A famous scene from Studio Ghibli’s Howl’s Moving Castle is transformed into a giant tapestry

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A breathtaking Howl’s Moving Castle A tapestry titled “Castle at Dusk,” taken from an iconic early scene from Studio Ghibli’s film, has made its way to Japan. The image shows the sometimes mechanical but mostly magical castle sprawling across the hills of Ingary, with an aged Sophie and Turniphead taking in its sheer size below them.

According to PR Times, the Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum has temporarily taken over the large Howl’s Moving Castle Castle at Dusk Tapestry on display in the museum lobby. The tapestry depicts an early moment in the film where Sophie, now aged thanks to a curse placed on her by the Witch of the Desert, arrives at Howl’s castle, where she decides to hop in to warm up a bit and make herself useful by becoming the abandoned castle’s cleaner, setting the events of the film in motion.

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Studio Ghibli works with French artists on the continuation of the tapestry series

The tapestry’s special exhibition coincides with the museum’s Friday Road Show and Ghibli Exhibition, which began on July 2, 2024 and will run until September 25, 2025, after which the artwork will return to France. Measuring five meters in both height and width, the enormous tapestry easily outshines representatives from Studio Ghibli, the Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum, and the artisans of Aubusson. Admission to the exhibition is free.

It may surprise many that the tapestry is not a native Japanese artwork, but a Chinese-European cultural collaboration between Studio Ghibli and the Centre International de la Tapisserie Aubusson in France. The partnership came about when the center contacted the famous animation studio in hopes of producing tapestries based on Miyazaki’s most popular works, titled The fantasy of Hayao Miyazaki on Aubusson carpets Series. A partnership has been formed between the Cruese Museum and Studio Ghibli to create four or five works utilizing the skills of artisans from Aubusson, France.

In January 2023, the Cruese Museum unveiled its tapestry, “The Banquet of the Faceless,” based on a scene from the Oscar-winning film Spirited AwayThe 7.5-meter-long and 3-meter-high tapestry depicts a chaotic scene in which the protagonist Chihiro fends off her mute companion No-Face, who has succumbed to the gluttony that reigns in the bathhouse where she works.

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“My Neighbor Totoro,” “Nausicaä” and others will also become new French works of art

The collaboration between the French artists and Studio Ghibli has so far produced four extensive and detailed tapestries, but Howl’s Moving Castle was the only one to make it to mainland Japan. Aubusson tapestries are registered as intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO and the Aubusson International Tapestry Center was established to preserve this unique type of textile craftsmanship. Speaking of the collaboration, Shinsuke Nonaka, managing director of Studio Ghibli, said: “It is intricate but has the warmth that can only be achieved by hand and its size makes it very impressive.”

The films featured in the works include Princess Mononokethe already mentioned Spirited Away And Howl’s Moving Castle pieces and a yet-to-be-revealed Howl-centric tapestry titled “Howl’s Fear,” which is scheduled to be completed sometime this year. Two additional tapestries based on Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind And My Neighbor Totoro are planned for the future, with the Centre International de la Tapisserie Aubusson recently releasing images of a tapestry in progress that shows Mei sleeping on Totoro’s stomach in a tranquil forest setting.

Howl’s Moving Castle

When a despondent young woman is cursed with an old body by a wicked witch, her only chance to break the spell is with the help of a selfish but insecure young wizard and his companions in his walking castle with legs.

Release date

17 June 2005

Studio

Studio Ghibli

Pour

Takuya Kimura, Tatsuya Gashuin, Chieko Baisho

Duration

1 hour 59 minutes

Production company

Buena Vista Home Entertainment, DENTSU Music and Entertainment, Mitsubishi.

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Source: PR Times