A figure imprinted marvellously before the skyline. One powerful fist pointed towards the obstacles of life’s obstacles(in this instance his perennial foe Baikinman inside the Baikinman robot “Dundundun”). I hadn’t seen a statue which inspired so much determination in me before. The Anpanman statue was like no other.
It had taken a solid ninety minute drive west well into the countryside for our group to arrive at its destination. Lush green mountains surrounding us on all sides. Were we in Bohemia? The scenery greatly resembled that Hollywood film “Deus Ex Machina” and the incredible building from that picture too. The design of the Anpanman & Yanase Takashi memorial museum was just as impressive.
Inside children ran around amazed that their fictional hero “Anpanman” and his pan(“pan” is Japanese for bread; Anpanman is a hero created from bread) friends had been brought to life around them. Their imaginations went wild as though an Anpanan film reel were playing in their heads.
Imagination is arguably the greatest gift we have. Everything we have constructed in reality began with an idea. We first had to imagine it before creating it. The ability to take your imagination to reality by spreading ideas contagiously is a precious skill.
We entered the next room. Beautiful painting upon beautiful painting scaled the walls. These were the original artworks of Yanase Takashi. I was struck by the level of detail put into each work. They had been painted with a great amount of love, and despite the Anpanman universe being fictional, a great amount of life. Momentarily we effortlessly felt the Anpanman characters were real beings on Earth.
Anpanman is an acclaimed show for children Japan-wide but it’s fitting Kochi pays tribute to one of their own with this memorial showcasing the works of Yanase Takashi. Yanase Takashi passed away on October 13, 2013 in Tokyo however his legacy persists through powerful imagination and will continue to captivate the minds of children and adults alike. I won’t mind the long drive. I can’t wait to return.
