『Tomori』：ミクストリアリティの「スリット」で探る、ジェンダーアイデンティティと家族関係の遮蔽

The Voices of VR Podcast. of the earth water elemental genre meaning the earth being the kind of mixed reality you're in this spatial environment and they're playing a lot with in the context of the piece of having a physical place that you're in but also having these like slits in the wall the slits are these augmentation of a mixed reality where you go and you're looking through the slit and you're kind of peeking and seeing different aspects of the story as it unfolds and so you're kind of being instructed to move your body through this space and kind of look at these different slits and on the other side of it, I believe is kind of like a volumetrically captured or 360 video of this actress in the

story that is around this kind of brother-sister relationship, but also talking about these family dynamics and also, you know, kind of subtext to different aspects of gender and relationships and aspects of not being fully within one's own identity. And so there's a lot of exploration of identity as well. And the sort of water element is much more around the story driven, this kind of time-based unfolding of the story and this kind of narration of this autobiographical story that's being told. So we're covering all that and more on today's episode of the Voices of VR podcast. So this interview with the creators behind Tomori happened on Friday, September 4th, 2026 at Venice Immersive in Venice, Italy. So with that, let's go ahead and dive right in. My name is Nisa Haru and I am the director of Tomori. And this is my graduation work. It is a mixed reality installation and I use walls and grounds to make embodiments that the visitors to look around in the room and to read the story.

Hello, my name is Sumika. I play Tomori. My job is no drummer, not actress, but we are same courage and we meet and... And we plan to make tomorrow together. Nice. And maybe you could each give a bit more context as to your background, what kind of design disciplines and experience you're bringing in, and your journey into working with immersive. I was making animation at the university. When I am going to the college, I meet the VR experience, and I feel it's so cool and it just brings the magic of cinema back to me. So I decided to make the immersive experience at like the last years. And in my last experience, I met Sumika when she tried my last work.

It was just a VR animation, but she tried to lay down and jump up and move around. And that really surprised me. Then I think the body movement also could be caused by flat movies. So I tried to use live action to make the piece and use the slits and windows to guide people to move around and enjoy the movements. I love movies so I want to try this project.

She is just like Tomori and also it is because I make the story after I meet her. So I just image her to make the main character Tomori. And also because she is a no-drama and no is very focused on how to dig the inside people. So in this Tomori story, also we will try to let the visitors go inside the immersive environment step by step. And this is very similar to the normal experience. So when she saw the proposal, she felt really curious about it. I'm curious if you could give a bit more context for the story and experience that you wanted to tell with Tomori. The story is about relationship in families,

because in Asia, we have a really stoic family rule. And also in China, in my generation, people around me are single child. So we really want to have a sister or brother. But in Japan, they have a situation named Shoshika. It means the new birth child are decreased years by years. So they... Like, what did you say yesterday? Shoshika's story? Shoshika is in Japan, so I'm focused on making a film. Japan has brothers, but it's a little bit like a single family.

So, I think I can focus on that. But in Japan, because the Shoshika situation, the family with single child will just increase. So Japan and Chinese are run for a different way. So this is the different culture and different thoughts with the birth of children are really interesting between us because I'm from China and she's from Japan. So this also makes the stories more complicated. Yeah, I'm wondering if you could each talk a bit about the first encounter you had with virtual reality and some of your reactions and what led you wanting to create your own mixed reality piece. I first watched a VR experience during my college lessons, and my professor, Nahomi Maki, shows us Dear Angelica.

Dear Angelica? Yeah, Angelica. and it is just a VR movie and you don't have to move around. But the way the art is used to contain you and let you feel the story is really fresh to me. Also, I decided to make a VR piece at that year as my lesson work. And I tried VR animation first, but I just said after the work I made Sumika and I decided to move to make a mixed reality. I've seen a lot of 2D space in the space I've seen before.

I've seen a video before I first looked at VR goggles. So I've seen a lot of real and I've felt like I'm not going to touch it. I was here to come to the show and watch a lot of other artists' works. I was able to see the real real reality and the difference between the real reality and the difference. And Sumika said because she's a performer always on the stage, so she really sensitive feelings with the real things like real people or some emotions. and she first saw a VR piece at my exhibition.

Actually, the first VR piece she has seen is my work. But the work is basically made by 2D pieces. But even then, she feels the characters and the animals in the flat movie is so alive. So she just tried to touch the characters and the animals. And also, after we come to Venice, we have the opportunity to visit plenty of works. And each works are so different. and also it just still date us to like have a more inspirations of how the normal drama and mixed reality can become in future yeah and so in this piece you have a lot of really interesting and compelling ways that you're using mixed reality you know you have a room

that ends up having the virtual augmentation overlaid it, but you have these little splits or things to peek through, or sometimes you have to get onto the ground to look underneath the bed. And so it's a very unique way of organizing the way that I'm moving my body through space in order to experience this piece. And so I'm just curious to hear some of your initial inspirations or catalysts to tell this story in such an embodied way. I chose the sleet as a concept, actually because of the experience between me and Samika. And I think in virtual reality, the world contains virtual and reality, so we can't just use virtual gravity, but only we have to focus to the reality. so I think mixed reality is really suitable way to resurrect our feelings of bodies

and also when we play the XR experience all of us will feel some dangerous because we can't see the real world so we have to be careful not to fall down or something but I think the actions of the possibility of dangers also can be used to create new experience And I will invite people to lay down or just to sit down at the experience so people will break the... So I hope people can forget themselves for one time and then find themselves again in the movements. because when you have to lay down and the movies, the angles will change. So, and the gravity you feel will lead to another side.

So that feeling strongly reminds you that you are watching this movie and you are actually inside the experience. Yeah, I wanted to unpack a couple of things there in terms of my experience of looking through the slits was that I felt like I was peeking into the past or at least I'm a voyeur or I'm hiding. I'm trying to not be seen, but also peeking into a life in the story that's being told. And there's an overall structure where you're seeing a therapist, and so there's just a lot of discussions around your own past and history and with family and just to see how the past patterns from what you experienced as an adolescent, how that's being brought into the present day and being close and developing relationships was sort of the theme of the story. But looking at some of the challenges to that by looking at some of these different things in the past.

And so, yeah, just curious to hear a little bit about the development of the overarching story that you wanted to tell using both the therapist and these flashbacks from the past with these splits in order to also tell that same story? On my own experience, I will always like remind the past of myself and when I laid on the bed and feel so regret of the like stupid thing I have done and I think that's also an important experience and that really feels like I am peeking through a window so that I couldn't touch the past, I couldn't change the past but the past is so alive just in front of me so it's like burning me, hurting me I think the experience needs to be taught, to be made into work.

Also, I am so glad to hear you just say, when you play my work, you feel you have to hide and keep yourself not to be seen. And I know the topic, it is a really important topic to VR, which is what the identity of the visitors is in the stories. And you have to be someone in the story, or otherwise you will just feel like you didn't know so much. You're like a ghost, you're not a character, you're kind of observing from afar. Like a ghost or a soaker. And I always, my last work at the university is always be critical as like you let the visitors feel just like a ghost or a stalker. And then I think, what about just make the protagonist as a stalker and let him to peek into the windows?

That everything maybe makes sense. and also I make this experience as a hypnotizer. So first, the protagonist and as the visitor, you have to come into the room and there's a plate on the door which is written by a therapist, room one. And after you come in, a therapist will guide you to sit down and close your eyes And then it goes into a black room, just like how you feel in a dream. So actually, memories from the past, it's just like a reality in a dream, but we cannot touch it and cannot change. Yeah, and I'm curious to hear a little bit more around your process of learning about this piece and what you heard about this project

that you were excited to participate in it. First, when I heard this plan, I thought I'd like to be able to participate in it. I liked this story, so I would like to participate in it. I read the show that I read the people, and I was like, I'm really the character that's the same thing, so I just feel like I'm feeling a little bit. I'm really the指示 of the way to jump and jump and sleep and sleep and sleep and stuff. I was with the other actors and I was together with the work that I was doing. I think the story is very important.

It is a big part of the story. It is a memory that I have to do with my memory. I have to do with my memory. I have to do with my content. I would like to join this project in a very interesting interest. including her family, all the people said the character Tomori is quite like you, quite like Sumika.

And so she just really glad to participate in with no pressure. And also when we are photographed the pieces, we use a format as a workshop. We don't let the actors to act, but just to play some games and try to create a chemical reaction between them. So it is really a fresh experience also to Sumika. And also in no drama, the stories contain a lot of layers, and it is the same as Tomo Lee. So she said the story of Tomo is quite similar to the story of no drama. And she thinks this is really a close connection between what I do and what she does.

So everything is just mixed up and proceeds smoothly. yeah and I think I recall a scene where the main character is recalling or remembering putting on a dress or there seemed to be an exploration of identity so I'm just curious to hear a little bit around the in the story how there's an interrogation of the sense of self of identity who this person is and just curious to hear any other reflections of how you wanted to explore this topic with virtual reality. Yeah, because in virtual reality we can become another guy. So that's quite the same as the gender questions because people as a transgender, and some of them maybe like to become some other else. So the feeling is also, I also understand the feelings.

Because one day I have a dream, and in the dream a girl comes out and a girl shows up and her name is Misa. That's why my stage name is Misa. And I feel quite familiar between me and her and just feel like she's another me. and also when people want to change their gender or change their names it contains a feeling about they want to love someone but they couldn't love the love is forbidden there are so much ways of love forbidden in this society like between families and also like the huge age difference and also about the affairs. So at that time, maybe people will be confused

about how to treat the feelings towards the people they couldn't love and to put their clothes on or like to make up to become the ones, maybe a possible method to respond to feelings. But in these stories, even Shizuku tries these methods, he didn't make any efforts. So the therapist, Yano just tells him that just don't be so sick to the love or anything. Maybe you just have some feeling you just want to stay with her and just do that. You don't need a name of relationship. And I'm curious to hear your thoughts on the overall themes of the piece from family, memory, siblings, and identity, the sense of self.

What do you think about your thoughts? So, I think that's the same kind of identity. I think that what I think is interesting そういうあんまり決めつけた感じ 私は好きじゃないので なのでちょっと いかようにも捉えられる

抽象的な作品になっていたのも すごくいいし そういう作品すごく私好きです そして、彼女は仲良くなりの 仲良くなりの作品として、 日本で実際、しっかりの人材を楽しめたら、 女達も多いの人たちが多いの合わせで、 飲酒 ひやぶしな 飲酒 えまなしていました 人手の人を認めて人的については一回もあります それを持ち上げるのは1つの屋であります 自分のように同じものがあります そして、愛の表現を理解するために、

そして、愛の表現を感じているのを感じています。 やはり、私の表現は、 私の表現を書いてあるのが、 私の表現を表現すると、 私の表現を見ると、 私の表現を見ると、 でも、いつも来ることができるようになったら、 I really enjoyed it, but it was also a sadness to it, a grief around not finding the type of connections. at least that was kind of like my memory of the moment.

Yeah, actually, there are many people you could not love the other person or just stay alone for their whole life. I think it could be sad in some ways, but also maybe the way we treat love nowadays could be reconsidered. Like, is this only the marriage could be the most complete way of love? Or why can't people just have the relationship as a person and another person that they also love each other? 私はこの文章の話を聞いている人は、 シズクは悪い人の人生を、 他の人生を遅いのに、

その後の人生を遅いのに、 また、この人生の答えは、 でも私たちも初めて、皆さんでも愛しています。 しかし、いつものを考えると言っています。 でも、私たちの意味は、先生と言うことができました。 そして、私たちに、彼女の人は、私たちの意味を入れます。 さっき、気づき想いでやり顔が見つけた時なのを少し探しています。 その一切なような練習をつけたのはまだ良いけど、 ご覧になっているほど良くなったのです。 私は回見やすぎることの、 反映し、ご視聴解することのような妙もしがない。 そして、どういうのかどうなのか分かるけど、 because you have a much more spatial or volumetric experience of yourself

as you're watching yourself perform. So I'm just curious to hear what it's like for you to record something and then watch yourself. その感覚の違いというか 自分のパフォーマンスを見て どう感じたのかを教えてください まず最初に見た時は 恥ずかしいなという風に思いました それはバーチャルなので よりリアリティがすごく高いから そういう風に感じるのかなと思いました 特に寝てるシーンとかで 目が合う時とか どういう顔をしているのかなと まじまじ見るから でもだんだんそういう風に リアリティの高い

鏡じゃないけど 見ていくと だんだん自分も混乱してきて それが 共に入っていくような感覚になる それが バーチャルリアリティならではの 面白さかなと思います そして、あなたは私たちが長くなったのを感じています。 私たちの記憶の中に、彼がたくさんの話を聞いているのは、 私たちがたくさんの見ることを感じると、私たちの目を見ることができるようです。 私たちが、彼は私たちの目を見ることができるようです。 でも、この経験を再び、 自分の鏡を見ると、 自分の鏡を見ると、 自分の鏡を見ると、 自分の鏡を見ると、

自分の鏡を見ると、 どのように見ると? ミラーを見たいな感じでどんどん一体化していく感じがとても混乱する イメージのイメージの感覚は、イメージの感覚は強いものではなく、映画を見ることができます。 そう、私が見るように見ると、 イメランスの経験を感じると、 彼女が自分の経験を持っていると、 これが大変だったり、 真面目にも面白いと思う。 私はあなたのことをお話しします。

and look in the same direction which I didn't need at first but then when they were laying down on the ground I don't know if I would have laid on the ground without seeing the person laying there so I think it was very helpful to help me know that in order for the story to progress I need to actually literally lay down on the ground and look to the side but it's the type of piece where you're developing this interaction language for the user to participate in it because it's not something people can just sit back and watch, but they have to actually move around in order to progress. And so just curious to hear a bit more around your process of developing these interactions. Yeah, because I was making animation without interaction, so I know well about how flat a movie can do. And it doesn't just tell stories and give information. そして、音楽の人たちに感情があります

そして、音楽の人たちに感情があります 当ての物の物の物の物が出てきたとして、 そして、音楽の人たちに見えることがあります そう思い出して、私たちの写真を置いて、 人の方は、人の方の見ると、 それを作ると、新しい領域を作る。 また、他の方のイメージの経験を教えていると、 他の方は、 こういうのを見ると、 こういうのを見ると、 こういうのを見ると、 そういうのを見ると、 それを使って、 自分の方は、 人の方を見ると、 どういうのを見ると、 私は、このグミックを作ることができるために、 まず、初めてのプロトタイプを作った人たちに、

セリアが、 人々の人々が、 今の人々が、 でも、 また、 人々が、 人々が、 人々が、 見ると、 しかし、身体の状態は別の違いとなり、 そういな人がいることが多いです。 また、彼女の子は、自分の身体を保持するためには、 自分の身体を保持してみてください。 そう、 maybe we still should put some guide in there so that people can feel the same experience. Yes. Yeah, I thought it was a really effective and novel, unique way of telling the story. Yeah, like I said, it felt like I was that stalker or the voyeur or more than just a ghost but observing into the past.

And yeah, I thought it was a really interesting way of using mixed reality としているのです そういうのですが 何の人は何の人が来ているのです 人々の人が来ているのです そういうのです そういうのです 私はあなたが この経験を出すことができるのです フォースマイル 一つの原因は それは その経験を出すことができるのです それは 人々が見るのです でも Nobody tries to see a movie behind a sleeve. And basically, the sleeve is like a disability for us to watch a movie to understand. But inside this experience, the disability also means something. So the meaning is turning into experience, I think. そして、私は、私たちの人たちを作ることによって、

to chase the Tomori chase your sister And that when people have to move around more actively than before that So people will sweat and feel hot. A lot of people tell me that. But even if they get tired after the viewing, they still feel happy, feel satisfied. What are some of the reactions that you've heard from people coming out of the piece? You mean the reaction of the viewers? The viewers coming out and if you've had a chance to talk to the viewers, if she's had a chance to talk to the viewers and any reactions that she's... When you talk to people, you have a nice feeling, how you feel.

I was in the first day, I was wearing one-piece in the movie, but I was wearing one-piece. I was wearing one-piece, and I was wearing one-piece, so I was wearing one-piece. I was really surprised. I was very interesting to say that I was very interested in it, and I felt family, like family, like family. and she says at the first day we came to Venice. She dressed as how Tomori dressed in the movie with a yellow one piece. And when

people came out and saw us, people will say, wow, you dressed for Tomori. And it is just such a surprise to the visitors. And she feels it is so lovely, so warm. And also the visitors There's a lot of ways to understand the story. Like people have thoughts to tumori, like feeling sad or feel love between sister and brother. Also, some people will have some sexual feelings to tumori. I think this also proves that love can appear in different ways. It is very interesting. Interesting. And finally, I'd love to hear what each of you think is the ultimate potential of virtual reality and immersive storytelling and mixed reality and what it might be able to enable.

So where this all might be going here in the future? Yeah, I feel a huge importance as reality in the world, virtual reality. So I think in the future, immersive experience will show more interesting to come close to the reality to our daily life. And we can experience something when we go to work or we are having breakfast, having a cafe. And maybe the machine, the device could be more lighted. and then the virtual path can appear more and more in our day life. And I also will try to make more works which is focused on our day life or our real experience, which is helpful for us to develop ourselves, not just the creators, also the visitors.

So, what can you think of the future? What can you think of the future? I was looking at the Misa's exhibition in the past, when I was watching VR in the past. I was watching VR and other things in the past. I think there are a work that I really feel like I'm in the universe. And I'm really excited about Everest and Canada. I'm really excited about the wolf that I can touch on. I think there are some more than I can touch on the world. I have to try to do this in the future. I have to try to do this in the way that I have to do this.

I have to do this in the game. So, in Venice, we tried a lot of different works, and she said she was really impressive about some works that can bring us to the farthest, like bring us to the universe or to the Everest. Also, we can touch some cutie wolves that maybe we will not have the opportunity to see in person. So, she thinks that is an important function of VR. Also, we try to use a hepatitis in Tomori, but it is only a tiny trial.

And maybe in future we can try to use immersive experience to improve more, fix more medical purpose, like therapies or to help people to know their psycho problems, to help people to do a diagnosis to their self. She thinks that is a really useful way of using immersive experience. Great. Is there anything else left and said that you have to say to the broader immersive community? Any final thoughts you want to share to the wider immersive community? Yeah, I'm so happy to be here just as the director of graduation works, I think I still have plenty of flaws with my project, but even that, Venus Immersive brings me to here.

I think that shows effect, which is the immersive experience. It's not just about images or gravity, it's about possibility. So we are trying to figure out how the world's experience can contain. And maybe I wish more students, even teenagers, can try to consider about experience, not just about stories or images. so maybe we will be happy to see more younger creators bring their workshops to the festivals. And also I really wish someday the immersive experience can grow up to become a new media just like cinema or novels that people can easily access and try every day.

Finally, what about the community of XR? First, everyone is very gentle. I think that the work of the genre and genre are completely different. XR is a lot of potential and potential. I am very happy to see the film as a fan. I hope to see the film as well. And she said everyone she meets at the festival is so kind, so generous, and she feels real warmness from the community. And also, maybe now she is still a fan of Immersive, but she feels really excited to try to become a creator.

maybe we can have some further cooperation to the next work and she really wants to step in the community and become one of them to bring the whole immersive experience community more stronger and popular Awesome, well thank you both for joining me here today for the podcast and yeah, I think the lit mechanic of mixed reality it's really effective of creating this distance or alienation or voyeur effect. But also when you're in VR, you want to be able to see everything, but you're deliberately occluding things that make it so that you have to kind of peek through and get this sense of parallax and the sense of being distanced or not belonging and exiled, alienated. But also the way that you're able to use the contrast between this stark white room that has these slits and then near the end you can break down all the walls with lots of color and Tamari is running around,

and so you have this sense of being able to create a spatial contrast in a way that also is serving the story that you're telling. So, yeah, lots of really interesting, innovative techniques and moving your body, moving through space, orienting in different ways and changing how the way that you're perceiving and receiving the content. So, yeah, thanks again for joining here on the podcast to help break it all down. So thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Thanks so much for listening to the Voices of VR podcast. And I just want to say that I'm really trying to live into the transformation economy, meaning I want to give away all this information for free, make it publicly accessible for not only you but the entire community. And if you find value in that, then please do consider supporting me on Patreon. I'm on this journey of trying to reach my 1,000 true fans, and if I have just $5 a month from that 1,000, I'll be in a much more solid and stable financial position. So really need your help to be able to get to that point. So if you enjoy what I'm doing here at the Voices of VR podcast, then please do consider supporting me at patreon.com slash Voices of VR.

Thanks for listening. Thank you.