Many Many Miffy Premium

About once a year, a Tokyo department store uses some reason or other to host a Miffy exhibit. I last went to one around 10 years ago which coincided with the 45th anniversary of the creation of Miffy. It tracked creator Dick Bruna's career, from his start in graphic design and creating covers for 007 books.

 

The latest exhibit (titled Many Many Miffy Premium), which was held in Seibu Ikebukuro from December 15 to 25, was much smaller in scale. The twist this time was a sneak peek of the upcoming Miffy the Movie, to be released in spring 2013 in Japan. The film was produced by production companies in the Netherlands. (Miffy is a Dutch creation.) 

You might be curious as to what a Miffy film would look like. Being familiar with only stationary 2D pictures of Miffy, I found the idea of a 2D Miffy film a bit unnerving. (Though in reality, a 2D TV series was produced in the early 1990s.)  A stop-motion series was produced in 2003, and the new Miffy film uses the same techniques, with stop-motion puppet animation carried out by an animation studio in Latvia. Trailers can be seen here.   

Unusual for an exhibit, photographs were allowed, which meant it was one huge photo op for the people that love Miffy -- not so much little kids but adult women.

 

Miffy rendered in various forms, for example, using Legos...

...a Miffy hat, interpreted by a Japanese artist...

...a Miffy Christmas tree...

  

 

...and the most impressive, a heavily marzipan-ed Miffy cake. Children always gripe about how difficult it is to draw Miffy (you can never seem to get the proportions of the face and the x mouth right), and I found it amusing that the decorator had gotten the trees, the house, and Miffy's friends right, but Miffy herself looked a bit too oval in the face.

 

The cake from the side. Even if you cannot work up any interest in Miffy, you have to appreciate the attention to detail.

The Path to Tokyo Station

I often walk to Tokyo Station after walking around the Yurakucho area, passing the Tokyo International Forum on the way. 

Each time I pass, I see something new: orchids planted under the trees, an antiques fair, teenage girls lined up to get into a concert. The other day, I saw this contraption, casting yellow and green shapes onto the ground.

Inside, a light was traveling up and down.

I didn't see any sign that explained what this installation was and who it was by, but I expect that the next time I pass through, it will no longer be there.

Elements of Fall in Macro

Kyu-Furukawa Gardens again. This was one of the few trees inside the garden that were still red.

Walking through a park around 3:30 pm in winter in Japan will result in light like this.

 

A fallen acorn, with branch and wrapper still intact.

The following photos were taken outside of the official gardens, but still within the parks property. Because the sun does not hit the area as much, the leaves here were actually reaching their prettiest stage.

 

I like how these momiji leaves crumple up as they dry out. The resulting shapes are still beautiful.

 

Old roof shingles had been piled up next to a heap of leaves.

Plain ol' leaves, turned an incandescent yellow by the setting sun. They look like lanterns!

I had never noticed green acorns before. 

East Meets West at Kyu-Furukawa Gardens

Kyu-Furukawa Teien (literally "Former Furukawa Gardens"), several minutes' walk from Komagome Station. It was once the property of Meiji statesman and diplomat Mutsu Munemitsu, but was passed on to the Furukawa conglomerate after his second son married into the Furukawa family.

The Western-style house and rose garden were built in 1917 by British architect Josiah Condor. After World War II, the house was used by the British Embassy. It opened as a public park in 1956, but the Western-style house was in disrepair until the 1980s, when reconstruction efforts began.

It was somewhat unexpected to encounter a rose garden in a park that has a substantial Japanese garden section. Only one bush was in bloom, and the best time to view them is between May and June. There were roses named after Charles de Gaulle, Princess Diana, and Catherine Deneuve, among others.

Rose motifs figured into the Western-style area.

Once you go down a path, though, the rest is a traditional Japanese garden. The leaves had shed about a week ago, and even the leaves on the ground had shed some of their vibrancy.

Yukitsuri-ed trees.

A view from inside.

Uber komomaki-ed trees. They resemble Hattifatteners -- the ghost characters in Moomin Valley.

Foliage by Night

 

This fall/winter, I went out of my way to visit parks, gardens and shrines during foliage season. There are websites that track the color of leaves in Japan, but the information can sometimes be misleading. Some of the parks I visited in hopes of seeing foliage were in reality far from reaching that truly beautiful stage.

One of the most special places I visited was Takuzosu Inari Shrine, which I have visited a couple of times before. For a certain period, the shrine and the temple right next to it was lit up at night so passersby could appreciate the spectacular leaves.

 

Unfortunately, I went too late at night (past 11 pm), and the lights had already been turned off. The only lights were the large security lamps that would flicker off after 30 seconds. (The moonlight made the foxes on the temple quite visible.)

After a bit of rooting around, we located a couple of large cables and an outlet, and managed to re-light the trees. As it the sky was pitch black, it served as a perfect backdrop to view the trees. I'd never before appreciated just how three-dimensional a tree is. When the sky is a matte black you can see how branches do not overlap with one another; they unfurl in great layers of color.

 

Near the shrine: the Japan Shiatsu College, with no shortage of statues featuring thumbs. 

High School Festival, Part 2

At the annual school festival for a private all-girls junior high/high school in Tokyo. Each class and club held either an exhibit or stage show, and prospective students and their parents, current students and family, and random friends were invited. The festival serves as an introduction to the school, but the focus is less on showcasing the academic prowess of the school, but on establishing a fun atmosphere (and showing off how beautiful the campus is). Hence, the oversize game of Jenga that one class had created. . 

These decorations are for the English Club, I believe. You can tell a lot about the teacher by the inclusion of Beavis and Butthead.

The koto harp club was one of my favorites. Even if you know the sound of koto, you develop a different level of appreciation for it when you can actually see it being played before your eyes. The hand movements were very intricate.

The music sheet, which consists of kanji and lines. I was almost shocked to see that it contained no musical notes, but then why would it?

Origami decorations strung at the entrance of the classroom.

Unloved library books were on sale for probably 1/300 their value.

For two hundred yen, you could make your own flower arrangement.

I was actually quite proud of mine, but apparently it did not incorporate some basic concepts of flower-arranging.

The calligraphy club. This was a large scroll that was about four feet long.

High School Festival, Part 1

A while ago, I went to an all-girl junior high/high school's fall festival. Many events were held at the school's chapel, a gorgeous arena-like space used for morning services.

The second floor, with the organ to the left.

I wonder what would happen to these lights in an earthquake.

For one of the elective courses, the girls made wedding dresses and put on a show, resulting in Bieber-level screams from the audience. Pros: seeing some genuinely creative wedding dresses that perfectly conveyed the girl's personality and seeing the routines the girls put together. Cons: seventeen-year-old girls aspiring to be brides and princesses.

The "bride" and "groom" suddenly brought out instruments and started performing. I love how each girl got a moment to showcase their individuality, and they all rose to the occasion.

The school orchestra played the theme song from My Neighbor Totoro, with big Totoro and little Totoros and the little black soot balls making an appearance. The orchestra's set was full of lovely touches like this.

Haunted Mansion or Vintage Shop?

When I first saw this building on Saint Laurent Boulevard in Montreal, I was convinced that it was an abandoned building that had been used to throw a Halloween party.

I mean, look at this: references to the end of the world...

...Michael Jackson and baby...

...drunken Santa...

...and an ad for The Rocky Horror Picture show.

But then I googled eva-b.ca and found out it is actually a famous vintage shop. Turns out, "we buy all your clothes immediately after selection" is actually to be taken seriously.