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Star Wars director Rian Johnson prays for upcoming film’s success at scenic Kyoto temple

Unveils an incredibly cool Japanese ink painting that we all want to adorn our rooms.

The wildly successful Star Wars franchise has spawned a huge fan base in Japan, and it’s not unusual for the company to inject some cultural influence into its movie promotions, like what they did with ukiyo-e prints for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. It seems the love runs both ways, and there’s a reason for that.

Star Wars was greatly influenced by the works of Japanese screenwriter legend Akira Kurosawa, and as way of paying tribute him, director Rian Johnson made his way to Kyoto to pray for the success of his upcoming film, Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

▼ Rian Johnson protected by a couple of
Storm Troopers and a menacing Kylo Ren.

“I fell in love with Star Wars through Kurosawa’s works when I was a kid. Today marks a new dawn for me, since it’s such a great honor to come into contact with Japan’s beautiful culture,” Johnson said excitedly.

▼ Johnson was treated to a Japanese performance
known as kyogen, featuring a cast of Star Wars characters.

The kyogen performance was largely symbolic, drawing upon the Japanese origins of several Star Wars elements. It is said that the characters R2-D2 and C3PO were based on those found in Kurosawa’s The Hidden Fortress, and that those characters were often played in kyogen theatre.

History has come full circle then, so to speak, and Johnson greatly appreciated the kyogen‘s link to the most famous sci-fi movie in the world.

Perhaps the most impressive moment of the entire trip was the unveiling of a massive 165 by 168 centimeter (5.4 by 5.5 foot) Star Wars-themed Japanese ink painting. Robot buddies R2-D2 and C3PO were depicted with intricate detail while Jedi-killer Kylo Ren cut an imposing figure with his crimson crossguard lightsaber.

▼ Famed bujinga (“warrior picture”) artist Masayuki Kojo poured his love for
Star Wars into this masterpiece, producing a whirlwind of bold, black strokes.

We’re pretty sure Rian Johnson was suitably impressed with the Japanese love for Star Wars. If only he knew they were also capable of making C3PO and R2-D2 art the size of a rice paddy.

Source, images: Star Wars

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