Behind the beautiful flowers and plants were people confronting the challenges surrounding disability.

A closer look at "KIRISHIMA GREEN VILLAGE," a special subsidiary company that has begun to extend a wide variety of branches and leaves.
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At "Shochu no Sato Kirishima Factory Garden," a pleasant aroma of shochu wafts through the air.
Inside the garden, I caught a scent that was unfamiliar yet somehow nostalgic. As I drew closer, I found people spreading fertilizer to nurture the bamboo—a symbol of the garden.
The workers are employees of KIRISHIMA GREEN VILLAGE CO., LTD., a special subsidiary company established in 2021.

A "special subsidiary company" is a subsidiary established with the approval of the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare, with the aim of promoting the employment of people with disabilities and creating a comfortable working environment, and which provides special consideration for the employment of people with disabilities.
KIRISHIMA GREEN VILLAGE was the first company headquartered in Miyazaki Prefecture to receive this approval.
Currently, 19 staff members^*with disabilities work there, and the beautiful green environment of "Shochu no Sato Kirishima Factory Garden" is maintained through their work.
*As of May 2026

"My job is to create an environment where everyone can work comfortably and to create opportunities for everyone to demonstrate their abilities."
This is according to Mayuko Sato, a management staff member at KIRISHIMA GREEN VILLAGE.
How can we create an environment where people with disabilities can work more comfortably?
Employing people with disabilities has long been a challenge for Kirishima Holdings as a whole, partly due to the statutory employment rate requirement of 2.5% or higher^*. The company turned its attention to the landscaping work originally performed by staff with disabilities at the "Shochu no Sato Kirishima Factory Garden." By expanding this work and establishing it as an independent special subsidiary, they created an environment where people with disabilities could also work.
"How to set up the facilities and equipment, and how to provide support and consideration from management staff—the wisdom and cooperation of various people, including examples from other companies' special subsidiary and external organizations involved in welfare, have led us to where we are today."
*As of the time of the interview in November 2025

Currently, the staff's main duties include maintaining green spaces on the group company's premises, maintaining the bamboo groves, lawns, and flowerbeds at the "Shochu no Sato Kirishima Factory Garden," cleaning inside and outside the facilities, and cultivating sweet potato seedlings at the "Kirishima Sweet Potato Plant 'Imo-Terasu'." As the work mainly involves physically demanding tasks, health care is essential.
"Every day, we conduct health checks with both the individual and the management staff. Some people have difficulty understanding their own physical condition or communicating it, so we are always careful not to overlook even the smallest changes."

The barrier-free office is equipped with ramps, a rest area, and shower rooms where staff can freshen up.
They also hold monthly nutrition education sessions, regular one-on-one meetings, and regular meetings among management staff to ensure they can provide appropriate support.
"When it comes to explaining work duties, due to the nature of their disabilities, we have staff members with various challenges—some have difficulty remembering things, while others require more specific explanations. To prevent miscommunication, we have to address each individual's characteristics, engage in repeated dialogue, and share information among the management staff. It requires patience, but we, the management staff, are also growing together with them."

Miscommunication and interpersonal problems are daily struggles, but these are things that happen to a greater or lesser extent in any company.
What are the unique challenges of operating a special subsidiary?
"KIRISHIMA GREEN VILLAGE is a company, not a welfare facility. What we need to do is support, not protection. We must nurture them into fully-fledged employees while being careful not to hinder their independence. I always feel that finding that balance is the most difficult part."
What does it mean to work? What kind of attitude should one have as a working adult? What kind of mindset should one have as an employee of the Kirishima Holdings Group?
Rather than simply going through the motions of the tasks at hand, each individual should think, be mindful, and approach their daily work with that mindset. The ideal is to see staff members embodying that "Kirishima Shuzo spirit."

Sato says she wants to further expand the scope of their operations in the future.
"First, we will internalize the parts of green space maintenance that are currently outsourced, and expand the scope of our work. In addition, we will expand our indoor work, such as creating product POP displays, in addition to the business card production we currently do. Furthermore, we are thinking about expanding into tasks that can contribute more to Kirishima Shuzo's core business, such as filling pots with soil at Imo-Terasu, which we are currently doing. Enhancing the value of KIRISHIMA GREEN VILLAGE and creating a place where more diverse people can work—that is our challenge and our motivation going forward."

"Shochu no Sato Kirishima Factory Garden" is, in a sense, the face of Kirishima Shuzo, attracting many tourists from all over the country.
The smile on the face of staff members with disabilities, who told me that they feel joy and fulfillment when customers comment, "This place is always so clean," revealed the budding essence of "Kirishima Shuzo spirit."
Although KIRISHIMA GREEN VILLAGE is still only a few years old, by increasing the opportunities for people to thrive and grow, it will surely develop into a place where diverse personalities and abilities flourish, just like the sturdy, spreading trunk depicted in the company's logo.