Music by Taro Ishida for The Man from the 9th Dimension
Currently screening at the Dome Theater GAIA (planetarium), Miraikan – The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, Tokyo.
The Man from the 9th Dimension is a fulldome film that explores cutting-edge theoretical physics, including string theory, and aims to let audiences experience the concept of “nine dimensions” — a realm far beyond the limits of human perception — through immersive visuals and sound.
The project was supervised by theoretical physicist Hiroshi Ooguri, ensuring a balance between scientific accuracy and entertainment value.
The greatest challenge in composing the music was how to give form, through sound, to a higher-dimensional world that cannot be seen. Rather than simply layering “cosmic” or grandiose sounds, the score needed a structure that would allow audiences to feel the concept intuitively, even before intellectually understanding it.
To achieve this, the music combines electronic sound design with orchestral approaches, creating an enveloping sound field. Taking full advantage of the unique fulldome environment, the music was spatially designed so that sound flows from all directions — above, below, left, and right — with carefully controlled changes in time and timbre to evoke the sensation of dimensions folding and overlapping.
During production, Ishida deepened his understanding of the theory itself, including attending lectures on string theory at Miraikan. Translating abstract equations and highly theoretical concepts into sensory experience was far from easy, but the goal was to avoid unnecessary complexity while supporting the audience’s feeling of stepping into an unknown world.
The work has been highly acclaimed both in Japan and internationally, receiving numerous awards and selections, including:
Best Educational Production Award (IPS Fulldome Festival)
Good Practice Award (Advanced Imaging Society)
Best Visual Effects Award (VFX-JAPAN)
Official Selection (IMERSA Summit)
Official Selection (International Festival of Science Visualization)
The Man from the 9th Dimension is a work in which music functions not merely as accompaniment, but as a core element that transforms scientific concepts into lived experience.
By traversing a wide spectrum of techniques — from electronic sound to orchestral methods — Ishida sought to create a “structure that can be physically felt,” even when engaging with worlds and themes that lie beyond human comprehension.
