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Hayao Miyazaki-painted Totoro post cards on sale, proceeds help preserve real-life Totoro forest

Casey Baseel Jun 11, 2024
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Postcards and more are part of the special Totoro Fund line.

There’s no shortage of Ghibli anime merch that fans are happy to purchase, as the famed anime studio’s licensed products tend to be high-quality and artistically crafted. Today though, we’re looking at a collection that’s especially tempting to open your wallet for, since not only do the items look adorable and beautiful, but the money you spend will be going to a good cause.

Though offered through Studio Ghibli specialty retailer Donguri Kyowakoku, the official seller of these items is Totoro no Furusato Foundation, a national trust dedicated to the environmental conservation of the Sayama Hills area on the border of western Tokyo and Saitama Prefecture. Sayama Hills is also known by another name, though: Totoro’s Forest.

As you can see in the video above, the Sayama Hills woodlands really do have a strong resemblance to the setting of My Neighbor Totoro, and that’s not by coincidence. Totoro director Hayao Miyazaki has made no secret of the fact that he drew inspiration for the anime’s visuals from his time living near Sayama Hills, going so far as to say that if he hadn’t lived in the area, “Totoro would never have been born.”

And so Donguri Kyowakoku is acting as the middleman for a reissued line of Totoro Fund merchandise, proceeds from which will go into the Totoro Fund that finances the foundation’s environmental activities in Sayama Hills. Starting things off is the series of six Totoro postcards seen above and directly below, featuring beautiful watercolor artwork drawn by none other than Miyazaki himself.

There’s also an alternate five-postcard set, the “Plants and Flowers” pack.

There’s no mention of whether or not these were illustrated by Miyazaki, but they’re also adorable, especially the picture of Totoro chowing down on a bunch of grapes.

Post cards in Japan often include a printed-on frame in which to write the number of the zip code you’re sending them to, but these Totoro Fund ones purposefully do not, so that they can also be used as decorative art in your home or as personal memo cards (they’re basically blank on their back side).

Also part of the lineup is a set of fusen, as Japan calls sticky/Post-it notes, featuring Totoro and the Makkurokurosuke/Soot Sprites.

Totoro and Makkurokurosuke also show up on the final Totoro Fund item, the Totoro’s Forest Neck Strap.

This can be used to hang on to all sorts of items, including ID cards, phones, keys, and pens. The adjustable-length strap itself has a double-sided design, with Soot Sprites on a blue field on one side, and Totoros on ivory on the other.

▼ Yes, we are aware that “Totoros on ivory” sounds like piano concert performed by Totoros, and yes, we agree that we would love to watch that.

While some of the stuff sold through Donguri Kyowakoku comes with premium prices, all of these Totoro Fund items are pretty affordable. The post card sets and sticky note pack are all just 550 yen (US$3.55) each, and even the strap is only 1,430. They’re all available through the Donguri Kyowakoku online store (watercolor postcards here, Plants and Flower postcards here, sticky notes here, and strap here).

Source: Donguri Kyowakoku
Top image: Donguri Kyowakoku
Insert images: Donguri Kyowakoku (1, 2, 3, 4)
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