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NDTV
7 days ago
- Business
- NDTV
Here's How AI Is Supporting Japan's 1,000-Year-Old Nishijinori Weaving Art
Nishijinori, the intricate weaving technique for kimonos that dates back more than a thousand years in Japan's ancient capital of Kyoto, is getting a high-tech collaborator: artificial intelligence. The revered colourful weaving style associated with 'The Tale of Genji' of the 11th-century Heian era, has gone through its share of ups and downs. But its survival is more perilous than ever today, as demand for kimonos nose-dives among Japanese grappling with modernisation. Hironori Fukuoka, the fourth-generation successor to his Nishijinori business, is determined to keep alive the art he's inherited, even if that means turning to AI. 'I want to leave to legacy what my father has left for me,' he said in his rickety shop in the Nishijin district of Kyoto, a city with statue-filled temples and sculpted gardens that never seems to change. 'I've been pondering how the art of Nishijinori can stay relevant to the needs of today,' said Fukuoka. Besides the AI project, Fukuoka is also working on using his weaving technique to make super-durable materials for fishing rods and aircraft. Giant looms clatter at his shop, called Fukuoka Weaving. The patterns on the gorgeous fabric, slowly turning out from the loom, are repetitive and geometric, which makes it conducive to translating into digital data. Deciding which hand-dyed colour thread goes where to make the patterns is much like the on-or-off digital signals of a computer. Such similarity is what Fukuoka focuses on in exploring how AI might work for Nishijinori, with the help of Sony Computer Science Laboratories, an independent research arm of electronics and entertainment company Sony Corp. AI only makes suggestions for the designs and doesn't do any of the actual production work. But that doesn't bother Fukuoka or the researchers. 'Our research stems from the idea that human life gets truly enriched only if it has both what's newly innovated and what never changes,' said Jun Rekimoto, chief science officer at Sony CSL, which is also studying how AI can be used to document and relay the moves of a traditional Japanese tea ceremony. 'We don't believe AI can do everything. Nishijinori is a massive, complicated industry and so it starts with figuring out where AI can help out,' said Rekimoto, also a professor at the University of Tokyo. What has come of it is a startling but logical turn in thinking, fitting of the art adorning kimonos worn by Japan's imperial family. The AI was fed various Nishijinori patterns that already existed and instructed to come up with its own suggestions. One was a bold pattern of black and orange that seemed to evoke a tropical motif. To Fukuoka, some of AI's ideas are interesting but simply off. The difference between AI and the human effort is that the former can come up with multiple suggestions in a matter of seconds. Fukuoka immediately gravitates toward the one that uses a motif of a leaf to define the angular lines of a traditional pattern, something he says a human wouldn't have thought of. He finds that ingenious. The kimono the AI collaboration has produced is a luscious soft green, although it doesn't have a price tag and isn't in production yet. The weaving is carried out by the old-style machine under the guidance of the human artist in the traditional way. Nishijinori kimonos sell for as much as a million yen ($6,700). Many Japanese these days don't bother buying a kimono and may rent it for special occasions like weddings, if at all. Putting one on is an arduous, complicated affair, often requiring professional help, making kimonos even less accessible. Dr. Lana Sinapayen, associate researcher at Sony CSL, believes AI often gets assigned the creative, fun work, leaving tedious tasks to people, when it should be the other way around. 'That was my goal,' she said in an interview at Fukuoka Weaving, of her intent to use AI in assistant roles, not leadership positions. Digital technology can't automatically represent all the color gradations of Nishijinori. But AI can figure out how to best do that digitally, and it can also learn how the human artist fixes the patterns it has produced. Once that's all done, AI can tackle arduous tasks in a matter of seconds, doing a pretty good job, according to the researchers. Artificial intelligence is being used widely in factories, offices, schools and homes, because it can do tasks faster and in greater volume, and is usually quite accurate and unbiased, compared to human efforts. Its spread has been faster in the US and other Western nations than in Japan, which tends to be cautious about change and prefers carefully made, consensus-based decisions. But the use of AI in arts and crafts is promising, such as text-to-image generative AI for the creation of visual images from text prompts, according to a study by Henriikka Vartiainen and Matti Tedre, who looked at the use of AI by craft educators in Finland. 'As computers have taken over many routine-like and boring tasks that were previously performed by people, the computer revolution has also been said to liberate time and offer new opportunities for human imagination and creativity,' they said.
7 days ago
- Business
Tradition meets AI in Nishijinori weaving style from Japan's ancient capital
KYOTO, Japan -- Nishijinori, the intricate weaving technique for kimonos that dates back more than a thousand years in Japan's ancient capital of Kyoto, is getting a high-tech collaborator: artificial intelligence. The revered colorful weaving style associated with 'The Tale of Genji' of the 11th-century Heian era, has gone through its share of ups and downs. But its survival is more perilous than ever today, as demand for kimonos nose-dives among Japanese grappling with modernization. Hironori Fukuoka, the fourth-generation successor to his Nishijinori business, is determined to keep alive the art he's inherited, even if that means turning to AI. 'I want to leave to legacy what my father has left for me,' he said in his rickety shop in the Nishijin district of Kyoto, a city with statue-filled temples and sculpted gardens that never seems to change. 'I've been pondering how the art of Nishijinori can stay relevant to the needs of today,' said Fukuoka. Besides the AI project, Fukuoka is also working on using his weaving technique to make super-durable materials for fishing rods and aircraft. Giant looms clatter at his shop, called Fukuoka Weaving. The patterns on the gorgeous fabric, slowly turning out from the loom, are repetitive and geometric, which makes it conducive to translating into digital data. Deciding which hand-dyed color thread goes where to make the patterns is much like the on-or-off digital signals of a computer. Such similarity is what Fukuoka focuses on in exploring how AI might work for Nishijinori, with the help of Sony Computer Science Laboratories, an independent research arm of electronics and entertainment company Sony Corp. AI only makes suggestions for the designs and doesn't do any of the actual production work. But that doesn't bother Fukuoka or the researchers. 'Our research stems from the idea that human life gets truly enriched only if it has both what's newly innovated and what never changes,' said Jun Rekimoto, chief science officer at Sony CSL, which is also studying how AI can be used to document and relay the moves of a traditional Japanese tea ceremony. 'We don't believe AI can do everything. Nishijinori is a massive, complicated industry and so it starts with figuring out where AI can help out,' said Rekimoto, also a professor at the University of Tokyo. What has come of it is a startling but logical turn in thinking, fitting of the art adorning kimonos worn by Japan's imperial family. The AI was fed various Nishijinori patterns that already existed and instructed to come up with its own suggestions. One was a bold pattern of black and orange that seemed to evoke a tropical motif. To Fukuoka, some of AI's ideas are interesting but simply off. The difference between AI and the human effort is that the former can come up with multiple suggestions in a matter of seconds. Fukuoka immediately gravitates toward the one that uses a motif of a leaf to define the angular lines of a traditional pattern, something he says a human wouldn't have thought of. He finds that ingenious. The kimono the AI collaboration has produced is a luscious soft green, although it doesn't have a price tag and isn't in production yet. The weaving is carried out by the old-style machine under the guidance of the human artist in the traditional way. Nishijinori kimonos sell for as much as a million yen ($6,700). Many Japanese these days don't bother buying a kimono and may rent it for special occasions like weddings, if at all. Putting one on is an arduous, complicated affair, often requiring professional help, making kimonos even less accessible. Dr. Lana Sinapayen, associate researcher at Sony CSL, believes AI often gets assigned the creative, fun work, leaving tedious tasks to people, when it should be the other way around. 'That was my goal,' she said in an interview at Fukuoka Weaving, of her intent to use AI in assistant roles, not leadership positions. Digital technology can't automatically represent all the color gradations of Nishijinori. But AI can figure out how to best do that digitally, and it can also learn how the human artist fixes the patterns it has produced. Once that's all done, AI can tackle arduous tasks in a matter of seconds, doing a pretty good job, according to the researchers. Artificial intelligence is being used widely in factories, offices, schools and homes, because it can do tasks faster and in greater volume, and is usually quite accurate and unbiased, compared to human efforts. Its spread has been faster in the U.S. and other Western nations than in Japan, which tends to be cautious about change and prefers carefully made, consensus-based decisions. But the use of AI in arts and crafts is promising, such as text-to-image generative AI for the creation of visual images from text prompts, according to a study by Henriikka Vartiainen and Matti Tedre, who looked at the use of AI by craft educators in Finland. 'As computers have taken over many routine-like and boring tasks that were previously performed by people, the computer revolution has also been said to liberate time and offer new opportunities for human imagination and creativity,' they said.
Asharq Al-Awsat
7 days ago
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Tradition Meets AI in Nishijinori Weaving Style from Japan's Ancient Capital
Nishijinori, the intricate weaving technique for kimonos that dates back more than a thousand years in Japan's ancient capital of Kyoto, is getting a high-tech collaborator: artificial intelligence. The revered colorful weaving style associated with 'The Tale of Genji' of the 11th-century Heian era, has gone through its share of ups and downs. But its survival is more perilous than ever today, as demand for kimonos nose-dives among Japanese grappling with modernization. Hironori Fukuoka, the fourth-generation successor to his Nishijinori business, is determined to keep alive the art he's inherited, even if that means turning to AI. 'I want to leave to legacy what my father has left for me,' he said in his rickety shop in the Nishijin district of Kyoto, a city with statue-filled temples and sculpted gardens that never seems to change. 'I've been pondering how the art of Nishijinori can stay relevant to the needs of today,' said Fukuoka. Besides the AI project, Fukuoka is also working on using his weaving technique to make super-durable materials for fishing rods and aircraft. Where tradition and technology meet Giant looms clatter at his shop, called Fukuoka Weaving. The patterns on the gorgeous fabric, slowly turning out from the loom, are repetitive and geometric, which makes it conducive to translating into digital data. Deciding which hand-dyed color thread goes where to make the patterns is much like the on-or-off digital signals of a computer. Such similarity is what Fukuoka focuses on in exploring how AI might work for Nishijinori, with the help of Sony Computer Science Laboratories, an independent research arm of electronics and entertainment company Sony Corp. AI only makes suggestions for the designs and doesn't do any of the actual production work. But that doesn't bother Fukuoka or the researchers. 'Our research stems from the idea that human life gets truly enriched only if it has both what's newly innovated and what never changes,' said Jun Rekimoto, chief science officer at Sony CSL, which is also studying how AI can be used to document and relay the moves of a traditional Japanese tea ceremony. 'We don't believe AI can do everything. Nishijinori is a massive, complicated industry and so it starts with figuring out where AI can help out,' said Rekimoto, also a professor at the University of Tokyo. What has come of it is a startling but logical turn in thinking, fitting of the art adorning kimonos worn by Japan's imperial family. The AI was fed various Nishijinori patterns that already existed and instructed to come up with its own suggestions. One was a bold pattern of black and orange that seemed to evoke a tropical motif. Striking a balance To Fukuoka, some of AI's ideas are interesting but simply off. The difference between AI and the human effort is that the former can come up with multiple suggestions in a matter of seconds. Fukuoka immediately gravitates toward the one that uses a motif of a leaf to define the angular lines of a traditional pattern, something he says a human wouldn't have thought of. He finds that ingenious. The kimono the AI collaboration has produced is a luscious soft green, although it doesn't have a price tag and isn't in production yet. The weaving is carried out by the old-style machine under the guidance of the human artist in the traditional way. Nishijinori kimonos sell for as much as a million yen ($6,700). Many Japanese these days don't bother buying a kimono and may rent it for special occasions like weddings, if at all. Putting one on is an arduous, complicated affair, often requiring professional help, making kimonos even less accessible. A creative partnership Dr. Lana Sinapayen, associate researcher at Sony CSL, believes AI often gets assigned the creative, fun work, leaving tedious tasks to people, when it should be the other way around. 'That was my goal,' she said in an interview at Fukuoka Weaving, of her intent to use AI in assistant roles, not leadership positions. Digital technology can't automatically represent all the color gradations of Nishijinori. But AI can figure out how to best do that digitally, and it can also learn how the human artist fixes the patterns it has produced. Once that's all done, AI can tackle arduous tasks in a matter of seconds, doing a pretty good job, according to the researchers. Artificial intelligence is being used widely in factories, offices, schools and homes, because it can do tasks faster and in greater volume, and is usually quite accurate and unbiased, compared to human efforts. Its spread has been faster in the US and other Western nations than in Japan, which tends to be cautious about change and prefers carefully made, consensus-based decisions. But the use of AI in arts and crafts is promising, such as text-to-image generative AI for the creation of visual images from text prompts, according to a study by Henriikka Vartiainen and Matti Tedre, who looked at the use of AI by craft educators in Finland. 'As computers have taken over many routine-like and boring tasks that were previously performed by people, the computer revolution has also been said to liberate time and offer new opportunities for human imagination and creativity,' they said.
The Independent
7 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Tradition meets AI in Nishijinori weaving style from Japan's ancient capital
Nishijinori, the intricate weaving technique for kimonos that dates back more than a thousand years in Japan's ancient capital of Kyoto, is getting a high-tech collaborator: artificial intelligence. The revered colorful weaving style associated with 'The Tale of Genji' of the 11th-century Heian era, has gone through its share of ups and downs. But its survival is more perilous than ever today, as demand for kimonos nose-dives among Japanese grappling with modernization. Hironori Fukuoka, the fourth-generation successor to his Nishijinori business, is determined to keep alive the art he's inherited, even if that means turning to AI. 'I want to leave to legacy what my father has left for me,' he said in his rickety shop in the Nishijin district of Kyoto, a city with statue-filled temples and sculpted gardens that never seems to change. 'I've been pondering how the art of Nishijinori can stay relevant to the needs of today,' said Fukuoka. Besides the AI project, Fukuoka is also working on using his weaving technique to make super-durable materials for fishing rods and aircraft. Where tradition and technology meet Giant looms clatter at his shop, called Fukuoka Weaving. The patterns on the gorgeous fabric, slowly turning out from the loom, are repetitive and geometric, which makes it conducive to translating into digital data. Deciding which hand-dyed color thread goes where to make the patterns is much like the on-or-off digital signals of a computer. Such similarity is what Fukuoka focuses on in exploring how AI might work for Nishijinori, with the help of Sony Computer Science Laboratories, an independent research arm of electronics and entertainment company Sony Corp. AI only makes suggestions for the designs and doesn't do any of the actual production work. But that doesn't bother Fukuoka or the researchers. 'Our research stems from the idea that human life gets truly enriched only if it has both what's newly innovated and what never changes,' said Jun Rekimoto, chief science officer at Sony CSL, which is also studying how AI can be used to document and relay the moves of a traditional Japanese tea ceremony. 'We don't believe AI can do everything. Nishijinori is a massive, complicated industry and so it starts with figuring out where AI can help out,' said Rekimoto, also a professor at the University of Tokyo. What has come of it is a startling but logical turn in thinking, fitting of the art adorning kimonos worn by Japan's imperial family. The AI was fed various Nishijinori patterns that already existed and instructed to come up with its own suggestions. One was a bold pattern of black and orange that seemed to evoke a tropical motif. Striking a balance To Fukuoka, some of AI's ideas are interesting but simply off. The difference between AI and the human effort is that the former can come up with multiple suggestions in a matter of seconds. Fukuoka immediately gravitates toward the one that uses a motif of a leaf to define the angular lines of a traditional pattern, something he says a human wouldn't have thought of. He finds that ingenious. The kimono the AI collaboration has produced is a luscious soft green, although it doesn't have a price tag and isn't in production yet. The weaving is carried out by the old-style machine under the guidance of the human artist in the traditional way. Nishijinori kimonos sell for as much as a million yen ($6,700). Many Japanese these days don't bother buying a kimono and may rent it for special occasions like weddings, if at all. Putting one on is an arduous, complicated affair, often requiring professional help, making kimonos even less accessible. A creative partnership Dr. Lana Sinapayen, associate researcher at Sony CSL, believes AI often gets assigned the creative, fun work, leaving tedious tasks to people, when it should be the other way around. 'That was my goal,' she said in an interview at Fukuoka Weaving, of her intent to use AI in assistant roles, not leadership positions. Digital technology can't automatically represent all the color gradations of Nishijinori. But AI can figure out how to best do that digitally, and it can also learn how the human artist fixes the patterns it has produced. Once that's all done, AI can tackle arduous tasks in a matter of seconds, doing a pretty good job, according to the researchers. Artificial intelligence is being used widely in factories, offices, schools and homes, because it can do tasks faster and in greater volume, and is usually quite accurate and unbiased, compared to human efforts. Its spread has been faster in the U.S. and other Western nations than in Japan, which tends to be cautious about change and prefers carefully made, consensus-based decisions. But the use of AI in arts and crafts is promising, such as text-to-image generative AI for the creation of visual images from text prompts, according to a study by Henriikka Vartiainen and Matti Tedre, who looked at the use of AI by craft educators in Finland. 'As computers have taken over many routine-like and boring tasks that were previously performed by people, the computer revolution has also been said to liberate time and offer new opportunities for human imagination and creativity,' they said.
Japan Today
14-05-2025
- Business
- Japan Today
Sony's profits rises on robust performance for music, movies and games
FILE - A logo of Sony is seen at the headquarters of Sony Corp. on May 10, 2022, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File) By YURI KAGEYAMA Japanese technology and entertainment company Sony Corp logged an 18% rise in profit for the fiscal year through March on healthy results at its music and video-game operations. Its chief executive, Hiroki Totoki, outlined the company's strategy for growth Wednesday, stressing that collaboration among Sony's various segments, like animation and music, were crucial to deliver the 'kando,' or emotional engagement, that lies at the core of the company's vision and strength. 'Building on our momentum and results to date and working with a laser-like focus to realize our long-term Creative Entertainment Vision will be at the core of our corporate strategies moving forward,' he told reporters. Sony's movies division has strong offerings in the pipeline, including Spider-Man films and biopics about The Beatles, while animation remains a driver of growth centered around the popular anime streaming service Crunchyroll, Totoki said. Tokyo-based Sony reported a record annual profit of 1.14 trillion yen ($7.8 billion), up from 970.6 billion yen in the previous fiscal year. Annual sales were virtually unchanged, inching down to 12.957 trillion yen ($88 billion) from 13.020 trillion yen. One area that lagged among Sony's sprawling businesses was the financial segment, where revenue stalled. But its film division and its imaging and sensor solutions segment did well. Sony officials said they were studying how to respond to President Donald Trump's tariffs, although that was a challenge because of uncertainties and constant changes. But they said the negative impact from U.S. trade policy will be kept to 10% of Sony's operating profit in the coming fiscal year by adjusting the allocation of shipments, among other measures. Totoki stressed that Sony plans to leverage its content creating technology, like virtual reality and image sensors, to feed into its entertainment products, including working on immersive experiences. Sony also has powerful collaborative relations with various entertainment companies like Kadokawa, which includes publishing as well as films and animation, and Bandai Namco, a video game maker, he added. Sony will emphasize the 'diversity' of its workers, helping bring out people's creative potential, Totoki said. Among the Sony movies that fared well at the box office for the fiscal year through March were 'Venom: The Last Dance,' featuring the Marvel Comics superhero, and 'Bad Boys: Ride or Die,' an action comedy, where Will Smith and Martin Lawrence return in their popular cop roles in the fourth installment in the series. Sony, which makes the PlayStation console and game software played on that machine, also posted healthy results in the gaming business. Its music operations, which also held up, include recordings, streaming services and music for games. The top-selling recorded music projects for the latest fiscal year globally was SZA's 'SOS Deluxe: LANA,' followed by Beyonce, Future & Metro Boomin and Travis Scott. The top seller in its Japan music business was Kenshi Yonezu's 'Lost Corner' album, followed by offerings from Stray Kids and Six Tones. For the January-March quarter, Sony posted a 197.7 billion yen ($1.3 billion) profit, up 5% from 189 billion yen the same quarter in the previous fiscal year. Sales were 2.6 trillion yen ($17.7 billion), down 24% from 3.48 trillion yen. Sony is forecasting a nearly 13% drop in profit for the fiscal year through March 2026, to 930 billion yen ($6.3 billion), on 11.7 trillion yen ($80 billion) sales, down 2.9% on-year. Sony Group Corp stocks, which fell in Tokyo morning trading, rebounded to finish 3.7% higher after its financial results were announced. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
