Visiting Ghibli Museum

Fourteen years ago, I bought a pirated VCD of 

“My Neighbor Totoro”, a Japanese anime. 

I picked it because the cover was cute . 

Do not judge a book by its cover is not applied to movies, I thought. 

When I watched it, the anime really delivered the promise. 

More than cute, it was a beautiful . 

The story was simple yet moving, 

and the details was amazing. I loved it.

Two years later, a friend let me borrow his VCD of 

“Kiki’s Delivery Service”. 

His was an original one, not pirated version like my Totoro. 

Again, the movie was wonderful. I enjoyed watching Kiki, 

a little witch, zooming through the sky in her broomstick, 

long before Harry Potter rode his Nimbus 2000. 

That wonderful animation was made by Studio Ghibli, 

a Japanese animation company.

After I moved to USA, I became a full-fledged fan of Studio Ghibli. 

I can easily borrow the movies in the library 

or buy them at amazon ( dotcom not the jungle ). 

The Grave of Firefly was a tearjerker.

I emptied my Kleenex box while watching it. 

Whisper of the Heart made me nostalgic 

about the middle school years. 

Pom Poco and Porco Rosso were rather bizzare 

but still captivating. The list of the movies is still going on, 

I keep watching them again and again, also looking for their new ones. 

This summer, I finally able to visit Ghibli Museum, 

in Mitaka, a Tokyo suburb area. 

Thanks to God, hubby, Sandra, and Aoi

It's a dream come true.

The museum is very interesting. 

The building was a cheerful yellow with vegetation growing on the roof . 

Stained glass everywhere, depicting scenes 

from the many of the Ghibli movies.

The décor is rather Victorian era with Japanese cleanliness 

and touches of Ghibli’s cuteness

There is a cat- bus playground , from Totoro’s neko-bus. 

There is a display about a short history of animation. 

There is a moving reel display of a scene from Totoro 

but with figurines instead of drawing.  

Not to mention a replica of Mr. Hayao Miyazaki’s work room. 

It was very nice to be able to view where the master worked.

Hayao Miyazaki is a director of many of Ghibli’s movies. 

Different from Disney's where many brains contributes to the story 

and development of the movies, 

Studio Ghibli is mostly one man show. 

Mr. Miyazaki draws the storyboard, writes the script, 

creates the characters, and directs the movies. 

He was the driving force behind most Ghibli movies. 

My. Miyazaki has an interesting opinion which he stated in an interview with with David McNeill from the Indipendent

Humans face a basic choice between love or money, he believes. "A five-year-old understands that in a way an adult obsessed with the economy and share prices cannot. I make movies that can be understood by that five-year-old, and to bring out that purity of heart."

Kudos for him. Whenever I tried the creative endeavors, money unconsciously become the major concern or motives. Even, when I want to create something nice for my own family, I worry about money, while the Bible steers away from the thought of money.

Phillipians 4:8 says 

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, 

whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, 

whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable

—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—

think about such things.

I often forget that My Heavenly Father is rich beyond measures, 

full of kindness, wisdom and understanding. 

Visiting Ghibli Museum inspires me to be bold 

in expressing myself creatively without worrying about 

or being limited by money. 

It’s somehow ironic to learn that from a secular person 

like Mr. Hayao Miyazaki.