On Friday, November 11, 2022, a special lecture was given by Professor Hiroyuki Ito of the Kyoto Computer Graphics Institute (KCGI), creator of the globally popular Vocaloid (VOCALOID) "Hatsune Miku" and CEO of Crypton Future Media, Inc.This annual special lecture, which was held online in the previous two years to prevent infection by the new coronavirus, will be a hybrid lecture of face-to-face and live delivery via the Internet at the main hall on the 6th floor of KCGI Kyoto Ekimae Satellite, Kyoto Computer Gakuin (KCG) Kyoto Ekimae Campus, where all possible infection control measures have been taken.The students listened to the content business guru at the location of their choice.Professor Ito explained the birth of "Hatsune Miku", its growth, efforts in voice technology and live technology, and its wide-ranging activities in Japan and abroad, using video clips.At the end of the lecture, there was a question and answer period.
Hatsune Miku" is a virtual idol created on August 31, 2007.It is a software program that sings a song by voice synthesis when the lyrics and melody are inputted, and is a popular "character" of 158 cm tall, 42 kg, and 16 years old.Live concerts are held in Japan and abroad, and it has become a symbol of Cool Japan, which promotes Japanese culture to the rest of the world.
In his lecture titled "The Potential of Digital Content Learned from Hatsune Miku," Professor Ito introduced Crypton's business and explained the relationship and history between music and technology, and computer music.He added, "Virtual instruments are software that can be installed on a computer to simulate the sound of a musical instrument.The human singing voice is also an instrument.Vocaloid is a singing voice synthesizing technology developed by Yamaha, and we have commercialized "Hatsune Miku" using this technology.We attempted to add a character that did not exist before," he explained.
The characterization of Miku Hatsune was so successful that people began to create not only music, but also illustrations, computer graphics, and cosplay of Miku Hatsune and post them on the Internet, creating a chain of creative works that spread throughout the world.Professor Ito said, "If this is the case, the rights handling of original works and derivative works will become complicated.We have been working to facilitate secondary creation as much as possible," he said, explaining in detail how the company opened a license for rights handling and established the content submission site "piapro" to create an environment conducive to creation and its structure.I think it is important that the chain of creation not be a chain of unauthorized use, but a chain of gratitude for the use," he said.
Fifteen years have passed since the birth of "Hatsune Miku," and as a result of secondary and tertiary creations by many creators, the forms of expression have diversified beyond singing and voice to include dance, animation, cosplay, figures, and other forms.The field of activities is expanding with the use of newly developed technology, and the ability to express oneself and sing is becoming richer and richer, and collaborations with fashion, opera, games, Japanese drums, Kabuki, and popular TV animation characters are expanding.Professor Ito pointed out the importance of collaboration, saying, "The more people use digital content, the more value it has.
Hatsune Miku" is also active in the Corona disaster.The annual 3DCG live performance and exhibition event, which has been held every year since 2013, was held in Osaka City in August and in Chiba City in September as "Hatsune Miku 'Magical Mirai' 10th Anniversary" in 2022.On February 4-5, 2023, the first live concert will be held in Sapporo, Japan.Cho-Kabuki" with Shido Nakamura was performed at the Minami-za Theater in Kyoto in September following the previous year, and also made its debut at the Hakataza Theater in Fukuoka in August, the Gion-za Theater in Nagoya, and the Shinbashi Enbujo Theater in Tokyo in August and September, respectively.He also appeared in the NHK special program "Luminous Music Special Vocaloid Fest 2022" broadcast in May, which spotlighted Vocaloids, Vocaloids, and singers.MIKU EXPO, which can be considered an overseas version of Magical Mirai, is currently on a world tour hiatus in Corona, but in June 2022, "MIKU EXPO Rewind," a compilation of past performances, will be distributed worldwide.In 2022, which marks the 15th anniversary of Hatsune Miku's birth, collaborative goods will appear one after another.Seiko released the "Hatsune Miku x SEIKO 15thAnniversary Watch" and Yamaha released the "Hatsune Miku 15th Anniversary Model" of cases for monitor speakers, guitar amplifiers and Vocaloid keyboards.Sega Prize has introduced the "'Hatsune Miku 15thAnniversary' Prize" as a prize exclusively for amusement arcades.
Dr. Ito became a professor at KCGI in April 2013.In the fall of the same year, he was awarded the Medal with Blue Ribbon in recognition of his international activities and technical innovations.KCGI and KCG have a reciprocal class auditing system.Not only students studying content business at KCGI, but also KCG students in art and design, digital games, computer science, IT voice acting, and other content-related courses can learn a lot from Professor Ito's efforts.
KCG Group of KCGI, KCG, and Kyoto College of Automotive Technology, based on a comprehensive assessment of the infection situation of the new coronavirus, has decided to conduct classes and lectures in a hybrid format (students can attend either in the classroom or online) in principle for the fall semester of 2022, and school events are conducted in cyberspace in combination.
