Illusion Contest in Japan

since 2009

Updated November 9, 2012; Access since November 9, 2012
Japanese version (2016)
--- cf. Best Illusion of the Year Contest


The 8th Illusion Contest in Japan (Tokyo Women University, October 29, 2016)
Referee board: Akiyoshi Kitaoka (chief), Hiroshi Ashida, Hiroyuki Hagura, Hiroshi Harashima, Makoto Ichikawa, Yoshitaka Nakajima, Midori Takashima, and Masataka Yoshida

The 7th Illusion Contest in Japan (Osaka Shoin University, November 18, 2015)
Award Title Author(s) Institution Work(s) Explanation Visiome*
Click the thumbnail
1st Mask Induced Filling-in Shuichiro Taya Taisho University
MPEG1

MPEG2

MPEG3

MPEG4

MPEG5

MPEG6

PDF
2nd Cyclone Illusion Ryosuke Tanaka University of Tokyo
PPT

TXT
3rd The Compressed Disk Illusion Kun QIAN and
Hiroyuki Mitsudo
Kyushu University
PDF

PDF

PDF
入賞 静止摩擦錯視 福地健太郎 明治大学総合数理学部
MPEG動画

MPEG動画(修正版)

説明(TXT)
入賞 反重力レンズ錯視 柳 淳二 千葉大学文学部行動科学科心理学講座
PPTデモ

説明(PDF)
入賞 S_dot illusion(エスドットイリュージョン) 上地泰一郎 千葉大学大学院人文社会科学研究
MOV動画

説明(TXT)
入賞 スイングバイ錯視 田中涼介 東京大学大学院 総合文化研究科
MPEG動画

説明(TXT)
入賞 「ソ」錯視 村井祐基 東京大学大学院総合文化研究科
PPTデモ

説明(DOCX)
入賞 飛び乗る鶏 杉原厚吉 明治大学先端数理科学インスティテュート
JPG画像

説明(DOCX)
入賞 回転物体の反復運動錯視 -アキレスはいつカメを追抜くか? 湯淺健一 東京大学院総合文化研究科
PPTデモ

説明(PDF)
Visiomeにアップはまだ。
特別賞 ユガミ  小野智也  新潟県立新潟南高等学校 2年 
DOCデモ

説明(DOC)  
Referee board: Akiyoshi Kitaoka (chief), Hiroshi Ashida, Hiroyuki Hagura, Hiroshi Harashima, Makoto Ichikawa, Yoshitaka Nakajima, Midori Takashima, and Masataka Yoshida

The 6th Illusion Contest in Japan (Tokyo Metropolitan University, December 6, 2014)
Award Title Author(s) Institution Work(s) Explanation Visiome*
Click the thumbnail
1st Snow Blind illusion Masashi Atarashi Gojo Senior High School Work
(MPG)
The speed of falling snows appears to be accelerated by observing them through regularly arranged occluders such as blinds.


2nd Donguri-korokoro illusion Kenichim Yuasa1 and Ryosuke Tanaka2 (1)(2) University of Tokyo
Work 1
(MP4)

Work 2
(MP4)

Work 3
(MP4)

Work 4
(MP4)

All of the acorns (Donguri) are rotating with the same direction. However, observer will illusorily perceive that the rotating direction of the acorn at the center position is opposite to the directions of the other acorns.


3rd Reversible Antigravity Twin Roofs Kokichi Sugihara Meiji University Work
(MWF)
This 3D solid can generate two different impressions of the roof shape, and both admit impossible motion illusion in which balls roll uphill.


4th Gabor slash illusion
Yuki Tanaka Kyoto University
Work
(MOV)

A Gabor patch rotates with its contrast gradually increasing and decreasing. Just before its contrast reaches 0% and the Gabor patch disappears, we perceive it to be slashed across the grating and we feel as if the halves of the slashed-Gabor patch were moving in the opposing direction.
5th Illusory windmill in tulips Kusano Kusano1, Saori Aida1,2 and Koichi Shimono1 (1) Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology
(2) Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
Work
(MOV)
Four “blades of a windmill fan” are perceived in the rotating disk, although there are no physical patterns of the blades in a static diskin each frame of the movie.
6th Contrast aftereffect Yuki Hashimoto University of Tokyo
Work
(PPTX)

Suppl 1
(PPTX)

Suppl 2
(PPTX)

Suppl 3
(PPTX)

Suppl 4
(PPTX)

Suppl 5
(PPTX)

A white rectangle with a black border placed in center is illusorily seen just like a blue one, when its background turned from blue to white.


7th Ames room in which players roll a ball Ryuichi Yokota, Akiko Yasuoka and Masahiro Ishii Sapporo City University Work
(MP4)
See the movie.


8th Frog Hand Illusion Shuichiro Taya Taisho University Work
(PDF)
The left and right images show the exactly identical pictures of a hand, but the hand in the upside-down image (left pic) looks having shorter fingers and an odd-shaped palm (like "a frog's hand"), in compared with the hand in the upright image (right pic). This illusion presumably caused by a failure of the size-scaling due to the uncanonical viewing condition.


9th Gradation Color Contrast Yuki Murai University of Tokyo Work(PPTX) Tracking a moving black dot on a background within which saturation change from high to low, and hue change from green to red, observer will see that the hue of the low saturation area are illusorily shifted to the color under the black dot.


10th Sound-induced visual time shrinking illusion Kazuya Matsubara1, Yuji Wada1, Emi Hasuo2, Takako Mitsudo2 (1)National Agriculture and Food Research Organization
(2)Kyushu University

Work A
(AVI)

Work B
(AVI)

Work C
(AVI)

Suppl 1
(AVI)

Suppl 2
(AVI)

Observers perceive visual timing as they hear even when the sounds induce time shrinking illusion (A2, B3). Furthermore, visual time shrinking illusion (C1) is disappeared when presented with simultaneous sound (C3) due to the auditory capture of time perception.


Referee board: Akiyoshi Kitaoka (chief), Hiroshi Ashida, Hiroyuki Hagura, Hiroshi Harashima, Makoto Ichikawa, Yoshitaka Nakajima, Ken Shiina, Midori Takashima, and Masataka Yoshida



The 5th Illusion Contest in Japan (Kanazawa Grand Hotel, December 7, 2013)
Award Title Author(s) Institution Work(s) Explanation Visiome*
Click the thumbnail
1st Expansion/Contruction Blindness Kohsuke Takahashi and Katsumi Watanabe University of Tokyo
Work 1 (mov)

Work 2 (mov)

Work 3 (mov)

Work 4 (mov)

Work 5 (mov)

Work 6 (mov)

Although the circle at right side changes its size, you may have difficulty in noticing it when it rotates.
2nd death candle / whorl illusion Yuki Hashimoto University of Tokyo Work
(mov)
When Gaussian rotates around the axis in a different position from the center of the Gaussian, we perceive the some slit in Gaussian.
3rd
shelf-shadow illusion
Eiji Watanabe National Institute for Basic Biology
Work
(jpg)


Two shelves are the identical pictures except having performed flip vertical. However, upward shadows look darker than downward shadows. When you rotate the pictures, the wonder can further be realized.

4th Worldly desire disappearance illusion Kusano Kusano Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology
Work
(pdf)

If you fixate the center point for a while, the symbols, which represent worldly desire will disappear.
5th The scary story in school Katsuya Kato, Tomohito Umeda, Yuma Hiramatsu, Yosuke Yasukuni Department of Information Engineering, Faculty of Science & Technology, Meijo University
Work
(pptx)

The man (A) seems to climb steep stairs frantically and the other man (B) seems to sit on the top of the stairs and look at The man (A)'s behavior. In reality, the man (A) is above the man (B).
6th Mysterious tea time: an illusion assortment Maaya Amano, Hiroko Kamihirata, Yuya Konishi, Yuichiro Tanaka, Yoshihisa Higuchi, and Ichiro Fujita Osaka University
Work 1
(mp4)

Work 2
(mp4)

Work 3
(mp4)

Optical illusions surprise and entertain researchers and laymen alike. We made three movie clips which featured illusions related to stereo-aesthesia and size perception. The phenomena shown in the three movies are same, but performers are different. The three performers are undergraduate students enrolled in a project-based learning class at Osaka University. The background music in the second movie is played by the performer in the clip, Hiroko Kamihirata, herself. One of the three movies is uploaded on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrz_OlFufv8
7th Rotating Penrose Stairs Kana Nakatsu and Tokiichiro Takahashi Tokyo Denki University
Work 1
(avi)

Work 1
(gif)

Work 2
(avi)

Work 3
(avi)

We have devised the method to realize the rotating animation of an impossible rectangle twisted torus figure, which is one of optical illusion objects among impossible figures, by modeling it as an optical illusion. We have extended the application of this principle to Penrose Stairs, and we presents that it was successfully realized when the viewpoint was moved freely.

Explanation (PDF in Japanese)

8th Polygonization Effect Kenzo Sakurai Department of Psychology, Tohoku Gakuin University
Work
(mov)



Fixate the cross. Surrounding circles will be perceived as polygons.

9th Co-rotating illusion Kentaro Yamamoto University of Tokyo
Work 1
(mov)

Work 2
(mov)

Work 3
(mov)

Work 4
(mov)

Although the velocity of the black crosses rotation is twice of that of the white crosses rotation, you would see that the all crosses rotate with the same velocity.
joint-10th New world of visual illusion developed by 3DCG Kohsuke Takahashi and Katsumi Watanabe University of Tokyo
Work
(URL)

See: http://www.fennel.rcast.u-tokyo.ac.jp/webgllusion/
joint-10th The Harukas illusion Yasuhiko Sakaguchi   West Japan Railway Company
Work
(ppt)

These same pictures are Abenoharukas (Osaka's new leading landmark) and the condominium building. The condominium building in the right picture seems to lean to right than the left one and the Abenoharukas in the left picture seems to lean to left than the right one.
Referee board: Akiyoshi Kitaoka (chief), Hiroshi Ashida, Hiroyuki Hagura, Hiroshi Harashima, Makoto Ichikawa, Yoshitaka Nakajima, Ken Shiina, Midori Takashima, and Masataka Yoshida



The 4th Illusion Contest in Japan (Kyushu University, November 5, 2012)
Award Title Author(s) Institution Work(s) Explanation Visiome*
Click the thumbnail
1st Scales Illusion Yuichi Sakano and Hiroshi Ando National Institute of Information and Communications Technology Work 1
(MOV)

Work 2
(MOV)

Work 3
(MOV)
Although the squares above the scales are actually still, they appear to move vertically, if you keep on gazing precisely on the dot moving horizontally.
2nd Perceptual Chroma-Achroma Substitution Kohske Takahashi, Shunya Yamada, Fuminori Ono*, and Katsumi Watanabe University of Tokyo

* Yamaguchi University
Work 1
(MOV)

Work 2
(MOV)

Work 3
(MOV)

Work 4
(MOV)
Explanation
(Kohske Takahashi's site)
3rd Instant fading Shuichiro Taya Taisho University Work 1
(GIF)

Work 2
(GIF)

Work 3
(GIF)

Work 4
(GIF)
Fixate the center cross while the background color alternates between gray and black (or white in Work 2). You will find that the ring disappears at the instant that the background switches to gray.
4th Ultra Energetic Contour (UEC) Yutaka Nakajima University of Electro-Communications Work 1
(MOV)

Work 2
(MOV)
Gratings are moving horizontally within the tiny Gabor patches arranged in the contour of a Lissajous figure, and global contracting or stretching motion can be perceived, which is not a new illusion. When the background dims, you will see an energetic vibrant motion like a throbbing heart!
5th Facial expression illusion with crossed/uncrossed eyes Ai Koizumi, Aya Shirama, and Norimichi Kitagawa NTT Communication Science Laboratories Work
(AVI)

Explanation
(PDF)

Supplementary images
(JPEG)

6th Bats under a full moon Jun Ono, Akiyasu Tomoeda, and Kokichi Sugihara Meiji University Work
(MOV)
Although the bats are moving straight without changing their shapes, they look like flapping their wings, depending on the foot-step illusion and the inch-worm illusion proposed by Stuart Anstis.
7th Head size illusion Kazunori Morikawa Osaka University Work
(PDF)
Which person do you think needs a bigger hat to fit his head? Of course, the fat person appears to have a bigger head than the thin person. Actually, both persons can wear a hat of exactly the same size.Both are identical except the width of cheeks, jaws and necks. This illusion occurs in our daily lives!
8th Rotating Snakes variations: Please see the bidirectional rotation Tommy and friends (Aihara, Abe, Endo, Matsubara, Nishiyama, Sasaki, and Yoshida) : Tomita Seminar, Department Psychology, Iwaki Meisei University, Japan
Iwaki Meisei University Work
(PPTX)
As the saturation or the luminance of some elements of Kitaoka's "rotating snakes" is decreased or increased, the perceived direction of illusory rotation reverses.
9th King-Queen-Jack illusion Kazunori Morikawa Osaka University Work
(MPEG)
Explanation
(TXT)
10th Illusion of the eyes’ position in the head Mitsuo Endo University of the Ryukyus Work
(JPEG)

Work(PDF)
Rock, I. (1984) indicated that when people draw a human face, they commonly draw the eyes much too high in the head, although the eyes are, in fact, much closer to the middle of the head. In fact, we do perceive the eyes to be placed well above the center of the head!

Rock, I. (1984). Perception. New York, NY England: Scientific American Library.

The copyright of each work belongs to each author(s).

Referee board: Akiyoshi Kitaoka (chief), Hiroshi Ashida, Hiroyuki Hagura, Hiroshi Harashima, Makoto Ichikawa, Ken Shiina, and Midori Takashima

 *Visiome is an web-based archive of visual stimuli and research works supported by INCF Japan node. Anyone can register as a user and upload their works.

Thanks to Kazunori for English correction.


Under construction: Translation of the parts shown below has not completed. For authors: Let me (Akiyoshi Kitaoka) know if they suggest English translation or if they find my wrong translation. <December 29, 2012>

The 3rd Illusion Contest in Japan (Keio University, December 3, 2011)
Award Title Author(s) Institution Work(s) Explanation Visiome*
1st Okuma illusion Takashi Yasuda, Takuji Ueda, Kenpei Shiina Waseda University Work
(PDF)
Explanation
(PDF)

Also see: Yasuda T, Ueda T, Shiina K, 2012, "The Okuma illusion: a new illusion of leaning" Perception 41(10) 1277 – 1280
2nd Walking Robot: illusory dynamic slant from luminance modulation Yuichi Sakano and Hiroshi Ando National Institute of Information and Communications Technology Work 1
(MOV)

Work 2
(MOV)

Work 3
(MOV)
Explanation
(PDF)
3rd Rotating impossible figure Kana Nakatsu Tokyo Denki University Work 1
(AVI)
(GIF)

Work 2
(AVI)
(GIF)

Work 3
(AVI)
(GIF)
3D computer graphic of a rotating impossible figure
4th Fluttering subjective contours Chihiro Masuda1, Takuma Murakoshi1, Atsushi Kimura1,2, and Yuji Wasa1 1 National Agriculture and Food Research Organization
2 Tokyo Denki University
作品1
(MP4)

作品2
(MP4)

作品3
(MP4)

作品4
(MP4)
説明
(DOC)
5th Wriggle Motion Illusion Yuko Yotsumoto and Meeko Kuwahara Keio University, University of Tokyo Work 1
(MOV)

Work 2
(MOV)

Work 3
(MOV)
説明
(PDF)

(No registration in Visiome)
6th Craker illusion Kohki Shinohara Dokkyo University 作品
(SWF)
説明
(DOC)
7th Mysterious building: an illusion of height and motion Sachiko Tsuruno Kinki University 作品
(FLV)
説明
(PDF)

(No registration in Visiome)
8th Pacmen illusion Kohki Shinihara Dokkyo University 作品
(SWF)
説明
(DOC)
9th Mahjong illusion Ryosuke Niimi Tokyo University 作品
(PDF)
説明
(作品と同じPDF)
10th Missed Doughnut Illusion Ryohei Nakayama, Maata Fujita, and Hiromi Sato Tokyo University 作品
(PPTM)
説明
(作品と同じPPTM)

The copyright of each work belongs to each author(s).

Referee board: Akiyoshi Kitaoka (chief), Hiroshi Ashida, Hiroyuki Hagura, Hiroshi Harashima, Makoto Ichikawa, Ken Shiina, and Midori Takashima

The Okuma illusion: a new illusion of leaning
Yasuda T, Ueda T, Shiina K, 2012, "The Okuma illusion: a new illusion of leaning" Perception 41(10) 1277 – 1280



The 2nd Illusion Contest in Japan (Kwansei Gakuin University, November 27, 2010)
Award Title Author(s) Institution Work(s) Explanation Visiome*
1st Angle illusion of road photographs  Atsushi Osa

(Kazumi Nagata, Hidetoshi Miike, Makoto Ichikawa, and Ken Matsuda) 
Yamaguchi University 作品
(PPT)
説明
(DOC)
2nd Motion direction-dependent lightness illusion in patterns having a luminance gradient Hiroshi Nakamura Hokusei Gakuen University 作品
(HTML)
説明
(PDF)
3rd BU Illusion (Bold by Underline Illusion) Kiyoshi Fujimoto - 作品
(PDF)
作品内で説明
4th Ticktack pacmen Kohki Shinohara Dokkyo University 作品
(Flash)
説明
(DOC)
5th Chopstick wings illusion Kun Qian Kyushu University 作品1
(MOV)

作品2
(MOV)
説明
(テキスト)

説明
(JPEG)
6th Antigravity Barrel Bault Kokichi Sugihara Meiji University Work
(MOV)
Explanation
(PDF)
7th Transparent hemisphere illusion Kimihiro Suzuki Taisei Gakuin University 作品
(MOV)

作品2
(MP4)
説明
(DOC)
8th Moving White illusion Kohki Shinohara Dokkyo University 作品
(Flash)
説明
(DOC)
9th Bulging fans Kenji Hosokawa and Yutaka Nakajima
(Demo team for Pyschlops)
University of Tokyo 作品1
作品2
作品3
(PNG)
説明
(TXT)
10th On reverspective Takuo Kobayashi Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology 作品 作品内で説明

The copyright of each work belongs to each author(s).

Referee board: Akiyoshi Kitaoka (chief), Hiroshi Ashida, Hiroyuki Hagura, Hiroshi Harashima, Makoto Ichikawa, Ken Shiina, and Midori Takashima


Osa A, Nagata K, Honda Y, Ichikawa M, Matsuda K, Miike H, 2011, "Angle illusion in a straight road" Perception 40(11) 1350 – 1356
http://www.perceptionweb.com/abstract.cgi?id=p7068


The 1st Illusion Contest in Japan (Nihon Women's University, December 5, 2009)
Award Title Author(s) Institution Work(s) Explanation Visiome*
1st Scintillating neon illusion  Kohki Shinohara  Dokkyo University Work
(SWF)
説明
(テキストファイル)
2nd Illusion study toward new illusory effects Takahito Ide Tohoku Institute of Technology 作品
(ウェブページ)
作品内にあり
3nd
Hagura Award
Magnet-Like Slopes Kokichi Sugihara Meiji University Work
(MOV)
Explanation
(PDF)
4th
Kitaoka Award
Envelope top illusion Kazunori Morikawa Osaka University 作品
(PDFファイル)
作品内にあり
5th Opponent colors Haruaki Fukuda University of Tokyo 作品
(MOVファイル)
作品内にあり
6th
Senior Award
Visual motion perception and stroboscopic illumination effect Shigemasa Sumi Keio University 作品
(MOVファイル、874MB)
作品
(MPEGファイル、468MB)
作品をご覧下さい
7th Elevators Kohki Shinohara Dokkyo University Work
(SWF)
説明
(テキストファイル)
8th Position perception influenced by another person Haruaki Fukuda University of Tokyo 作品
(MOVファイル)
ムービー1
ムービー2
ムービー3
(MOVファイル)
作品内にあり
9th
Ichikawa Award
No title Takuo Kobayashi Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology 作品
(Flashファイル)
説明
(ウェブページ)
10th Grouping “stationary” features
based on the motion cue
Ryusuke Hayashi RIKEN BSI ムービー1
ムービー2
ムービー3
(AVIファイル)
説明
(ワードファイル)
補足説明
(テキストファイル)

The copyright of each work belongs to each author(s).

Referee board: Akiyoshi Kitaoka (chief), Hiroshi Ashida, Hiroyuki Hagura, Hiroshi Harashima, Makoto Ichikawa, Ken Shiina, and Midori Takashima

Best illusion of the Year Contest

 

Akiyoshi's illusion pages