Halcyon Realms - Animation.Film.Photography and Art Book Reviews » Japan

Otomo Katsuhiro Genga Exhibition

yonghow — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:32:01 +0000

Oh my gosh this is such good news I can barely contain my excitement !

From the 9th of April – 30th of May 2012 a major exhibition showcasing Otomo’s key animation drawings from the many films throughout his (thus far) illustrious career will be held at the 3331 Arts Chiyoda Centre in Tokyo, Japan.

Back in 2007 I had the great fortitude of meeting Otomo-san while working on Freedom Project, where he was the character/mecha designer.

Nothing’s confirmed yet, but I’m currently making plans to head down to Tokyo in April so that I can catch the exhibition.

There’s a fair bit of information on the website but I don’t have time to translate all of it right now, so do check back again for more details. I will try to update and translate as and when more details are available.

Some quick bullet points :

- ticket at 1500 yen
- Unpublished work featured in Kaba 2 will also be on show.
- is a charity event with 30% of ticket proceeds to help the 3/11 quake victims.
- more to come.

In the meantime, check out the official website here. Also be sure to check out Otomo’s new art book Kaba 2.

Happy New Year 2012 From Halcyon Realms !

yonghow — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 09:08:43 +0000

Thank you for visiting Halcyon Realms the past year.

I hope everyone has found some of my posts interesting or helpful at one point or another. Discovered a new art book or artist. Stuff like that.

The fitting picture in the background shows the name of a sight-seeing cruise ship in Lake Saiko, where I visited in autumn this year. SUPER HAPPINESS !!

Posting will resume shortly after some moderated merry-making.

Here’s to a great 2012 ! :]

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The View From Totoro’s Cat Bus – Ghibli Museum Exhibition

yonghow — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 12:54:47 +0000

Besides loading up on some fantastic Totoro merchandize during my recent visit to the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, I was also lucky enough to catch the “View From Totoro’s Cat Bus” ( Neko Basu Kara Mita Fukei Ten ) exhibition that was on show. No photography was allowed inside the exhibition, but the exhibition booklet that was on sale has some excellent pictures.

The exhibition takes you through some exquisitely constructed live-sized sets of the most memorable scenes from select Ghibli films including My Neighbour Totoro, Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke and How’s Moving Castle.

(above) The exhibition poster at the main museum entrance. (below) Certainly the highlight of the exhibition has to be the gigantic, larger than life Cat Bus. There’s another Cat Bus on permanent display (meant strictly for kids though ) somewhere else in the museum, but this one is is actually big enough to sit adults.

(above and below) Familiar scenes from My Neighbour Totoro and Spirited Away.

(above) The exhibition booklet ( 600 Yen I think ), on sale only in Ghibli Museum. The exhibition will be on till May 2012, so if you’re planning a trip to Tokyo in the coming months you know where to be. :]

Go to the Official Ghibli Museum page here.

Taro and Sweet Potato Harvesting in Gunma

yonghow — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 15:15:59 +0000

Besides catching up on some of my favourite Japanese food during my Autumn vacation in Japan, I also had a great time hanging out with my good friends Takeshi and Ko-jima, whom I’ve known since 2004 when we shared an incredibly small, albeit cozy house in Meguro.

Takeshi’s parents are farmers in his hometown of Gunma, a perfecture north of Tokyo that is mainly agriculture in nature. ( its also where Mount Akagi is located – the winding roads up and down the mountain serve as the backdrop for many a drift sequence in the popular manga Initial D )

So today we took a drive from Sayama up to Gunma to help with the harvesting of Taro ( Satoimo ) and sweet potatoes ( Satsumaimo ), and the fruits of our hard labor will be the ingredients for our dinner that day. ( Nabe, or Japanese steamboat/hot pot ) Sweet !

(above) For a few brief and very short lived moment I felt kinda badass armed with that mini-sickle cutting down the thick Taro stems, but the fatigue quickly made short work of me. (below) Takeshi and the Leute Sisters ( a pair of siblings who run Cafe Leute near Takeshi+Ko-jima’s house in Sayama ) look on in a mixture of amusement and apprehension.

(above) Living in and around the Taro vegetation are numerous brightly colored froglings ( I totally coined that word myself ) frolicking on the leaves. ( below ) The sweet potatoes unearthed.

(above) Takeshi shows us how its properly done.

Will work for food !

(above) Kojima-chan was especially estatic, having been granted the permission to dorn the prestigious “Itou No.3″ (the yellow label – Itou is Takeshi’s family name) working uniform that elevates her farmer status above us ordinary folks. *laughs*

And dinner preparation is underway. With the exception of some small condiments of meat and Konjac, all the other vegetables that went into the hot pot was grown by Takeshi’s parents themselves.

And here’s a really educational video of how the entire harvesting process is done, shot and edited by Takeshi and Ko-jima. Nice !

Also visit Takeshi and Ko-jima’s fantastic blog Lionbus.

White Totoros from Mamma Aiuto ! Ghibli Museum Store

yonghow — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 16:26:38 +0000

A pair of white Totoros (made of either porcelain or ceramic, me thinks.) I procured from the Ghibli Museum store during my recent visit. Sorry, I couldn’t resist.

(above) I just realized they kinda look like urinals from the angle I shot it haha – but If I’m not mistaken these are for gardening use – the hole at the bottom is for water drainage. Correct me if I’m wrong. Love the little stump it has for a tail !

(above) From the Ghibli Museum gift shop Mamma Aiuto ! ( its Italian I believe ? What does it mean ? ) Keep your eyes peeled for them if you’re visiting soon – but there’ll be a million other things you’ll be itching to buy, actually.