THE JAPAN NEWS


 

The Yomiuri Shimbun

NAGANO — Buildings used in animation works produced by Studio Ghibli are shown in meticulous detail for an exhibition now under way at an art museum in Nagano. The “Ghibli no Rittai Kenzobutsu Ten” exhibition at the Nagano Prefectural Shinano Art Museum showcases about 460 exhibits mainly from 19 animation films, including “Kaze no Tani no Nausicaa” (Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind) and “Omoide no Marnie” (When Marnie was There). Among the exhibits are models of buildings, original pictures and background images.

The exhibition was first held at the Edo-Tokyo Open-Air Architectural Museum in Koganei, Tokyo. The Nagano museum is the first stop of a regional tour, and the number of exhibits on display have been increased.

The standout in the current exhibition is a four-meter-tall model of aburaya, the bathhouse in “Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi” (Spirited Away). It is a building familiar to every Studio Ghibli fan, although it appears only briefly in the film. The model is re-created in detail, complete with the employees’ quarters at the rear.

Visitors also will be able to admire the fine detail of a miniature model of the Kusakabe family house that appeared in “Tonari no Totoro” (My Neighbor Totoro), and the mine in “Tenku no Shiro Laputa” (Castle in the Sky).

Some of the original pictures on display bear notes by the studio’s artists on what the places in the stories should look like. One note reads, “The wall should be made of wooden planks.”

“Buildings are closely related to people’s lives. It’s in the details that you can relate to their lives,” said Kiyofumi Nakajima, managing director of the Ghibli Museum, Mitaka, in Tokyo.

 

The exhibition continues through June 26. The museum is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and closed on Wednesdays. Please visit www.npsam.com for more information.
Exhibition on layout art

MATSUYAMA — About 1,300 items of Studio Ghibli’s layout art and other materials are on display at an exhibition at the Museum of Art, Ehime, in Matsuyama.

“Layout” could be described as the blueprint for a film. It is a piece of paper with drawings and information about a scene, from the background and characters to instructions on camera work and image processing.

Most of the layouts on display in the “Studio Ghibli Layout Ten” exhibition, which runs through June 19, were made by Hayao Miyazaki for the works he directed, such as “Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind” and “Gake no Ue no Ponyo” (Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea). Some of the layouts are on public display for the first time.

The extravagant bathhouse from “Spirited Away” drawn in one of the layouts is believed to be modeled on the Dogo Onsen Honkan hot spring building in Matsuyama.

“It’s meticulously drawn to the finest detail. Even the fictitious buildings look real,” said Rintaro Kido, 15, who visited in late April for the exhibition’s preview. “I’ve loved Ghibli works since I was a child. This exhibition gave me an opportunity to look at the background [to the works]. I could feel the commitment of the artists.”

The museum is open from 9:40 a.m. to 6 p.m. and closed on Mondays (except June 6) and June 7. Please visit www.ehime-art.jp for more information.