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Summon Japanese Yokai on Your iPhone
Koozyt Releases "Oedo Yokai": An Application that Integrates Japanese Folkloristics and IT
http://service.koozyt.com/oedo/

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Tokyo, JPN - May 19, 2009 - Koozyt announced today the release of their new iPhone/iPod touch application called "Oedo Yokai" on the App Store as of May 15, 2009. Oedo Yokai is an application that introduces stories of the Japanese Yokai. The contents were created under the supervision of Dr. Hiro Kubota (#1) and art direction was provided by graphic arts designer Atsushi Morioka (#2). The application supports both Japanese and English.

Oedo Yokai will be showcased at the O'Reilly Where 2.0 2009 Conference (#3) that will be held in San Jose, CA.

About Oedo Yokai
"Oedo Yokai" is a book-based application for the iPhone/iPod touch about the Japanese Yokai (Sprites and Spirits). It is a collection of Yokai stories associated with the areas near the subway stations of the Oedo Line in Tokyo, Japan. You can also summon Netsuke sculptures of each Yokai in the book and collect them at your leisure.

Oedo Yokai Demo Video
A demo video of the Oedo Yokai application can be found at the following URL.
Demo Video URL: http://service.koozyt.com/oedo/

The Concept behind Oedo Yokai and Future Versions
A quote from "Oedo Yokai - the Beasty, Playful Sprites and Spirits of Japan":
The Japanese "Yokai" are known to dwell and appear at specific locations. They can frequently be seen within the grounds of shrines and temples, believed to be the border between this world and the afterlife, or in more common places like on a hill or at a crossroads. If the "Yokai" symbolize the mystery, legend, and lore associated with places, as our interests fade from actual locations, the roles they play in modern day society will diminish, and the "Yokai" might then cease to appear at all.

So, summon the "Yokai" on your digital device and read about their stories in your spare time. Let the "Yokai" guide you to explore the reality of time and place with all of your five senses. We hope the stories of the "Yokai" will continue to be handed down from generation to generation in new and different ways.

The current release of Oedo Yokai is not integrated with location technology, however we are planning to release a new version that incorporates GPS and PlaceEngine, locationware that uses nearby wireless LAN signals to estimate location. With this version, a user can roam around Tokyo to summon and collect Yokai according to his/her current location.

Dr. Hiro Kubota had the following remarks regarding his position to oversee this project:
"I was very excited to hear about the concept of introducing Yokai folklore on a digital gadget. The Yokai in lore almost always appear at designated locations and you can almost feel their presence when visiting such places. But times have changed, and such places and landmarks are disappearing. The presence of the Yokai have faded from our daily lives but are now being resurrected with the latest digital technology. I hope you can get a sense of the swarms of Yokai that once populated was is now the international metropolis of Tokyo.

Koozyt's CEO and president Taka Sueyoshi made the following comments:
"Dr. Kubota is an expert in the research of the folkloric performing arts and folk beliefs through his work in Japanese festival, arts, culture, and annual events that have historic regional significance. In our conversations together, he talked about the Yokai and how they have always been closely associated with a certain place or space. At that moment, I knew we had to create an application that combines the Yokai folklore and location technology to pass their stories down for generations to come. At Koozyt, we strive to bring location based technologies, services, and applications closer to our everyday lives to unobtrusively enhance personal experiences, and to contribute to new lifestyles and values."

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[Contact Information]

Koozyt, Inc., Public Relations
E-mail adress:

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#1 Hiro Kubota
Dr. Kubota was born in Chiba, Japan in 1966 and received his PhD from the Graduate School of Kokugakuin University. Currently he lectures at both the Kokugakuin University and the Training College of Infant Education at Kokugakuin University. He also acts as a curator at The Folk Museum of Higashimurayama, and is a member of the board of The Society of Folkloric Performing Arts. He is also on the board of governors of The Society of Ritual Culture, He has published several books on Japanese folklore.

#2 Atsushi Morioka
Atsushi Morioka graduated from the Tokyo University of Arts Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Print (Etching). He joined Sony Computer Entertainment as a 2D/3D game designer in 1999. In 2003, he joined Sony Corporation to produce and provide design direction in a network service start up team. He joined the Index Corporation in 2005 where he designed web sites for mobile contents and GUI's for devices, and established Index Imaginac where he was a board member and a VP of the Design Division. He left the company and joined VALEUR in May 2008. Since then, he has started his own company called TopologyPlan in Sept. 2008.

#3 Where2.0　http://en.oreilly.com/where2009/
The O’Reilly Where 2.0 Conference is where the grassroots and leading edge developers building location aware technology intersect with the businesses and entrepreneurs seeking out location apps, platforms, and hardware to gain a competitive edge. It is being held this year from May 19-21, in San Jose California. The Koozyt demo will be showcased at the Where Fair event on May 20 at 19:00. ( http://en.oreilly.com/where2009/public/schedule/detail/7332/ )

Koozyt, Inc. http://www.koozyt.com/
Koozyt was founded in July 2007 by key members of Sony Computer Science Laboratories, Inc. who were working on the wireless LAN locationware platform “PlaceEngine”. Koozyt licenses and markets PlaceEngine, and also provides location based services via its "Location Amplifier" framework. In March 2008, Koozyt received a Section Prize in the area of Information and Communications at the Nikkei BP Technology Awards 2008 for PlaceEngine. In March 2009, Koozyt was awarded the Fifth Japan 300 High-Service Award from the Japan Productivity Center (JPC).

* Apple, the Apple logo, iPod, and iTunes are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.
iPhone is a trademark of Apple Inc.
* "PlaceEngine" is a trademark of Koozyt, Inc.
* "PlaceEngine" was developed by Sony Computer Science Laboratories, Inc. and is licensed by Koozyt, Inc.
* All other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.