block sm:inline 5 ZENS

Soren Watari is the Keeper of Knowledge and architect of ZOZO CITY’s school system, designed to give every child an equal chance to memorize whatever had been decided they should know. Under his reform, schools stopped teaching the unpredictable art of asking questions and focused on correct answers, which are much easier to grade and govern.

His method was built on memory, science and legacy. Memory meant retaining without debate, science meant following the textbook and legacy meant repeating without distortion. To democratize culture, works were reduced to summaries, summaries to quotations and quotations to slogans printed in the hallways.

Thanks to him, the city produced generations who were certified, punctual and educated enough to keep the system running without asking why it worked that way. Soren called it passing on knowledge. Employers called it a skilled workforce. The 5-Zen banknote reminds everyone that education is priceless—it merely has an admission fee.