Take our user survey and make your voice heard.
Japan is just as crazy about "Star Wars" as the rest of the world and everyone is eagerly awaiting the new movie, "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," on December 18. So it’s the perfect opportunity for a number of "Star Wars" affiliated projects to get under way. One project is striking a chord with our love of Japan and our love of "Star Wars" as it combines a traditional art form with a very non-traditional universe.
The connections between Japan and "Star Wars" are well-documented and quite amazing. Even visually, just by looking at Darth Vader’s iconic helmet you can see that it was inspired by the headgear helmets worn by the samurai in the way it extends down the neck and features a faceplate. It’s also easy to find "Star Wars" merchandise with their own Japanese spin on them like lightsaber chop sticks, "Star Wars" inspired sake cups and "Star Wars" characters re-imagined in a Japanese style.
This latest project, funded through the Japanese crowd funding site Makuake, puts a traditional stamp on the "Star Wars" universe. While the characters have been drawn in an ukiyo-e style before, this might be the first time prints have been officially approved by Lucasfilm. Three gorgeous prints combine the epic "Star Wars" tale with the beauty of Japan by depicting scenes and characters from the movies.
The real gem of the bunch is the close-up "okubi-e" of Darth Vader. An "okubi-e" is a Japanese portrait print in the ukiyo-e style showing only the head or the head and upper torso. Masumi Ishikawa, the designer of these ukiyo-e, wanted to arrange the Death Star like a moon in the background and have Darth Vader standing in the middle of flames of hatred. This print also includes the name “Darth Vader” represented by "ateji," kanji that sounds like the name. Usually the characters are chosen for their sound only, but these kanji have a meaning as well. Ishikawa chose the ateji, 堕悪巣俾荼 which can be read as “daasu beida“ and also has the meaning of a “suffering servant that fell to the webs of evil”.
The other two prints feature a scene from the Battle of Hoth and Queen Amidala posed with R2-D2. Each piece of artwork is intricately crafted in wood and then expertly printed onto paper. You can see some of the work in a behind the scenes video from their Makuake page.
As traditional art and an official "Star Wars" product, the ukiyo-e prints are not cheap. A single print can be purchased by supporting their Makuake project for 54,000 yen, while a lucky few have already purchased the limited run of all three prints for 162,000 yen.
If you have the money to spare, this might be the most traditional Japanese way to display your geekiness to the world. The Makuake campaign just started, but each piece is only being printed 100 times and they are going fast. Head on over to their project page if you want to own one of these amazing pieces of art for yourself.
Read more stories from RocketNews24. -- Pure-gold traditional Japanese coins might just be the Star Wars collectibles you’re looking for -- Awesome lightsaber kendo video brings Star Wars’ Japanese influences full-circle -- Darth Vader Head Planetarium Lulls You to Sleep Then Haunts Your Dreams
© Japan Today
1 Comment
Login to comment
Shumatsu_Samurai
That's not actually unreasonable. I believe proper ukiyo-e prints made today (made by wood blocks rather than a computer) of traditional images cost about the same.