Designer and founder of the clothing brand Ground Global. His background as a practical engineer in landscape Architecture led him into the disciplined world of professional tailoring and garment construction.
In his work, Shai collaborates with Japanese suppliers and sources authentic textiles, maintaining a deep appreciation for craftsmanship and material. He aims to build a meaningful bridge between cultures by integrating Japanese traditions into his creative practice, guided by a shared respect for discipline, continuity of craft, education, and art.

Eli Gimmon is a Japanese culture enthusiast since his first visit to Japan in early 1990s. Then he joined the Israel-Japan chamber of friendship and for many years he has been a member of the Chamber’s steering committee.

Eli is currently a full professor of management and Dean of Engineering at Shenkar College in Israel with focus on teaching and research of innovation and entrepreneurship. He received Ph.D. in entrepreneurship at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland (2006). MBA earned at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York (1979) and B.Sc. at the Technion in Haifa, Israel (1976).

Eli is emeritus professor at Tel-Hai University where he had founded the entrepreneurship and innovation center. His expertise in entrepreneurship and innovation emerged from extensive field experience, including co-founding two American–Israeli IT companies. Before he had practiced managerial duties for 13 years at the multinational electronic corporation Elbit Systems Ltd in Haifa.

Founder and Director of the leading Japanese Language Center ”日本語センター” . holds an M.A. in East Asian Studies from Tel Aviv University. She studied Japanese in Japan and holds the Japanese Language Proficiency Test N1 certification. For over three decades, Sigal has lived and breathed the Japanese language and culture.
She lectures and initiates Japanese cultural activities throughout Israel, and creates content for the Japanese Language Center’s Facebook community.
Her motto, inspired by the Japanese proverb:
なり力は継続 – Perseverance becomes strength

I am an illustrator and artist specializing in work inspired by Japanese culture. I hold a B.Des. in Visual Communication from Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art, with a specialization in illustration. In recent years, I have been actively promoting Japanese culture through my artistic practice, participating in Japan related cultural events and exhibitions in Israel. My work explores traditional Japan, particularly Noh masks, which I reinterpret through contemporary illustration and artistic objects. I present my work at cultural events and galleries, creating a dialogue between Japanese aesthetics and Israeli identity. In addition, I am active in the Japanese-Israeli community and have been studying the Japanese language for over five years, continuously deepening my cultural understanding.

Starting as a chemistry fellowship student at Tokyo Institute of Technology in Japan I was attracted to the Japanese culture and the Chinese-Japanese characters, kanji.  Since 2010 I research the history of chemistry as a visiting scholar and during visits at Nichibunken, the International Research Center for Japanese Studies in Kyoto.
A chronological line of the Japanese scholars I studied, published and presented at International Conferences includes: nineteenth century’s Udagawa Youan, Kawamoto Kōmin, Kume Kunitake, Roscoe’s Primer Chemistry book; then in the twentieth century: Matsui Naokichi and others accepting the periodic table, Kuroda Chika, and my teacher Sato Shin who continued publications in the twenty first century.
I translated Japanese prose and poems, e.g., Natsume Sōseki’s Kusa Makura, in Hebrew Kar HaDeshe.

I feel privileged to have had the chance to know and write about these stimulating and challenging topics.