“OSECHI,” the name of our detector, traces back to a household item we stumbled on partway through building a prototype. Here’s the story of the OSECHI project so far.
Getting Started #
The OSECHI project began in June 2019, when a group of volunteers first came together. We initially named the project “Tan-Q,” and started planning and developing workshops built around a cosmic-ray detector.
Where the Name “OSECHI” Came From #
While building a detector prototype for events at S-Bird in Iida, Nagano, and at Science Cafe Fukuoka, we needed a case to house it. We found an osechi box — a tiered box traditionally used for New Year’s food — at a 100-yen shop. It turned out to block light well enough for real use, so we adopted it as the detector’s enclosure as-is.
For a while we just called it the “osechi-box detector,” but it eventually got its official name: OSECHI, the name our detector carries today.
The Circle Grows #
Starting with those early events at S-Bird and Science Cafe Fukuoka, events became a regular occurrence, and our circle of activity gradually grew. A teacher from Waseda University Honjo Senior High School joined the project, which led to the launch of “Fun-Q,” a spinoff project using OSECHI to survey ancient burial mounds. As membership grew, people also wanted a place to study together, giving rise to “Ben-Q,” an ongoing internal study group.
Read more about our activities on the blog.
Key Milestones #
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First meeting
2019-06-04
Ueno-san, Shoji-san, and Takahashi-san gather at KEK -
Project named 'Tan-Q'
2019-07-08
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Kyushu University joins
2019-09
Yoshioka-san joins -
Workshop at S-Bird, Iida, Nagano
2019-10-05
Demonstrates a detector prototype -
Science Cafe at BIZCOLI, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka
2019-12-13
Shows off a detector prototype -
Detector named 'OSECHI'
2019-12-24
Finds an *osechi* box at a 100-yen shop and adopts it as the detector's enclosure -
Yamagata University joins
2020
Nakamori-san and colleagues join -
Osaka University joins
2022-04-01
Ueno-san moves from KEK to Osaka University, bringing the project along -
Measurement at Akiyama Koshinzuka Kofun
2022-04-25
Students from Waseda University Honjo Senior High School take measurements -
Nagoya University joins
2023-01-01
Takahashi-san moves from KEK to Nagoya University's KMI, bringing the project along -
Measurement at Akiyama Koshinzuka Kofun
2023-08-09
Takes measurements with an improved circuit board and DAQ -
Miyazaki University joins
2024
Takeda-san joins -
Toyama University joins
2025
Nakano-san and colleagues join -
Oita University joins
2025
Kobayashi-san joins -
NIT, Niihama College joins
2026
Yano-san joins