This system is inspired by mujo (無常) — the Japanese philosophy that all things change and nothing is permanent.
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After what happened to them 80 years ago, you bet they don't want to remember their history.
Traditional operating systems emphasize archiving — keeping everything forever. OS Yamato flips that. It offers a seasonal, emotionally lighter, and more mindful digital space.
No addictive loops. No algorithmic feeds. Just calm tools for slow living.
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A Personal Note
I’m not here to trap anyone in subscriptions. I don’t want you addicted to OS Yamato. I don’t want your data to sell ads.
I just want to build a gentle digital garden, where tech gives us space to breathe.
This is an early project, growing with every bit of feedback. Built solo, evolving daily.
Outside of the digital space, all the paintings I have done and everything I touch will be rendered null. Many will go to the rubbish tip either in my life time or very shortly afterwards. Don't try to cling on and drag this stuff everywhere.
Back to the OS however, hopefully you could allocate somethings to be manually exempt from the deletion but it would have to be done so that people must do it intentionally rather than just trying to avoid the issue of deletion. There are many one or two notes I keep with little bits and pieces I would like to keep, the rest of it is just noise.
Actually, OS Yamato does support a kind of “favorite” (♡) to mark something you want to keep. But! Even favorites fade if unopened for a year
Because hey — if it really matters, you’ll probably open it at least once a year, right? (And if not… maybe it wasn’t that precious after all?)
Also, favorites are easy to find via sorting, and photos can be grouped in albums while memos can be organized with tags — so it’s not total chaos
It’s all part of keeping the garden tidy, not turning it into a museum.
OS Yamato is still in an early stage, so I’m actively looking for thoughts and feedback to help shape its direction.
You can even use it to casually chat with friends — so feel free to give it a spin and see how it feels in practice. Every small insight helps make it better
This makes me wonder if you've experienced much loss in your life.
About twenty years ago, I lost my wife and child in an accident. It took years before I could look at photos without drowning in grief and even today, after lots of therapy, I can't look at too many before I'm overcome. These photos are the most precious item I own, and it would be devastating to lose them, but I do not look at them often or at every one.
I actually agree with the over all premise that the majority of things we save can be pruned, but there are things that just... are beyond this simplistic view IMHO.
tsuyoshi_k•3d ago
I’ve been building OS Yamato, a poetic, lightweight web OS where data “blooms and withers” — inspired by nature’s rhythms.
Unlike conventional apps that hoard information endlessly, OS Yamato invites you to let go. Unless opened, data fades and disappears. This is not a bug — it’s a philosophy.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this approach — technical or philosophical.
Try it: https://hanaco875.com Code: https://github.com/osyamato/os-yamato
rglover•3h ago
Very cool idea.
sitkack•2h ago
Notes, photos, emails from loved ones, legal documents are less important than unused hd capacity?
elmomle•1h ago
garciansmith•49m ago
Also, as a historian I hope future historians can find bits of text that we think don't matter at all but will help later generations understand our lives (i.e., their past and therefore themselves).