Special Exhibitions

Studio Ghibli films are renowned for depicting daily life in great detail. What often lingers in the memory of our viewers are scenes of food and meals.

Pazu and Sheeta sharing a fried egg on toast in Castle in the Sky...

Chihiro shedding tears of relief eating a rice ball received from Haku in Spirited Away...

Howl frying up bacon and eggs for Sophie, Markl and everyone in Howl's Moving Castle...

Fans can recall deep impressions of food and scenes of eating in Studio Ghibli films.
The foods that appear are not particularly special, appearing in our lives quite commonly. But their appearance in the films always has special meaning. Their hearts connect when Pazu and Sheeta share the same food. The courage to face her challenges blooms in Chihiro as she eats the rice ball. Around the dining table a family forms while everyone enjoys bacon and eggs in Howl's moving castle. Scenes of casual meals are infused with tremendous storytelling importance.
Achieving dramatic effect and creating delicious-looking meals and characters enjoying them - their expressions and gestures - comes from the power of finely detailed drawing. Food that is still warm, that looks soft and tender, with the wonderful flavor showing on the faces of those eating them - these scenes of meals are appealing and charming. No dialogue is needed to convey deliciousness and happiness.
This exhibition introduces how food can be drawn to appear even more delectable than the real thing, creating scenes of joy.

In the first room, "Scenes of Food" that remain in our memory are re-created, with art panels describing how to draw images that linger.
For example, how is the motion of Chihiro depicted when she is crying, her mouth full as she eats her rice ball? We show how that motion comes to life within the confines of only a few seconds on the screen.
The motions of eating - tearing off a bite with the teeth, using chopsticks - don't escape observation. At the dining table in the exhibition, we've got chopsticks ready, and everyone is invited to investigate carefully their own "motions of eating".
In the second room we present two life-size scenes of meals and food: Satsuki and Mei's kitchen in My Neighbor Totoro, and mess hall of the Tiger Moth in Castle in the Sky. Experience anew the worlds where Satsuki and Sheeta create culinary delights that put the grown-ups to shame!
Drawing food is drawing culture and history, requiring a variety of knowledge and curiosity to create rich film images. We've assembled some books we use to help us, and invite you to take a look.
We hope sincerely that you will come to understand the depth and richness of scenes of food that are full of life.