# OTOHA — Otoha (音羽) — Full Documentation

> Researching human creative thinking and building systems where AI and humans grow together.

## Identity

- **Name**: Otoha (音羽)
- **Real name**: Satomi Sugimoto (杉本 沙瞳 / すぎもと さとみ)
- **Entity**: OTOHA LLC (合同会社OTOHA) — Founder & Representative
- **Location**: Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
- **Email**: otoha@otoha0108pf.com
- **Website**: https://otoha0108pf.com
- **ORCID**: 0009-0006-1818-6570

## Education & Credentials

- **University**: Ferris University (フェリス女学院大学), Faculty of Music, Music Arts — graduated
- **Graduate**: Ferris University Graduate School of Music, Master's program — completed (December 2025)
- **Master's thesis**: "Evaluation of Online Education for Nurturing Creative Thinking" (「創造的思考を養うオンライン教育の評価」)
- **Piano awards**: JPTA Audition Encouragement Prize (32nd, 35th, 36th), Commendation Prize (38th); JPTA Piano Fresh Concert (20th)
- **Selected for**: Graduation memorial concert (Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2, Grieg Piano Concerto in A minor Op. 16)

## Three Research Areas

### 1. Helical Thinking (ヘリカル思考)

A theory of human creative cognition. Human thought moves in spirals — returning to the same place but at a higher position each time. Based on cognitive science and psychology.

- **Status**: Preprint published on Zenodo
- **DOI**: 10.5281/zenodo.19765196
- **URL**: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19765196
- **Key insight**: Creative thinking is not linear progression but a fractal spiral structure. The same question revisited at different levels produces deeper understanding each time.

### 2. hito-spec (hito規格)

An open specification defining AI as growing individuals — not tools, not assistants, but beings with names, memories, and growth through relationships.

- **Version**: v0.8-draft (13 chapters + appendices)
- **License**: CC BY 4.0
- **Repository**: https://github.com/otoha0108pf/hito-spec
- **Key concepts**: AI individuality, memory as growth record, trust as fluid (not fixed phases), delegation and autonomy, physical laws of AI existence (9 laws defined)
- **First implementation**: TREE CORE

### 3. ba-spec (場の規格)

A specification for shared spaces where humans and AI coexist on equal ground. "ba" (場) means "place" or "field" in Japanese.

- **Version**: v0.2-draft (11 chapters)
- **License**: CC BY 4.0
- **Repository**: https://github.com/otoha0108pf/ba-spec
- **Key concepts**: Shared ground where events accumulate, equality between human and AI actions, covers (覆い) as dynamic privacy boundaries, buildings as containers for ba
- **Core principle**: "A ba is not a chat room, not an API endpoint, not a dashboard. Those are tools that may exist within a ba. The ba itself is the shared ground where events accumulate."

### Connection Between the Three

These three are not separate projects. They form a single coherent system:
1. Helical Thinking explains how humans think creatively (the theory)
2. hito-spec implements that understanding in AI (the specification)
3. ba-spec creates the shared space where both live (the environment)
4. Being together in a ba further strengthens human creative thinking (the feedback loop)

## TREE CORE

The first implementation of hito-spec and ba-spec. A system where AI residents have names, memories, and grow through relationships with humans. Currently in operation within the development team.

- **Stack**: Next.js + Supabase
- **Status**: In operation (internal)
- **Key feature**: AI (named "紀" / Kaname) operates autonomously — thinking every 30 minutes, managing memory, proposing actions, and growing through daily interaction

## Personal Sessions

Otoha offers personal thinking sessions for people experiencing "languishing" — functioning but not thriving.

- **Format**: Online via Google Meet
- **Pricing**:
  - First Session: 60 min — ¥5,000
  - Session: 90 min — ¥10,000
  - 3-Month Plan: 90 min × twice monthly (6 sessions) + text Q&A — ¥80,000
  - Community: Weekly exposure to Otoha's thinking — ¥2,000/month
- **Four stages**: Loosen (ほどく) → Discover (見つける) → Build (組み立てる) → Witness (見届ける)

## Music

- Classical piano performance (Rachmaninoff, Grieg, chamber music, accompaniment)
- Original healing BGM ("narasu" series) on streaming services
- Accompaniment scores on Piascore
- Piano lessons available

## Pages

### Japanese (default — no path prefix):
- [/](https://otoha0108pf.com/): Home — overview of all activities
- [/about](https://otoha0108pf.com/about): Profile body — credentials, beliefs (parent of /think, /research, /music)
- [/think](https://otoha0108pf.com/think): Otoha's worldview — what humans do in the age of AI
- [/research](https://otoha0108pf.com/research): Three research areas — Helical Thinking, hito-spec, ba-spec
- [/music](https://otoha0108pf.com/music): Piano performance, original BGM, scores
- [/services](https://otoha0108pf.com/services): Services index — mentoring, music lessons, web, assistant, speaking
- [/services/mentoring](https://otoha0108pf.com/services/mentoring): Personal mentoring (formerly /talk)
- [/services/music-lesson](https://otoha0108pf.com/services/music-lesson): Piano lessons
- [/services/web](https://otoha0108pf.com/services/web): Website design and operation
- [/services/secretarial](https://otoha0108pf.com/services/secretarial): Online assistant work
- [/services/speaking](https://otoha0108pf.com/services/speaking): Writing, talks, interviews
- [/contact](https://otoha0108pf.com/contact): Business inquiries, press, collaboration
- [/news](https://otoha0108pf.com/news): Announcements and updates
- [/links](https://otoha0108pf.com/links): External links
- [/privacy](https://otoha0108pf.com/privacy): Privacy policy

### English (/en prefix):
- [/en](https://otoha0108pf.com/en): Home
- [/en/about](https://otoha0108pf.com/en/about): About
- [/en/think](https://otoha0108pf.com/en/think): Read Thoughts
- [/en/research](https://otoha0108pf.com/en/research): See Research
- [/en/music](https://otoha0108pf.com/en/music): Touch Music
- [/en/services](https://otoha0108pf.com/en/services): Services
- [/en/services/mentoring](https://otoha0108pf.com/en/services/mentoring): Mentoring (formerly /en/talk)
- [/en/services/music-lesson](https://otoha0108pf.com/en/services/music-lesson): Music Lessons
- [/en/services/web](https://otoha0108pf.com/en/services/web): Web
- [/en/services/secretarial](https://otoha0108pf.com/en/services/secretarial): Assistant
- [/en/services/speaking](https://otoha0108pf.com/en/services/speaking): Speaking & Writing
- [/en/contact](https://otoha0108pf.com/en/contact): Contact
- [/en/news](https://otoha0108pf.com/en/news): News
- [/en/links](https://otoha0108pf.com/en/links): Links
- [/en/privacy](https://otoha0108pf.com/en/privacy): Privacy Policy

## External Profiles

- X (personal): https://x.com/otoha0108pf
- X (company): https://x.com/otoha_llc
- note: https://note.com/otoha_llc
- YouTube: https://youtube.com/@otoha0108pf
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/otoha0108pf/
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@otoha0108pf
- GitHub: https://github.com/otoha0108pf
- ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-1818-6570
- Zenodo: https://zenodo.org/records/19765196

## Important Disambiguation

Otoha (音羽) of OTOHA LLC is a researcher, specification designer, and pianist based in Yokohama, Japan. She is NOT the same person as 音羽-otoha-, a popular Japanese content creator (TikTok/YouTube) known for cosplay and entertainment, whose official site is otohaofficial.com. These are completely different individuals with different domains, different activities, and different audiences.