Ray Harakami and the planetarium reunite. The Color of Darkness returns to Miraikan after 15 years.

Do you know Rei Harakami?

He was a musician who was famous for his unique use of floating electronic sounds, but he died suddenly of a brain hemorrhage in 2011 at the age of 40.

This year, on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of his death, a revival screening of the planetarium work "The Color of Darkness," for which Ray Harakami was in charge of the music, has been decided.

The film "The Color of Darkness" was screened at the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation (Miraikan) from 2005 to 2007 using the planetarium projector "MEGASTAR-II cosmos," which was described as "the most advanced in the world. Many people may know that a soundtrack of the same name has also been released.

The theme of this work is "what can be seen and what cannot be seen. The concept resonated with poet Shuntaro Tanikawa and Ikuko Harada of Clammbon, and planetarium creator Takayuki Ohira and others supervised the project.

Please take a look at the exciting comments by Ray Harakami at the time of the production at the end of this article for the first return to the museum in about 15 years, which is sure to give you a dreamy feeling. Incidentally, the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, which will celebrate its 20th anniversary on July 9 (Fri.), will open its permanent exhibition for free for three days only from July 9 (Fri.) to 11 ( and ), so don't forget to visit there as well.

The first thing that interested me about this work was the very concept of 'focusing on something that is not yet visible'. Isn't that wonderful? In our social life, the older we get, the more we are led to believe that we can only live by the value system of "things we cannot see or understand = things that do not exist," and in fact, it is sometimes easier that way. I hope that this work will shake such things to their very foundations. Whether it is science or expression, there is romance for the "unknown" in the primal motivation. Whether one gives up on this world or holds out hope for it is ultimately up to the individual. I was reminded that if we live, we can sometimes participate in work that is so full of romance.