Tsukibyobu turns the iPhone in your hand into a byobu, a Japanese folding screen, and hangs a night inside it. Closed, it is the new moon. Open, the full. On a foldable iPhone the hinge angle becomes the phase of the moon: open it a little for a crescent, halfway for the first quarter, all the way for the full moon. Stand it half-open on your desk and the two displays become the two panels of a screen. The paintings follow the Rinpa school: tarnished gold-leaf mist, ultramarine and malachite hills, a silver-leaf moon, gold dust across the night sky. Mt. Fuji and a lake, Higashiyama, a pine beach, a mountain village. Plum in spring, irises in summer, pampas grass in autumn, snow-laden bamboo in winter. Touch the moon and it tells you a story about tonight's phase. Turn on the sound for a faint, koto-like music whose scale changes with the season: brighter in spring, quieter in winter. No notifications, no ads, no sign-in. Set it down, watch, and close it when the night is over. On iPhones that do not fold, a slider at the bottom of the screen opens the moon.
Lifestyle · iPhone, iPad · Free
