[Yonago KOSEN] Expo Legacy from Panasonic Group Pavilion "Nomo no Kuni" Donated—Yonago KOSEN Students Rebuild and Start Regional Touring Exhibitions | 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo
Light and sound devices from the Panasonic Group Pavilion "Nomo no Kuni" at the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo were donated to Yonago KOSEN, Tottori Prefecture, and Yonago City. Students are leading the reconstruction of the legacy, developing original control apps for regional exhibitions.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 14, 2026 at 17:30
- 🔍 Collected: April 14, 2026 at 09:01
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 19, 2026 at 19:09 (130h 7m after Collected)
Light and sound devices exhibited in the Unlock Experience Area of the Panasonic Group Pavilion "Nomo no Kuni" at the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo have been donated as an Expo legacy to Yonago National College of Technology (KOSEN), Tottori Prefecture, and Yonago City.
(Captions from the handover ceremony include Toshiyuki Yamaguchi, former principal of Yonago KOSEN; Shinji Hirai, Governor of Tottori Prefecture; and Yuichiro Haraguchi, General Producer of the Panasonic Group Pavilion "Nomo no Kuni".)
■ Exhibits Donated as Expo Legacy
Yonago National College of Technology (Yonago City, Tottori Prefecture, Principal: Goji Akashi, hereinafter "Yonago KOSEN") received numerous light and sound devices exhibited at the Panasonic Group Pavilion "Nomo no Kuni" at the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo held in Yumeshima, Osaka from April to October 2025. The donated legacy includes items from the "Nomo no Kuni" Unlock Experience Area, such as the "Nomo Forest Rock Object (Rock Fixture)" which creates unique lighting when a crystal is held over it, the light and sound device called "Perch" which plays a butterfly flapping animation when fanned, and the "Nomo Forest Tree Object".
■ High Praise for Long-Term Collaboration
Since 2020, Yonago KOSEN has cooperated in demonstration tests as a partner for "Light x Art x Programming" using "ILLUMME", a programmable spherical LED device developed by Panasonic Electric Works Co., Ltd. Thanks to this connection, they became involved in the light and sound programming production at the Panasonic Group Pavilion "Nomo no Kuni" at the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo. During this programming production, Yonago KOSEN students participated in developing tools that allow anyone to easily create works that orchestrate the pavilion with light and sound, providing an opportunity for long-term co-creation. Regarding the light and sound programming at "Nomo no Kuni", General Producer Yuichiro Haraguchi of the Panasonic Group Pavilion expressed his gratitude to the KOSEN students, saying, "You created a place for children to express themselves and show what they want to convey." In this way, the outstanding performance of the students in the co-creation at the Expo was highly evaluated, leading to this donation of the Expo legacy.
■ Donation Ceremony Held on January 15, 2026
On January 15, 2026, a donation ceremony was held at the Tottori Prefectural Western General Office and Yonago City Hall, welcoming General Producer Yuichiro Haraguchi. Some of the donated items were also transferred to Tottori Prefecture and Yonago City to be utilized for giving back to the local community, such as programming education at local elementary, junior high, and high schools, and Expo legacy exhibitions. At the donation ceremony, Tottori Prefecture Governor Shinji Hirai remarked, "The efforts of the KOSEN students and their active roles at the Expo are truly wonderful." Furthermore, Yonago Mayor Takashi Igi offered words of praise and appreciation for their efforts at the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo and discussed returning the legacy to Yonago City.
■ Students Lead the Reconstruction of the Legacy
The donated Expo legacy has undergone unique modifications by the Yonago KOSEN students and has been reborn as programmable light devices. They made it possible to change the number of linked rock fixtures and lighting patterns through programming so that the devices can be exhibited in different spaces, quantities, and expressions than at the Expo venue. In particular, they devised creative ways for the lighting of the LED tapes incorporated in the rock fixtures, such as incorporating a production related to the "Osaka-Kansai Expo Commemorative Sand Pavilion", which is one of the exhibition destinations. In addition, they developed an app that allows visitors to control the light production of the Expo legacy like a game using their own smartphones, adding this as a new feature to the devices. In this way, Yonago KOSEN students are taking the initiative in devising new productions and reconfiguring the programming and hardware.
(Captions from the handover ceremony include Toshiyuki Yamaguchi, former principal of Yonago KOSEN; Shinji Hirai, Governor of Tottori Prefecture; and Yuichiro Haraguchi, General Producer of the Panasonic Group Pavilion "Nomo no Kuni".)
■ Exhibits Donated as Expo Legacy
Yonago National College of Technology (Yonago City, Tottori Prefecture, Principal: Goji Akashi, hereinafter "Yonago KOSEN") received numerous light and sound devices exhibited at the Panasonic Group Pavilion "Nomo no Kuni" at the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo held in Yumeshima, Osaka from April to October 2025. The donated legacy includes items from the "Nomo no Kuni" Unlock Experience Area, such as the "Nomo Forest Rock Object (Rock Fixture)" which creates unique lighting when a crystal is held over it, the light and sound device called "Perch" which plays a butterfly flapping animation when fanned, and the "Nomo Forest Tree Object".
■ High Praise for Long-Term Collaboration
Since 2020, Yonago KOSEN has cooperated in demonstration tests as a partner for "Light x Art x Programming" using "ILLUMME", a programmable spherical LED device developed by Panasonic Electric Works Co., Ltd. Thanks to this connection, they became involved in the light and sound programming production at the Panasonic Group Pavilion "Nomo no Kuni" at the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo. During this programming production, Yonago KOSEN students participated in developing tools that allow anyone to easily create works that orchestrate the pavilion with light and sound, providing an opportunity for long-term co-creation. Regarding the light and sound programming at "Nomo no Kuni", General Producer Yuichiro Haraguchi of the Panasonic Group Pavilion expressed his gratitude to the KOSEN students, saying, "You created a place for children to express themselves and show what they want to convey." In this way, the outstanding performance of the students in the co-creation at the Expo was highly evaluated, leading to this donation of the Expo legacy.
■ Donation Ceremony Held on January 15, 2026
On January 15, 2026, a donation ceremony was held at the Tottori Prefectural Western General Office and Yonago City Hall, welcoming General Producer Yuichiro Haraguchi. Some of the donated items were also transferred to Tottori Prefecture and Yonago City to be utilized for giving back to the local community, such as programming education at local elementary, junior high, and high schools, and Expo legacy exhibitions. At the donation ceremony, Tottori Prefecture Governor Shinji Hirai remarked, "The efforts of the KOSEN students and their active roles at the Expo are truly wonderful." Furthermore, Yonago Mayor Takashi Igi offered words of praise and appreciation for their efforts at the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo and discussed returning the legacy to Yonago City.
■ Students Lead the Reconstruction of the Legacy
The donated Expo legacy has undergone unique modifications by the Yonago KOSEN students and has been reborn as programmable light devices. They made it possible to change the number of linked rock fixtures and lighting patterns through programming so that the devices can be exhibited in different spaces, quantities, and expressions than at the Expo venue. In particular, they devised creative ways for the lighting of the LED tapes incorporated in the rock fixtures, such as incorporating a production related to the "Osaka-Kansai Expo Commemorative Sand Pavilion", which is one of the exhibition destinations. In addition, they developed an app that allows visitors to control the light production of the Expo legacy like a game using their own smartphones, adding this as a new feature to the devices. In this way, Yonago KOSEN students are taking the initiative in devising new productions and reconfiguring the programming and hardware.