded in 1260, expanding to two temple locations.

The branding method has three parts: repeatedly use the same venue, include the venue name in event titles, and maintain a continuing relationship with the venue owner. The result is a recognizable symbol, with working on laptops over tatami becoming a reason to participate. Overseas visitors also value the setting as a way to experience Kyoto.

The knowledge is now organized as Environment, the E in the TEMPLE community-operations framework, and published in a blog article. The temple venue is a defining Miyako de IT element, while also giving temples a new connection to IT professionals.

People and organizations involved

—Butsugenji Temple, ongoing partner since April 2024
—Daikoji Temple, new venue since May 2026
—The Miyako de IT organizing team
—Participants and media professionals

What we did

—Continued regular events at Butsugenji Temple, with 23 recorded in the archive
—Used the main hall, guest rooms, and garden as experiential elements
—Repeatedly communicated the idea of coding in a temple until it became a core point of recognition
—Added Daikoji Temple in May 2026, expanding to a two-temple Kyoto network

Outcomes

The recurring temple event became a recognizable symbol inside and outside the community

Systematized venue branding as Environment in the TEMPLE model and made it a central SEO topic

Established a steady route for media inquiries by offering a distinctly Kyoto angle

Became a reference for other local communities considering distinctive venues

What came next

The operating knowledge is being developed into a reusable Environment chapter of the TEMPLE model, applicable to locally specific places such as shrines, traditional houses, and storehouses in other regions.

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7 years and 165 events, with collaboration history