（おくる｜はこぶ｜うけとる）ものの箱庭

On July 31, 2025, the digital artwork "(okuru | hakobu | uketoru) Mono no Hakoniwa" by technical artist Hirai was unveiled at AxCROSS, a large-scale screen located on the fourth floor of KITTE Osaka in Kita-ku, Osaka. The work was presented to commemorate the first anniversary of KITTE Osaka's opening and is exhibited as a real-time generated artificial ecosystem simulation utilizing the approximately 18-meter-wide screen.

The piece conceptually overlays the complex network connecting distant people through postal items with the natural mechanism of insects transporting pollen to form genetic networks among plants. Virtual flowers and insects, each possessing independent genetic information, interact to build an evolving ecosystem in real time. This serves as a contemporary reinterpretation of the longstanding role of the former Osaka Central Post Office in conveying sentiments. The simulation employs GPU-based parallel computing to animate numerous virtual organisms, with flower shapes, colors, and insect behaviors generatively determined by genetic data, resulting in a unique ecosystem.

Visitors can participate interactively by sending messages via QR codes, which are converted into genetic data to generate new plants within the ecosystem. The simulation also continuously evolves throughout the exhibition period, linked to weather data from Osaka City. These technical and expressive elements maximize the spatial characteristics of AxCROSS, creating an immersive interactive environment.

Hirai, a graduate of the University of Tokyo's Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, is a technical artist whose work centers on artificial life research. Recognized with awards such as the Generative Art Award and exhibited domestically and internationally, Hirai proposes coexistence of diverse intelligences through artificial ecosystems. This work was selected through an open call at AxCROSS and was praised for connecting the historical postal space with futuristic digital expression.