An organization that studies unseen, mystical forces and external powers.

Unveiling the True Nature of “Tariki” and Bringing It into Industry

Tariki Research Institute was founded as an open innovation hub dedicated to exploring “Tariki”—a mysterious, invisible force. The institute measures and collects this energy, aiming to uncover its essence and develop practical applications for modern industries.

Issue

The Overlooked Power of Tariki

In Jōdo Shinshū Buddhism, Tariki refers to the salvific power of Amida Buddha. The term Tariki Hongan(Other-Power Vow) emerged from this belief. Over time, however, it took on a different meaning—relying on others or leaving things to chance. In the world of folk crafts, Tariki came to describe the uncontrollable forces at work inside a kiln—factors beyond human control. Building on these interpretations, we now redefine Tariki as an invisible, mysterious force.

In industrial settings, unpredictable elements like Tariki have long been viewed as errors to eliminate. But rather than treat these unseen forces as adversaries, we propose a new perspective: coexistence. By sensing natural phenomena and flows of energy—and finding ways to harmonize with them—we may unlock entirely new possibilities for innovation.

Creation

Device for Harvesting Latent External Forces: The Tariki Sensor

This study explores a multidimensional approach to capturing Tariki—unseen external forces—by integrating a wide range of sensors and cameras. The setup includes a 360-degree camera to detect visual shifts, weather sensors to measure wind direction and speed, temperature, humidity, and atmospheric pressure, and a hyperspectral camera for analyzing light across various wavelengths. It also uses olfactory sensors to identify scents, along with ultrasonic and low-frequency microphones to capture sounds beyond the range of human hearing. By combining these tools, the system aims to perceive tariki in a more comprehensive and spatially rich manner.

Device for Encountering External Forces: Tariki Encounter Prototype Unit 01

The tariki Encounter refers to a series of devices designed to utilize and explore .trk data—converted representations of harvested tariki (external forces). These devices aim to visualize and physically express the influence of tariki, serving as experimental platforms to test the potential applications of .trk.

In this prototype, the focus is on the "preform," the original form of a PET bottle before molding. Instead of the conventional blow molding process using a fixed mold, this device introduces .trk data into a free-blow molding system, eliminating the mold entirely. Parameters such as the preform’s position, heating temperature, airflow volume, and rotation angle are all governed by .trk, enabling unpredictable, emergent forms. This process creates opportunities to encounter and engage with the presence of tariki through material transformation.

Technology

An Algorithm for Converting "Tariki" into the Custom .trk Format via VAE

The .trk file format was developed by the Tariki Research Institute to capture and analyze tariki—an invisible, mysterious force—by converting it into data. Unlike visual or audio inputs, Tariki lacks a tangible form, so .trk was designed as a dedicated format for recording and transforming this elusive presence.

By leveraging Variational Autoencoders (VAEs), the .trk system captures the world's vast multimodal information in a latent space. Through this process, it explores a data-driven representation of Tariki, echoing the Buddhist concept of external or transcendent power.

A Variational Autoencoder (VAE) compresses vast, multidimensional spaces—beyond human intuition—into a handful of latent variables and reconstructs them. We view this compressed latent space as the source of reconstruction, a realm where a kind of “external power” beyond human perception resides.

We trained the VAE on diverse sensor data—video, weather, hyperspectral images, audio, scent, and ultrasonic sound—to generate a latent space for reconstruction. The resulting latent variables form probabilistic distributions, expressed as compact matrices representing elements of the world.

We further compressed these uncertainty-laden matrices and explored a connection with blow molding—a technique humans developed to create stable, consistent forms. This links machine-generated abstraction with human design principles.

Traditional molding techniques have focused on eliminating randomness to produce uniform shapes. In contrast, this study aims to reframe that “stable world” by embracing uncertainty as an external creative force. Using the probabilistic nature of a Variational Autoencoder (VAE) latent space, we integrate external generative elements into the molding process, challenging conventional notions of uniformity and rigidity. Even blow molding—typically seen as a method that preserves identical forms—is reinterpreted through the lens of probabilistic distributions, opening up new paths for creativity and meaning.

Future

Expanding Co-Creation Partnerships

Tariki Laboratory is an open innovation project actively seeking co-creation partners. We welcome broad collaboration with creators and researchers interested in using .trk data, companies aiming to co-develop new Tariki encounters, and those offering spaces to sense Tariki—regardless of location. Moving forward, we continue exploring the invisible and mysterious force of Tariki, aiming to uncover its nature and apply it across industries.