Kyoto museum’s ”Ghibli for grown-ups” event collaborates with three Kyoto Zen temples.
Temple architecture and anime artwork are both undeniable expressions of Japanese aesthetic sensibilities. Many would say that some of the finest examples of the former can be found in Kyoto, and the latter within the films of Studio Ghibli, and this fall JR Central is offering something special for fans who enjoy both.
The Kyoto City Kyocera Museum of Art is getting ready to open its Zen and Ghibli exhibition in October. This first-of-its-kind event is “an immersive exhibition exploring Zen through the works of Studio Ghibli,” drawing from a book of the same title written by veteran Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki. The museum says that “Ghibli films often embody a worldview that does not divide good and evil, leaves space instead of rushing to answers, and embraces the attitude of ‘accepting without fully understanding.’ This resonates deeply with the Zen principles of ‘not dividing,’ ‘not judging,’ and ‘seeing things as they are,’” and the exhibit is structured around The Boy and the Heron, arguably Ghibli’s most open-to-interpretation anime ever, in particular.
▼ The poster for Zen and Ghibli, which the museum is also promoting as “Ghibli-for grown-ups,” features a line of The Boy and the Heron’ s floating warara creatures.
At-the-door admission is 1,900 yen (US$12), but getting your ticket in advance via JR Central’s EX ticketing service will save you 300 yen if you book by October 2, and it’ll still save you 100 yen after that date. More importantly, though, booking through EX will get you some beautiful Ghibli/Kyoto collaborative artwork in the form of goshuin papers.
Goshuin are stamped certificates provided at temples in Japan, certifying the bearer’s visit and said to bestow blessings upon them. They also look really cool, and many travelers enjoy them as a culturally artistic way of commemorating that part of their journey. In the most basic arrangement, the goshuin is transferred onto plain white paper, but the JR Central-reserved Zen and Ghibli ticket includes Ghibli-themed goshuin papers to be used at three famous Kyoto temples. Pictured above is the paper to be used at Shokokuji Temple, with Totoro flying above the temple’s main hall, and there are also papers for Nanzenji and Myoshinji Temples.
▼ The Nanzenji paper features Porco Rosso protagonist Porco.
▼ The Myoshinji paper has who appears to be Howl’s Moving Castle’s Howl in his avian form, but with a bit of a simian touch.
▼ Maybe it’s meant as a nod to “Withered Trees and Monkeys,” a famous work by 16th/17th-century painter Hasegawa Tohaku which has been in Myoshinji’s collection of artwork.
The goshuin papers start off with their left halves blank, as the stamps are to be added upon visiting the respective temples. Alternatively, if you’re a hybrid Ghilbi/goshuin enthusiast who wants something more substantial to be stamped, JR Central is also offering a package with a Zen and Ghibli admission ticket and a goshuin book, with multiple blank pages inside, a front cover illustrated with the adorable warawara, and Princess Mononoke’s San on the back.
Note that while admission to the Zen and Ghibli exhibit is included in the JR Central packages, admission to the three associated temples is separate, as are the fees for the goshuin stamp to be applied.
The packages can be reserved now through the EX website here, with the museum ticket/goshuin papers set 1,600 yen and the ticket/goshuin book bundle 3,300 yen until October 2, and the prices for both going up by 200 yen after that. Zen and Ghibli is scheduled to run from October 3 to December 6, but the goshuin papers/book can be used after the exhibition closes as well.
Source: PR Times (1, 2), Kyoto City Kyosera Museum of Art, Zen and Ghibli official website
Top image: PR Times
Insert images: PR Times (1, 2)
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