Rui Design Office's New Facility "Uda Innovation Center VUTAI" (Uda City, Nara Prefecture) Grand Opens on Saturday, April 11th ~ Commemorative Ceremony to be Held at the Facility on the Same Day ~ Noh Performance "Okina" and Dialogue with Celebrities to be Conducted

Rui Design Office Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Yodogawa-ku, Osaka; President: Hiroshi Abe; hereinafter Rui Design Office) will grand open its new facility, the 'Uda Innovation Center VUTAI' (Uda City, Nara Prefecture) on Saturday, April 11th. The Uda Innovation Center VUTAI, planned as a residential co-creation hub for agriculture and learning, was announced in April 2023, completed in November 2025, and pre-opened. For this grand opening, a commemorative ceremony will be held at VUTAI on the 11th.

In the first part of the ceremony, Noh performers from the Kyoto Kanze school will be invited to present the chanting and dance of the celebratory Noh play 'Okina'. The second part will feature a special dialogue. The speakers will be Mr. Yasuhisa Nishijima, master carpenter of the Daitoryu school, known for the restoration of Himeji Castle (a National Treasure) and who designed VUTAI's grand hall, and Mr. Seijun Nishihata, a world-renowned plant hunter who produces many landscapes and was responsible for VUTAI's planting plan.

On the occasion of the grand opening, we will create a co-creation space from Uda, known as the 'land of origin' in Japan, to build a vibrant society together with everyone.

Date: Saturday, April 11th, doors open at 1:00 PM

Location: 'Uda Innovation Center VUTAI' (79-1 Shimoiai, Haibara, Uda City, Nara Prefecture)

Ceremony Outline

Part 1: Noh Performance 'Okina'

The land of Uda has a deep-rooted history and culture of the subtle beauty of the Kanze school, with events like the 'Hotaru Noh' held at Aki Shrine. Therefore, as the inaugural event for Uda Innovation Center VUTAI, Noh performers from the Kyoto Kanze school will be invited to present the dance and chanting of 'Okina', a ritualistic Noh play for prayer.

'Okina' celebrates the prosperity of the five grains by inspiring life; its movements, which tread the earth, and its dance, reminiscent of sowing seeds in the 'Suzu no Dan' (bell segment), are overlaid with prayers for new innovations to sprout from Uda. This is a dedication to solemnly celebrate the dawn of a new era in this historic land of Uda.

Part 2: Special Dialogue between Mr. Yasuhisa Nishijima and Mr. Seijun Nishihata

A special dialogue will be held with Mr. Yasuhisa Nishijima, the 32nd head of the Daitoryu school of master carpenters who designed VUTAI's grand hall, and Mr. Seijun Nishihata, representative of Sora Botanical Garden, who was responsible for the planting plan. VUTAI, a fusion of architecture and planting, its unique space...