Flower-arranging performance ties GREEN×EXPO 2027 to a craft expo on 7 Nov; six Touken Ranbu characters revealed

• On 18 September 2026 Kanagawa Prefecture announced GREEN×EXPO 2027 tie-in plans for “KOUGEI EXPO in KANAGAWA”, the prefecture’s largest domestic event for traditional crafts, to be held 7-9 November (Saturday to Monday) at Pacifico Yokohama. It is the first time the event has been held in the prefecture.
• On the main stage, called Takumi no Hibiki Stage, students from prefectural high schools will give a flower-arranging performance, 14:30 to 15:00 on 7 November. To the sound of taiko drumming, they will arrange flowers into traditional craft vases without a set plan.
• The prefecture also confirmed six Touken Ranbu ONLINE characters with ties to Kanagawa, and a key visual, for a “KOUGEI × Touken Ranbu ONLINE” tie-in gallery. The characters, as named in the announcement (with the prefecture’s own readings), are Higekiri, Hizamaru, Heshikiri Hasebe, Hyuga Masamune, Yamanbagiri Chogi, and Futasuji Hisadamune.
• Exhibits of tie-in artwork and any tie-in goods will be announced once decided.
• The prefecture is seeking event sponsors. Admission and opening hours were not given in the announcement.
• The English character names above are trip-jp’s own romanisation of the Japanese readings in the announcement; the prefecture gives no official English spellings.

Our take

The flower vases in this performance are themselves traditional crafts, so arranging flowers into them to taiko drumming only really works inside a craft expo. That is different from the high-school flower battle national final, which is run by a different organiser at the Expo site itself on 30 April 2027. Between the two, high-school students will be arranging flowers in public twice within about six months, once as a five-minute contest and once as an unjudged performance.

This is the first time KOUGEI EXPO in KANAGAWA has been held in the prefecture, and it opens more than four months before GREEN×EXPO 2027 itself. Pairing a craft event with a GREEN×EXPO 2027 tie-in this early looks like part of a pattern of building up related events ahead of the Expo’s own opening, rather than waiting for it. The Touken Ranbu tie-in still has its artwork displays and any goods listed as “to be announced once decided,” so I would expect another update after October.

Tips for visitors

• The flower-arranging performance runs 14:30-15:00 on Saturday 7 November 2026, on the Takumi no Hibiki Stage at Pacifico Yokohama. KOUGEI EXPO in KANAGAWA itself runs 7-9 November. Admission and opening hours have not been announced.
• The six Touken Ranbu ONLINE characters and key visual for the tie-in gallery are out, but when the artwork goes on display, and whether there will be tie-in goods, is still unconfirmed.
• For another high-school flower-arranging event, see the national selection final at the Expo site, 30 April 2027.
• For Kanagawa’s own Expo pavilion, see our article on the Kanagawa pavilion.