The Mainichi News Quiz: Why's she called the 'Expo lady'?
How closely have you been following events in Japan? Try The Mainichi News Quiz for June 5 to test your news knowledge. Ready?
Why has Tomiyo Yamada, nicknamed "Expo lady," made headlines at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai?
A) She designed the official Expo mascot.
B) She visited every pavilion in just 46 consecutive days.
C) She works as the oldest volunteer at the Expo.
D) She introduced traditional Aichi cuisine at the Expo.
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Japan Times
a day ago
- Japan Times
Studio Ghibli marks 40 years, but future looks uncertain
Japan's Studio Ghibli turns 40 this month with two Oscars and legions of fans young and old won over by its complex plots and fantastical hand-drawn animation. But the future is uncertain, with latest hit "The Boy and the Heron" likely — but not certainly — the final feature from celebrated co-founder Hayao Miyazaki, now 84. In March, the internet was flooded with pictures in Studio Ghibli's distinctively nostalgic style after the release of OpenAI's newest image generator — raising questions over copyright. The studio behind the Oscar-winning "Spirited Away" has become a cultural phenomenon since Miyazaki and the late Isao Takahata — he passed away in 2018 — established it in 1985. Its popularity has been fueled of late by a second Academy Award in 2024 for "The Boy and the Heron," starring Robert Pattinson, and by Netflix streaming Ghibli movies around the world. The newly opened Ghibli Park has also become a major tourist draw for central Japan's Aichi region. In addition to its museum in Mitaka, Tokyo, Studio Ghibli opened a theme park in Aichi Prefecture, in November 2022. | Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP-JIJI Julia Santilli, a 26-year-old from Britain living in northern Japan, "fell in love with Ghibli" after watching the 2001 classic "Spirited Away" as a child. "I started collecting all the DVDs," she says. Ghibli stories are "very engaging and the artwork is stunning," says another fan, Margot Divall, 26. "I probably watch 'Spirited Away' about 10 times a year, still." Before Ghibli, most cartoons in Japan — known as anime — were made for children. But Miyazaki and Takahata, both from "the generation that knew war," included darker elements that appeal to adults, Miyazaki's son Goro says. "It's not all sweet — there's also a bitterness and things like that which are beautifully intertwined in the work," he adds, describing a "whiff of death" in the films. For younger people who grew up in time of peace, "it is impossible to create something with the same sense, approach and attitude," Goro says. Even "My Neighbor Totoro," with its cuddly forest creatures, is in some ways a "scary" movie that explores the fear of losing a sick mother, he explains. Susan Napier, a professor at Tufts University in the United States and author of "Miyazakiworld: A Life in Art," agrees. "In Ghibli, you have ambiguity, complexity and also a willingness to see that the darkness and light often go together" unlike good-versus-evil U.S. cartoons, she says. Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki, now 84, has stepped back a few times before returning with "The Boy and the Heron" which is likely to be his final feature. | AFP-JIJI The post-apocalyptic "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind" — considered the first Ghibli film despite its release in 1984 — has no obvious villain, for example. Featuring an independent princess curious about giant insects and a poisonous forest, the film felt "so fresh" and a change from "a passive woman... having to be rescued," Napier says. Studio Ghibli films also depict a universe where humans connect deeply with nature and the spirit world. A case in point was 1997's "Princess Mononoke," distributed internationally by Disney. The tale of a girl raised by a wolf goddess in a forest threatened by humans is "a masterpiece — but a hard movie," Napier says. It's a "serious, dark and violent" film appreciated more by adults, which "was not what U.S. audiences had anticipated with a movie about a princess. "Ghibli films "have an environmentalist and animistic side, which I think is very appropriate for the contemporary world with climate change," Napier adds. Miyuki Yonemura, a professor at Japan's Senshu University who studies cultural theories on animation, says watching Ghibli movies is like reading literature. "That's why some children watch 'My Neighbor Totoro' 40 times," she says, adding that audiences "discover something new every time." With Takahata studying French literature at university and Miyazaki also reading voraciously, there are naturally French literature influences in Ghibli's works. | Thomas SAMSON / AFP-JIJI Miyazaki and Takahata could create imaginative worlds because of their openness to other cultures, Yonemura says. Foreign influences include writer Antoine de Saint-Exupery and animator Paul Grimault, both French, and Canadian artist Frederic Back, who won an Oscar for his animation "The Man Who Planted Trees." Takahata studying French literature at university "was a big factor," Yonemura says. "Both Miyazaki and Takahata read a lot," she adds. "That's a big reason why they excel at writing scripts and creating stories." Miyazaki has said he was inspired by several books for "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind," including the 12th-century Japanese tale "The Lady who Loved Insects," and Greek mythology. Studio Ghibli will not be the same after Miyazaki stops creating animation, "unless similar talent emerges," Yonemura says. Miyazaki is "a fantastic artist with such a visual imagination," while both he and Takahata were "politically progressive," Napier says. "The more I study, the more I realize this was a unique cultural moment," she says. "It's so widely loved that I think it will carry on," says Ghibli fan Divall. "As long as it doesn't lose its beauty, as long as it carries on the amount of effort, care and love," she adds. Studio Ghibli has offices in western Tokyo. | AFP-JIJI Studio Ghibli's heavy hitters Here are the studio's top five films that have delighted fans over the decades: "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind" (1984) Studio Ghibli was founded in 1985, but this post-apocalyptic story featuring a young, independent princess curious about giant insects is considered its first film. It was based on a comic-strip series that Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki wrote for a magazine targeted at anime fans. Set 1,000 years after a war that destroyed human civilization, the story takes place in a valley protected from toxic air emitted from poisonous forests. Miyazaki won critical acclaim and a cult following for the film about Nausicaa, who discovers the forests' secrets after getting embroiled in conflicts between countries trying to revive a lethal "giant warrior." "My Neighbor Totoro" (1988) This beloved Ghibli classic is set in the 1950s Japanese countryside where two young sisters with a sick mother move from the city. They encounter the cuddly yet mysterious forest spirit Totoro and Catbus, a 12-legged grinning cat with a hollow body in the form of a bus — two characters who have since become worldwide-known Studio Ghibli mascots. The film was also turned into a play for the first time by Britain's Royal Shakespeare Company in 2022. "Princess Mononoke" (1997) The tale of a girl raised by a wolf goddess in a forest threatened by humans was a smash hit in Japan and raised Miyazaki's profile internationally. A young prince on a journey to find a cure for his curse meets San, also known as Princess Mononoke — meaning a spirit or monster in Japanese. The prince sets out to find ways to avoid wars between destructive humans and animal gods, centered around the ultimate god which is nature itself. "Spirited Away" (2001) Miyazaki won his first Oscar with this film about a girl who gets lost in a mystical world of gods and spirits where she tries to save her parents, who are turned into pigs. In order to survive, 10-year-old Chihiro is told by a mysterious boy to get a job at an enormous Japanese bathhouse run by a witch. In a story infused with Japanese beliefs and traditions, Chihiro gains confidence through her work and solves the boy's curse before rescuing her parents. "The Boy and the Heron" (2023) Miyazaki's second Oscar-winning film — and likely the 84-year-old's last feature — follows a boy struggling to accept his new life after his mother dies in the haunting fire-bombing of Tokyo during World War II. Everything changes when he meets a talking heron and embarks on a journey to an alternate universe, shared by the living and the dead, to find his missing stepmother. In a documentary, Miyazaki, visibly affected by the 2018 death of Ghibli co-founder Isao Takahata, said the pair had had a "love-hate relationship" and that he had based the character of the grand-uncle on him.
Kyodo News
2 days ago
- Kyodo News
"pixiv" Arrives at "Animate Osaka/Kansai Expo Store" POP-UP Space from June 20th! Featuring Award-Winning Artwork Exhibitions and Sales of Art Books and Related Merchandise!
By Koji Uchida, Animate Times - 13 minutes ago - 14:33 | All The 6th POP-UP event, "Create, Connect, pixiv Exhibition", will be held from Friday, June 20th to Thursday, July 3rd at the "Animate Osaka/Kansai Expo Store" located on the first floor of the West Ringside Marketplace in the West Gate Zone of the 2025 World Exposition site in Osaka. This exhibition showcases the appeal of pixiv, which continues to evolve as the "hub of creative culture", and introduces various initiatives implemented both domestically and internationally. There's also an interactive corner where visitors can draw illustrations on wooden plaques (ema) and display them. Furthermore, the venue will offer pixiv-supervised art books from the "VISIONS" series, art collections from the "ARTISTS IN" series featuring globally active creators, and other pixiv-related merchandise for sale. Visitors who download the pixiv app will receive an original pixiv sticker on a first-come, first-served basis, so be sure to check that out as well. Stay tuned for more information about the POP-UP space and other updates on the "Animate Osaka/Kansai Expo Store" official website and social media channels. POP-UP Information Create, Connect, pixiv Exhibition [Duration] Friday, June 20, 2025 - Thursday, July 3, 2025 [Special Offer] Visitors who download the pixiv app will receive an original pixiv sticker (while supplies last). *On July 3rd (Thursday), the POP-UP space will close at 18:00. Product Information NYART BOOK 1,540 yen (tax included) Acrylic Keychains 900 yen each (tax included), 22 varieties Clear File Sets 1,200 yen each (tax included), 11 types (2 files per set) Acrylic Keychain（New tarou2 products） 990 yen (tax included) Smartphone Sticker（New tarou2 products） 600 yen (tax included) Photo-style Card（New tarou2 products） 600 yen (tax included) 25mm Can Badge（New tarou2 products） 550 yen (tax included) *Please note that content may be subject to change, postponement, or cancellation due to various circumstances. Store Information Animate Osaka/Kansai Expo Store (animate EXPO 2025 STORE) Duration : Sunday, April 13, 2025 - Monday, October 13, 2025 (Public Holiday) Location : Yumeshima, Osaka West Gate Zone, West Ringside Marketplace 1F Business Hours : 9:00 - 21:00 Related Links ■"Animate Osaka/Kansai Expo Store" Official Website ■"Animate Osaka/Kansai Expo Store" Official X (Twitter) ■"Animate" Official Website ■"Osaka/Kansai Expo" Official Website
SoraNews24
3 days ago
- SoraNews24
Osaka granny idol group Obachaaan is here to cheer you up in newest song 'Overpower'
When life gives you lemons, these Osaka obachan are here to 'give you that power.' Osaka's self-proclaimed oldest idol group, Obachaaan, released its first new song in six years this spring. With the average age of the members being over 70 years old, the group's name is a nod to the Japanese word for an older woman. The group originally formed 12 years ago, releasing its debut song 'Obachaan Theme' and dropping new bops every few years, often with an eye towards helping the community. In true Osaka fashion, the members wear flashy, animal-print shirts, sprinkle in words in the Osaka dialect, and move with a powerful flair, not letting age get in the way of their ambitions. The uptempo new song titled 'Overpower' is a song of empowerment which also incorporates a pun in the way that the word is pronounced in Japanese–'obapawaa,' which sounds like 'oba power.' As the group's first official release since the COVID pandemic, layered with general anxiety about the state of the world, rising prices in Japan, and so on, this time the members wanted to dispense words of encouragement (along with free candy) such as 'overcome every storm with a smile' in the lyrics. 77-year-old Eiko Funai, the main visual granny in the group with her trademark red waist scarf, shared, 'It's a song that can give anyone strength. We hope that you listen to this song when you feel down and cheer up.' Adding to that sentiment is producer Yusuku Hiza, who said, 'I thought that we need meddling and nagging old women like them in today's age.' ▼ 'Overpower' official music video Just check out this powerful earworm of a chorus, which you should repeat to yourself whenever you're feeling a bit blue: 'Overpower Obachaaan power Overpower We give you that power Overpower From Osaka Overpower Over the world' Another fun piece of trivia is that the dance moves for 'Overpower' were choreographed by Osaka-native Akane, the genius behind the famous Tomioka High School Dance Club's 'bubbly dance.' The music video is super fun as well, incorporating visual effects such as Eiko essentially making a Dragon Ball -style Spirit Bomb heart and a background of exploding rocks at one point (just in case you still needed convincing that the ladies are here to rock your world). While the release of a new song was long overdue in our book, Obachaaan is also being strategic with its timing since the 2025 World Expo is currently taking place in Osaka. In the words of the members, while the Expo ('banpaku') is great and all, they also hope that there will be an opportunity for them to perform at the 'obanpaku'–another pun on 'obachan.' We can only hope that the Expo organizers will take the hint so that the world can be showered with 'obachaaan power.' Source: Yomiuri Shimbun Top image: YouTube/オバチャーン Obachaaan Osaka granny idol group ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
