Moomins enjoy enduring popularity in Japan on their 80th anniversary
The charming characters along with their diverse cast of companions from the series have captivated Japanese audiences for generations, appealing to both children and adults alike.
A Moomins-themed park that opened in 2019 in Hanno, Saitama Prefecture, attracts large crowds of visitors. Last year, the company managing Moomins-related licenses in Japan reported record-high sales, and the strong trend has continued into the current year.
The story of Moominvalley began in 1945 with Finnish author Tove Jansson's novel, "The Little Troll and the Big Flood." Since then, the Moomins and their friends have captured the hearts of readers around the world, not only through Jansson's books, but also through comic strips serialized in a British evening newspaper and popular anime adaptations, including those broadcast in Japan.
Even after Jansson's passing at the age of 86 in 2001, new anime inspired by her original works continue to be produced, ensuring that the magic of Moominvalley lives on for new generations.
Moominvalley Park in Hanno, located northwest of Tokyo, along with the adjacent Nordic lifestyle facility "metsa village," marked a combined total of 5 million visitors in January this year.
According to the operating company, visitor numbers have been steadily recovering since a decline during the COVID-19 pandemic. The complex now attracts a diverse range of guests, including many who are not dedicated Moomin fans.
This year, the Mori Arts Center Gallery in Roppongi, Tokyo, will host "Tove Jansson and the Moomins," an exhibition commemorating the 80th anniversary of the publication of the first Moomin novel. The exhibition will run for about two months from July 16. After its Tokyo debut, the exhibition will travel to various locations across Japan.
Moomin licensing in Japan is primarily managed by Tokyo-based Rights & Brands. According to company President Kumiko Ito, sales have been increasing steadily. "It's not just a temporary boom," Ito explained, suggesting that the Moomin stories "may resonate particularly well with the current era."
Demand for Moomin merchandise remains strong, and the number of official shops continues to grow. In May, a new Moomins-themed cafe opened in Tokyo's fashionable Omotesando district. Promotional collaborations with companies and other organizations are on the rise.
The values celebrated in Moomin tales, such as harmony with nature, acceptance of diversity and a focus on well-being, both physical and mental, strike a chord with audiences today, experts say.
Earlier this year, major paper manufacturer Oji Holdings announced a new initiative featuring the Moomin characters to promote the importance of forests. In addition, the company has incorporated Moomin designs into some of its tissue products.
For the past two years, major food company Calbee has featured Moomin characters in its advertising campaigns for potato snacks. The beloved characters also play a role in Calbee's product development and food education initiatives, helping the company communicate its commitment to environmental awareness.
Last year, Kitahiroshima, a city in Hokkaido entered into an agreement with Rights & Brands to leverage the popular Moomin brand for regional revitalization efforts. Key initiatives under the partnership include educational programs designed to nurture emotional growth, with a focus on local resources and nature-based experiences. Additionally, Kitahiroshima is promoting its unique local confectioneries as special gifts to donors participating in the hometown donation system for tax deductions.
Jansson grew up as part of Finland's Swedish-speaking minority, a community that made up less than 10% of the country's population. Also, as someone with a same-sex partner, she experienced life on the margins of mainstream society. Jansson began writing the Moomin novels in 1939, at a time when her homeland was being drawn into the turmoil of war.
Ito said, "At a time when it was difficult to have hope for the future, she created stories that depicted an ideal world, one that existed only in her mind and could not be touched by anyone else."
The stories "embody values that are especially important for our era, and they are often described as philosophical," she continued. "We hope that people will take the opportunity to experience these stories."
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Japan Times
a day ago
- Japan Times
‘Natasha' distills global zeitgeist on the opera stage
La mer. Das meer. The Sea. Out of the darkness, hushed voices mimic the murmur of waves, whispering the word for 'sea' in 36 different languages. This intricate cascade of sound is the start of 'Natasha,' a multilayered, multilingual opera that opens Aug. 11 at the New National Theatre, Tokyo (NNTT) in Shinjuku with four performances concluding on Aug. 17. On the liminal shore of a primordial sea, two displaced youths, Natasha and Arato, meet for the first time. They don't speak the same language, but they connect through shared suffering. Together, they embark on a journey through the hellish realities of the modern world, guided by Mephisto's grandson. Seven levels of hell unfold as they travel through environmental destruction, the blight of consumerism and the devastation of war, depicted through distinctly symbolic realms like a barren forest devoid of trees or a chaotic business hell with relentless industry. 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At New National Theatre, Tokyo's press conference in May, Tawada said it was her first libretto. | RIKIMARU HOTTA 'Natasha' is the third original Japanese opera to be commissioned by Ono for the NNTT, with an impressive team of crosscultural artistic collaborators behind it. It is also the first premiere in Japan of a full-length opera by acclaimed contemporary classical composer, Toshio Hosokawa, who received Europe's prestigious BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award for the "extraordinary reach of his music.' 'Natasha' is Hosokawa's eighth opera. Belgian soprano Ilse Eerens will originate the titular role, with Japanese mezzo-soprano Hiroka Yamashita as Arato and German baritone Christian Miedl as the trickster who acts as their guide. Ono first approached Hosokawa In 2019 about the new work. They soon brought on board award-winning novelist and playwright Yoko Tawada to write the libretto, and asked acclaimed German director, Christian Rath, to head up production and set design. The Berlin-based Tawada has frequently seen her plays staged in Germany and previously collaborated with Hosokawa on a narrator and ensemble musical piece for children, but 'Natasha' is her first libretto for opera. As she explained at a press conference in May, in Tokyo, it was an ongoing creative dialogue between Ono, Hosokawa and herself. 'With a novel, I usually write entirely alone and consult with no one,' said Tawada. 'But for this opera, we developed the story together from the beginning. We created a draft of the storyline, revised it, and then adapted it again. Through all these dialogues and revisions, the text was collaboratively shaped ... (it was) a unique and meaningful experience for me.' New National Theatre, Tokyo's artistic director Kazushi Ono (left) invited German director Christian Rath to head the production. | RIKIMARU HOTTA After reading Tawada's libretto and hearing parts of the score as Hosokawa completed various sections, Rath first sketched out the staging, working with his frequent collaborator, set designer Daniel Unger. 'Everybody has their own process, but I'm often starting from a visual idea,' Rath tells the Japan Times during a rehearsal in Tokyo. 'As a director, it is my goal to keep the identity of the piece intact, the original thoughts of the creators, yet also to reveal the story so the audience can relate. The music, visuals and staging must allow the audience to open the door and go into this world, to access it and understand it, at least emotionally.' Despite the emphasis on modern issues, Rath credits the 'nonlinear, poetic' libretto as allowing creative space for 'mystery and dream.' 'Tawada's style is surreal and dreamlike, so I think it allowed Hosokawa and certainly myself as a director more freedom to approach the work,' Rath says. 'There is a psychological and emotional logic within the opera that is much more important than actual reality. This piece presents a kind of duality between the spiritual and the real world that is very important to Hosokawa and Tawada, a search for an ideal, harmonious space that perhaps never existed, or existed before humanity itself.' It is a universal idea, Rath believes, merged with the distinctively Japanese concept of harmony, something Hosokawa also says was very important in the composition process. Belgian soprano Eerens plays Natasha, a role which sees her singing in both German and Ukrainian language. | RIKIMARU HOTTA Well-known for his distinctive fusion of Western aesthetics with Japanese classical traditions, Hosokawa cites many influences while working on the opera, from traditional shōmyō Buddhist chants or gagaku music to the writings of Toru Takemitsu and Kenzaburo Oe on the idea of creating a modern, 'polyverbal' opera. Hosokawa also composed with his choice of European and Japanese singers. 'I knew the main cast before composing, and I wrote with their voice ranges in mind,' Hosokawa explained at the press conference. Eerens frequently performs Hosokawa's work, including taking on the lead role in his 2011 critically acclaimed one act opera 'Matsukaze,' based on the noh play of the same name. 'You really feel the sense of collaboration, that Toshio has engaged himself with people he knows and trusts,' she tells The Japan Times during a break from rehearsals. Eerens says there's pressure, too, as 'the honor feels too big' to originate this demanding role, which sees her singing in both German and Ukrainian. Yet, sheer artistic excitement seems to be her strongest emotion. 'Natasha' is the third original Japanese opera to be commissioned by Ono for the NNTT, with an impressive team of crosscultural artistic collaborators behind it. | RIKIMARU HOTTA 'It feels like everything, the whole puzzle, came together from our very first rehearsal,' she continues, complimenting Yamashita and Miedl. 'It's so beautiful to sing with somebody where you really feel that the voices can find each other, and that you immediately adapt to each other's sounds. ... We're all really enjoying being here and starting the rehearsals together.' As opening night steadily approaches, a sense of achievement permeates the constant buzz of the rehearsal space, from Rath's presentation on the core features of the set design to Ono perfecting the timing with the chorus or the musicians as he finetunes Hosokawa's layered, complex soundscape. 'Every new work is a challenge, a risk, a journey into the unknown in some way,' Rath says. 'As creators, we must follow our instincts for expression. In the case of 'Natasha,' the message is quite strong, as it relates directly to the world we're living in, the state of humanity now, in our times.' For more information about 'Natasha,' visit
NHK
2 days ago
- NHK
Sony Group posts record net profit, sales for Apr.-Jun. quarter
Sony Group has posted record net profit and sales for the April-to-June quarter due to brisk sales of video game titles and solid demand in the semiconductor business. The Japanese technology and entertainment giant says net income stood at 259 billion yen or 1.76 billion dollars, a jump of 23.3 percent from a year earlier. Sales were 2.62 trillion yen, up 2.2 percent. Sony has adjusted its full fiscal year figures to reflect the 15-percent tariff agreed between Japan and the US. It now expects the levy will result in a cut of operating income by 475 million dollars. The company revised upward its annual net profit forecast to 6.58 billion dollars, while maintaining its sales projection.
Japan Times
2 days ago
- Japan Times
Futuristic mermaid tale ‘ChaO' makes a splash
Unlikely romances between humans and mermaids have been the basis for several anime films, like Hayao Miyazaki's 'Ponyo' and Masaaki Yuasa's 'Lu Over the Wall.' Now, Hans Christian Andersen's 'Little Mermaid' tale gets its latest animated spin in 'ChaO,' a new film from Studio 4°C that opens in Japan Aug. 15 after premiering in June at the Annecy International Film Festival in France, where it won the Jury Award. The romantic comedy takes place in a near-future Shanghai where humans live in relative peace alongside the merpeople who populate the city's canals and surrounding seas. Its protagonist is Stephan (voiced by Ouji Suzuka), a mild-mannered engineer who works at the city's top manufacturer of maritime vessels. One day, Stephan meets a mermaid princess named Chao (Anna Yamada), who is instantly smitten with Stephan, claiming they've met before, though he has no idea what she's talking about. Sensing a public relations coup for his company (a shipbuilder married to the daughter of a mer-king!), Stephan's boss (Ryota Yamasato) pushes his young employee to marry Chao. Even though he grumbles about the need to wed 'a talking fish,' the meek Stephan nonetheless goes through with the nuptials. The unlikely pair then begin a crosscultural coupling that brings challenges as Chao navigates life above the sea and Stephan slowly unlocks the repressed memories of when he first met his bride. 'ChaO' was directed by Yasuhiro Aoki, 56, a veteran animator and director of episodes of properties like 'Batman: Gotham Knight' and 'Tweeny Witches' in his feature film debut. For 'ChaO,' which took nine years from conception to release, Aoki was tasked by Studio 4°C producer Eiko Tanaka ('Tekkon Kinkreet,' 'Children of the Sea') to create a 'totally new' original anime film. Aoki tells The Japan Times that part of achieving that remit came in imbuing the film with a high level of visual density. Each frame is packed from corner to corner with intricate backgrounds, characters and objects with multiple blink-and-you'll-miss-it sight gags made to reward repeat viewings. Zooming out to allow for that kind of extra visual information was one of Aoki's primary goals. 'In a live-action film, you can have actors here and there across the frame doing all kinds of things, whereas anime tends to focus the camera only on what's essential to move the plot forward, on the character who's speaking, for example,' Aoki says. 'I wanted to avoid that tendency.' Proof of the film's visual spectacle is the number of frames drawn by its animators. The average anime film is said to be made up of about 30,000 to 40,000 hand-drawn frames, but 'ChaO' has over 100,000. 'That was many more frames than we anticipated,' says Aoki with a laugh. 'The truth is, with all the detail I was trying to pack in, the animators and I got excited about what we were trying to do, and we somehow ended up with over 100,000.' As the credits roll, the film gives the audience a peek behind the scenes and pays tribute to the hard work of those animators by showing how some key shots looked before they were colored and composited. 'We're entering an era where things like CG and AI are on their way in and hand-drawn animation is on its way out,' says Aoki. 'Since we're on the precipice of that change in eras, the ending sequence functions as proof that our film is drawn by hand. Ultimately, I think what humans like best is art made by other humans. AI may be gaining attention, but I think we want to watch things made by people.' Veteran animator and director Yasuhiro Aoki (center) premiered his film 'ChaO' in June at the Annecy International Film Festival in France, where it won the Jury Award. | Studio 4°C Speaking of people, another element that brings the vibrant look of 'ChaO' to life are its various characters. Created by the director and refined by character designer Hirokazu Kojima, each of the film's characters look totally different from each other but all share a sketchy, cartoony fluidity as they careen across the screen. 'I started my career in anime about 30 years ago, when the industry was starting to concentrate on anime with a lot of realism to appeal to adults,' says Aoki. 'I've done a lot of realist animation and enjoy drawing it, but for 'ChaO,' I wanted to try something you couldn't do in live-action filmmaking, something that might give live-action filmmakers a pang of jealousy. That's why the film has characters of all shapes and sizes: round, thin, tiny, large. Animation offers total freedom, after all.' Not only do the film's distinctive characters give it visual appeal, they also help fill out its expansive, zoomed-out worldview. Aoki and his team spent a lot of time making sure that even minor characters, from Stephan's inventor roommate Roberta (Yuichiro Umehara) to Chao's guide to the human world Maibei (Kavka Shishido), would be memorable even with limited screen time. 'Stephan and Chao are the main characters, so naturally we spend the most time with them,' explains Aoki. 'At the same time, Stephan is the most straightlaced, normal one among them. In contrast, we gave the minor characters enough zest to make the audience think they could be main characters in their own right. In that way, they end up leaving a lasting impression. We created all the characters to be loved even if they only appear briefly. I wanted audiences to wonder about what those characters were doing even when they weren't on screen.' Studio 4°C tasked Aoki with creating a 'totally new' original anime film, which meant imbuing 'ChaO' with a high level of visual density. | © 2025 'ChaO' Committee Another of the film's unique elements is its setting, Shanghai, a place not often seen in Japanese animation. The choice was partially inspired by China's explosive economic growth at the time the project was first conceived. 'When we visited, it felt very futuristic, but there was a lot of 'old China' left too,' says the director. 'That contrast was interesting, as was the speed of modernization. It had an atmosphere I had never felt in Japan, even though they're both Asian countries, so that made it a very interesting place for the setting of our film.' In recent years, anime has dominated the Japanese box office, and 2025 is no exception. But while franchise-based properties like 'Demon Slayer' and 'Detective Conan' are surefire hits, anime films based on original screenplays like 'ChaO' aren't guaranteed to make the same splash. Still, Aoki tried not to worry too much about box-office considerations while making his film. 'Filmmaking is a business, and everyone wants a hit, but I think every creator wants to try their hand at an original at least once,' Aoki says. 'I also think that viewers want to find something they can call their own. I have a feeling that more than big franchise hits, originals are the films that really live on in people's hearts.' 'ChaO' opens in cinemas nationwide from Aug. 15. For more information, visit (Japanese only).
