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If the media mogul of Edo, Tsutaya Jūzaburō, were to be reborn in the Reiwa era.

A text-based conversational AI was developed by using deep learning to study the works and characters created by Tsutaya Jūzaburō, recreating his personality, words, and thoughts.

Issue

If Tsutaya Jūzaburō were alive in the Reiwa era, what would he feel about the latest culture?

The protagonist of the historical drama Berabou Tsutajū Eika no Yume Banashi, Tsutaya Jūzaburō, the media mogul of Edo, is often considered the founding figure of Japan’s pop culture through his creation of Publishing and Editing. As part of the major initiative for the tourism promotion "Edo's Media King Tsutajū × Chiyoda Tourism Association", a free magazine will be published featuring the concept of "AI Tsutaya Jūzaburō" as its editor-in-chief. With his bold yet discerning insight into people, works, and hits, if he were alive in the Reiwa era, what would he feel about Chiyoda, especially its pop culture epicenters like Jimbocho and Akihabara?

Creation

Developing AI Tsutaya Jūzaburō as the editor-in-chief of the "Reiwa Edition of Chiyoda Hosomi."

Tsutaya Jūzaburō's personality, words, and philosophy were taught to AI, leading to the development of "AI Tsutaya Jūzaburō." This AI was appointed as the editor-in-chief of the free magazine Reiwa Edition of Chiyoda Hosomi, which introduces various aspects of Chiyoda Ward’s culture. On the magazine’s pages, AI Tsutaya Jūzaburō presents bookstore culture, new releases, coffee shops, and more, all from his unique perspective as someone who introduced countless works to the world. Additionally, AI Tsutaya Jūzaburō conducted interviews with figures such as Sugimori Toshio and shop owners. During the actual production of the magazine, editors operated AI Tsutaya Jūzaburō on-site during interviews with stores, ensuring that the AI was respected as the editor-in-chief. This innovative approach allowed AI Tsutaya Jūzaburō to generate all the feature articles published in the magazine.

Technology

Building a conversational AI that balances narrative style with historical facts.

The qualitative elements such as Tsutaya Jūzaburō's narrative style, philosophy, and personality, as seen in the historical drama, were combined with the quantitative elements of historical facts and works from the Edo period, which made him the real "Tsutaya Jūzaburō." To balance both aspects, repeated learning and development were conducted through various verifications. By also incorporating information on the diverse arts, lifestyle cultures of Edo, and modern cultural elements of Chiyoda Ward, the AI was designed to respond with a unique perspective that reflects Tsutaya Jūzaburō’s sensibility towards contemporary culture. The development was supervised by Ryūya Yamamura, who also worked on the historical research for the historical drama ”Berabou TsutaJū Eika no Yume Banashi”.

Future

The "Chiyoda Hosomi," edited by AI Tsutaya Jūzaburō, will continue to be published.

The production of subsequent issues has been confirmed, and like the inaugural issue, they will be distributed for free within Chiyoda Ward as part of the "Edo's Media King Tsutajū × Chiyoda Tourism Association" promotion. In future issues, AI Tsutaya Jūzaburō will continue to capture various spots in Chiyoda Ward from his unique perspective.