“NEMURUMA EHON” is an original picture book read-aloud program that began streaming on U-NEXT in October 2024. Featuring a carefully selected lineup of Japanese picture books that we want people to read now, chosen together with Nemu Yumemi, the program invites a variety of readers to bring them to life. To convey the appeal of picture books themselves, the actual books are filmed on camera. By making full use of editing techniques such as preserving the sound of pages being turned and action cuts, we aim to transform a single reading experience into video. At the end of the program, “Nemuruma Anime” by Yosuke Omomo continues to play, gently encouraging a calm state of mind and sleep. By exploring what is uniquely possible with streaming video—such as not showing “the next recommended video” and not fixing a set runtime—we aim to create a program that can be a small help in childcare, one that parents can feel comfortable handing to their children on a tablet or smartphone.

“Hirake Hako” is a new packaging design, along with a group of technologies that form its elements, developed with Keiaki Nakaji and presented at TAKEO PAPER SHOW 2023, “PACKAGING—Function and Laughter.” By treating the wave-like structure of Takeo’s fine-paper corrugated board “Fine Flute” as if it were the teeth of a gear, we developed mechanical element technologies that create a variety of “movements” using paper. Building on this technology, we proposed a package that contains the mechanism within the box itself, offering a new way to open it and a distinctive unboxing experience.

An installation that brings to life abstract, idealized animation—something that would normally seem possible only through CG or stop-motion—in the real world. Boxes (squares) arranged on a stage move, roll, and sometimes cooperate as they change formation, passing through openings in an approaching series of barriers. The mechanism that controls the squares is not based on existing technology, but was developed from scratch to realize this work. Presented in 2021 at the special exhibition “Rules?” at 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT. Through two types of installations, it conveys without words the sense of pleasure and the sense of fear that can come from following rules.