Ghibli Museum
Encyclopedia
is a museum
featuring the Japan
ese anime
work of Studio Ghibli
, and is located in Inokashira Park
in Mitaka, a western suburb of Tokyo
, Japan
.
The museum is a fine art
s museum, but does not take the concept of a usual fine arts museum. With many features that are child-oriented and a sprawling and occasionally mazelike interior, the museum is a playfully created place. Centered around the motto appearing on the museum's website , or 'let's lose our way together' as it is translated in the English leaflet. It has no set path or order of viewing. While the museum brochure contains a variety of languages, the signs within the museum are in Japanese only.
Hayao Miyazaki designed the museum himself, using drawn storyboards similar to the ones he makes for his films. The design was influenced by European architecture, such as the hilltop village of Calcata
in Italy
. Miyazaki's aim was to make the building itself part of the exhibit.
, with models of Ghibli characters, each in a slightly different pose, arranged in rings on a spinning table. A flickering stroboscope
flashes in time with the rotating models, illuminating each as it passes the same spot, creating an illusion of movement that shows how animation works.
On the first floor is a mock-up of an animation studio, with sketches, story boards, reference material and more to look at. Also shown is the process of creating an animated film, from sketches, storyboarding, keyframing, cleanup, coloring, background painting, etc.
Each guest to the museum is only permitted to watch the short film once during a single visit.
toy to play in. On the museum's roof there is a garden with a life-size statue of a robot from the final episode of Lupin III Part II and Castle in the Sky
.
convenience store ticket kiosks in Japan.
The museum is a 15 minute walk from Mitaka Station
. There is also a shuttle bus that goes from Mitaka Station to the museum. From Shinjuku Station
in Central Tokyo
it takes approximately 20 minutes to Mitaka Station on the JR
Chūō Main Line
.
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
featuring the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
work of Studio Ghibli
Studio Ghibli
is a Japanese animation and film studio founded in June 1985. The company's logo features the character Totoro from Hayao Miyazaki's film My Neighbor Totoro...
, and is located in Inokashira Park
Inokashira Park
straddles Musashino and Mitaka in western Tokyo, Japan.Inokashira Pond and the , established during the Edo period, are the primary sources of the Kanda River....
in Mitaka, a western suburb of Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
The museum is a fine art
Fine art
Fine art or the fine arts encompass art forms developed primarily for aesthetics and/or concept rather than practical application. Art is often a synonym for fine art, as employed in the term "art gallery"....
s museum, but does not take the concept of a usual fine arts museum. With many features that are child-oriented and a sprawling and occasionally mazelike interior, the museum is a playfully created place. Centered around the motto appearing on the museum's website , or 'let's lose our way together' as it is translated in the English leaflet. It has no set path or order of viewing. While the museum brochure contains a variety of languages, the signs within the museum are in Japanese only.
History
Planning for the museum began in 1998. Construction started in March 2000, and the museum officially opened October 1, 2001.Hayao Miyazaki designed the museum himself, using drawn storyboards similar to the ones he makes for his films. The design was influenced by European architecture, such as the hilltop village of Calcata
Calcata
Calcata is a comune and town in the Province of Viterbo in the Italian region Latium, located 47 km north of Rome by car, overlooking the valley of Treja river....
in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Miyazaki's aim was to make the building itself part of the exhibit.
Permanent exhibitions
On the bottom floor is an exhibit room showing the history and science of animation. One of the displays is a zoetropeZoetrope
A zoetrope is a device that produces an illusion of action from a rapid succession of static pictures. The term zoetrope is from the Greek words "ζωή – zoe", "life" and τρόπος – tropos, "turn". It may be taken to mean "wheel of life"....
, with models of Ghibli characters, each in a slightly different pose, arranged in rings on a spinning table. A flickering stroboscope
Stroboscope
A stroboscope, also known as a strobe, is an instrument used to make a cyclically moving object appear to be slow-moving, or stationary. The principle is used for the study of rotating, reciprocating, oscillating or vibrating objects...
flashes in time with the rotating models, illuminating each as it passes the same spot, creating an illusion of movement that shows how animation works.
On the first floor is a mock-up of an animation studio, with sketches, story boards, reference material and more to look at. Also shown is the process of creating an animated film, from sketches, storyboarding, keyframing, cleanup, coloring, background painting, etc.
Special exhibitions
In addition to Ghibli-oriented exhibitions, the museum hosts an area where it brings in other animation work.| Date | Exhibit |
|---|---|
| 2010-2011 | Ghibli Forest Movies — Welcome to Saturn Theater |
| 2009–2010 | Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea , initially titled in English as Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, is a 2008 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli. It is Miyazaki's eighth film for Ghibli, and his tenth overall... |
| 2008–2009 | Petit Louvre Louvre The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement... |
| 2007–2008 | , based on a picture book version by Leo Tolstoy Leo Tolstoy Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist... . Panda! Go, Panda! Panda! Go, Panda! is a Japanese animated film, first released in 1972. It was written and created by Hayao Miyazaki and directed by Isao Takahata, predating Studio Ghibli... , one of Miyazaki's and Isao Takahata Isao Takahata is a Japanese anime filmmaker that have earned critical international acclaim for his work as a director. Takahata is co-founder of Studio Ghibli with long-time collaborative partner Hayao Miyazaki. He has directed films such as the war-themed Grave of the Fireflies, the romantic-drama Only... 's early, pre-Ghibli films from 1972. |
| 2006–2007 | Aardman Studios, primarily focused on their work on Wallace and Gromit Wallace and Gromit Wallace and Gromit are the main characters in a series consisting of four British animated short films and a feature-length film by Nick Park of Aardman Animations... . |
| 2005–2006 | Heidi, Girl of the Alps Heidi, Girl of the Alps is a 1974 anime series by Zuiyo Enterprises based on the Swiss novel "Heidi's Years of Wandering and Learning" by Johanna Spyri . It was directed by Isao Takahata and features Yoichi Kotabe , Hayao Miyazaki .Heidi is one of several World Masterpiece Theater titles produced around the "classical... |
| 2004–2005 | Pixar Pixar Pixar Animation Studios, pronounced , is an American computer animation film studio based in Emeryville, California. The studio has earned 26 Academy Awards, seven Golden Globes, and three Grammy Awards, among many other awards and acknowledgments. Its films have made over $6.3 billion worldwide... Animation Studios |
| 2003–2004 | Works by the Russia Russia Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects... n animator Animator An animator is an artist who creates multiple images that give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence; the images are called frames and key frames. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, video games, and the internet. Usually, an... Yuri Norstein |
| 2002–2004 | Castle in the Sky Castle in the Sky All compositions by Joe Hisaishi.#"The Girl Who Fell from the Sky" – 2:27#"Morning in Slag Ravine" – 3:04#"A Fun Brawl " – 4:27#"Memories of Gondoa" – 2:46#"Discouraged Pazu" – 1:46#"Robot Soldier " – 2:34... and Imaginary Flying Machines |
| 2001–2002 | Spirited Away Spirited Away is a 2001 Japanese animated fantasy-adventure film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and produced by Studio Ghibli. The film tells the story of Chihiro Ogino, a sullen ten-year-old girl who, while moving to a new neighborhood and after her parents are transformed into pigs by the witch Yubaba,... |
Short films
The museum shows one of the following Ghibli short-films in the Saturn Theatre:Each guest to the museum is only permitted to watch the short film once during a single visit.
Other features
The museum also includes an animation bookstore, souvenir giftshop and a theme restaurant called The Straw Hat Cafe. There is also a playroom for children aged 12 and below with a giant catbusCatbus
The is a character in the Studio Ghibli film My Neighbor Totoro, directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It is a large creature, depicted as a grinning male cat with a hollow body that serves as a bus, complete with windows and seats coated with fur, and a large bushy tail...
toy to play in. On the museum's roof there is a garden with a life-size statue of a robot from the final episode of Lupin III Part II and Castle in the Sky
Castle in the Sky
All compositions by Joe Hisaishi.#"The Girl Who Fell from the Sky" – 2:27#"Morning in Slag Ravine" – 3:04#"A Fun Brawl " – 4:27#"Memories of Gondoa" – 2:46#"Discouraged Pazu" – 1:46#"Robot Soldier " – 2:34...
.
Tickets and access
The museum requires tickets be purchased in advance for a specific day, either from travel agencies outside Japan or LawsonLawson (store)
Lawson, Inc. is a convenience store franchise chain in Japan. The store originated in the U.S. State of Ohio, but today exists as a Japanese company and is the second largest convenience store chain in the country....
convenience store ticket kiosks in Japan.
The museum is a 15 minute walk from Mitaka Station
Mitaka Station
is a railway station in Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company .-Lines:Mitaka Station is served by the Chūō Main Line, acting as the terminus for all-stations Chūō-Sōbu Line services from , with Chūō Line limited stop services from...
. There is also a shuttle bus that goes from Mitaka Station to the museum. From Shinjuku Station
Shinjuku Station
is a train station located in Shinjuku and Shibuya wards in Tokyo, Japan.Serving as the main connecting hub for rail traffic between central Tokyo and its western suburbs on inter-city rail, commuter rail and metro lines, the station was used by an average of 3.64 million people per day in 2007,...
in Central Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
it takes approximately 20 minutes to Mitaka Station on the JR
East Japan Railway Company
is the largest passenger railway company in the world and one of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in Yoyogi, Shibuya, Tokyo....
Chūō Main Line
Chuo Main Line
The , commonly called the Chūō Line, is one of the major trunk railway lines in Japan. It runs between Tokyo and Nagoya, although it is the slowest direct railway connection between the two cities; the coastal Tōkaidō Main Line is slightly faster, while the Tōkaidō Shinkansen is the fastest rail...
.
External links
- Official website
- Ghibli Museum Facebook page
- Background information with photographs
- Tutorial: How to buy a ticket for the museum
- Information on some of the short films shown at the museum