It was the first time in ages to visit a planetarium theatre with my then 6 years old son, 1 year old daughter and my wife.  I had our daughter on my lap, looking at the stars on the screen in the darkness. It was so dark that I could not see her, but the warmth was certainly there. My eyes were filled with tears when I realized this incredible serendipity to have each other at this exact moment on the earth,as a part of universe. 

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From that experience, the idea of making a program to “feel” the miracle and importance of our lives in this environment was born and grew into the form of “Re-experience birth”

 

From planning, producing, music…we did every steps by ourselves. We negotiated  with photographers and video production companies overseas. We feel incredibly fortunate to have met people who we respect through this program.  

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We have become parents 8 years ago. We have been continuing the activities to heal the difficulties mothers and many people are facing. Everything we’ve felt and worked on over the years, is put together in this program.  

It is easy to get knowledge and facts from internet and YouTube these days, but we believe it is important to feel with your heart. 

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We would like to deliver the experience to “feel” in planetarium space to as many people as possible. 

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Celebrate the one and only you, a tiny drop in the infinite universe. 

I sincerely hope this program “LIFE” will help and encourage many people to shine beautifully.  

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​Masahiko Hashimoto

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 LIFE is a program that creates a ‘rebirth experience’. Using the domed space of the planetarium, which creates the feeling of being in a mother’s womb, the program shows the birth of the Universe and follows the trajectory from the birth of stars to the birth of life. This program shows how deeply our life is connected to the Universe and how wonderful life is. This program also projects a photograph of an embryo captured in a mother’s womb by world famous Swedish scientific photographer Lennart Nilsson in the 1960s. It is the first time in the world that this photograph has been shown in a planetarium. The image of the embryo captured by Nilsson looks like a photo of the Universe itself. This image is not a composite nor was it created with the use of computer graphics. One cannot but feel the wonder of life when viewing the image. The birth of the Universe and the birth of life themes in LIFE are complemented by the addition of beautiful and emotional songs written by director and artist Masahiko Hashimoto. 

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This program has been screened in schools, medical facilities and has had an outdoor screening at the famous Shoshazan Engyoji Temple where parts of The Last Samurai were filmed. In February 2020 a film screen version of LIFE was presented at the ‘International Women’s Conference’ in India and received a standing ovation. In addition, a project called LIFE Orchestra will be realized in 2022. This project will show a screening of LIFE in which the songs recorded in the work will be performed live and will be accompanied by 100 orchestra members. Our aim is to provide an opportunity for people to recall how wonderful life is by screening the film all over the world.