Suita, Osaka Jul 20, 2026 (Issuewire.com) - Inazuma Inc. announced today that ePaperCraft SHIRYU is now available to add to Steam wishlists ahead of its worldwide Windows launch on July 23, 2026. The creative design software connects digital 3D work with physical papercraft: users can build a model on a PC, unfold it into printable net diagrams, and assemble the finished object with paper, scissors, and glue.
Unlike software that ends at the screen, SHIRYU is designed around the moment a digital idea becomes an object that can be held, displayed, taught with, or shared. Its workflow combines 3D previewing, net-diagram generation, surface editing, printing, and practical adjustments for assembly in one package.
From a 3D Idea to a Finished Paper Model
SHIRYU gives users a visual environment for constructing and editing paper-ready 3D forms. A design can be checked from different angles, separated into printable parts, and adjusted before printing. This makes it possible to compare the on-screen model, its unfolded template, and the completed paper object as stages of the same creative process.
More than 70 ready-to-build models are included, giving new users immediate projects while also providing examples for learning how different forms are constructed. Users may also create original models and retain the right to use those original works commercially.
The software is intended for a broad range of creators, including papercraft hobbyists, educators, students, makers, illustrators, and independent designers. Its tools have been used successfully by elementary school students, while the manual editing options leave room for detailed work by experienced creators.
A Hands-On Alternative in the Generative AI Era
No generative AI was used to create SHIRYU's included models or program code. The product instead emphasizes deliberate authorship: choosing a form, shaping it, preparing the printable parts, and completing the work by hand.
That approach gives the software a distinctive place among modern creative tools. SHIRYU does not attempt to remove the maker from the process. It supports the maker through the transition from pixels to paper, including the small design decisions that determine whether a model folds, fits, and stands correctly in the real world.
A Modern Bridge to Japan's Paper Culture
Japan has a long and living relationship with paper, from origami and educational crafts to architectural models, toys, and decorative objects. These traditions differ in technique and purpose, but they share respect for paper as a material that can carry both precise structure and personal expression.
SHIRYU does not claim to reproduce a traditional craft. Instead, it places a contemporary digital tool in that wider cultural conversation. By allowing creators outside Japan to design on screen, print locally, and build by hand, the software offers a practical form of cultural exchange: not simply viewing Japanese paper creativity, but answering it with an original object of one's own.
Award-Recognized Roots and Two Decades of Development
SHIRYU is the expanded successor to the Japanese software originally known as Paper Dragon. The original version was selected as a Jury Recommended Work in the Entertainment Division of the 10th Japan Media Arts Festival, hosted by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs. Research behind the system was also published in the NICOGRAPH technical journal.
Developer Takahiro Yonemura, Ph.D. in Engineering, has continued refining the concept for more than two decades. His work crosses software development, education, research, books, and science-fiction manga. American readers may also know him as the creator of "Beast Code" and "Recycled Brain," published in the United States by eigoMANGA.
Steam Wishlist and Availability
ePaperCraft SHIRYU is scheduled to launch worldwide on Steam for Windows on July 23, 2026. The Steam page is open now for wishlists:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/4912480/ePaperCraft_SHIRYU/
Product information in English is available at:
https://craft.inazuma7.co.jp/index_en.html
Press review copies and interview opportunities are available for media in English or Japanese.
About Inazuma Inc.
Founded in 2001 in Osaka, Japan, Inazuma Inc. is a small independent technology and creative company established by Takahiro Yonemura while he was in graduate school at Kindai University. The company develops original software and combines engineering, storytelling, publishing, and education through products, books, lectures, and workshops.
Media Contact
Takahiro Yonemura / Inazuma Inc. info@inazuma7.co.jp +81-6-6878-1395 Suita, Osaka, Japan https://craft.inazuma7.co.jp/index_en.html
