Light-up Totoro is a mix of centuries-old pottery techniques and classic anime cuteness【Photos】

Studio Ghibli’s anime forest spirit gets the Shigarakiyaki treatment.

Shigarakiyaki is one of Japan’s oldest and most beautiful styles of ceramics. Originating in and around the Shiga Prefecture town of Shigaraki (now part of present-day Koka), Shigarakiyaki’s use of feldspar-rich clay into which wood ash becomes mixed during the firing method results in a characteristic warm orangish brown color and sandy texturing.

Those aspects impart a captivatingly rustic appearance to Shigarakiyaki bowls, vases, and sake flasks, but the pottery style is particularly strongly associated with statues of tanuki, or racoon dogs. And if Shigarakiyaki can be used to capture the adorableness of one Japanese forest creature, why not another?

And that brings us to the Shigarakiyaki Totoro, recently restocked by Studio Ghibli specialty store Donguri Kyowakoku. Despite being ceramic, the coloring and texturing do a remarkable job of visually conveying the soft, fluffy feeling of the forest spirit’s in-anime fur, even though the figurine is, of course, as firm to the touch as any earthenware work.

One mark of masterfully made ceramics is achieving thinness without cracking or distortion, and as proof that this is a high-quality piece…

…it’s translucent! The Shigarakiyaki Totoro comes bundled with an LED “candle” that can be placed inside of it, providing a gentle glow of honnori lighting.

▼ The light can also be used while outside Totoro.

The 7.5-centimeter (3-inch) Totoro also comes with a wooden signboard engraved with “My Neighbor Totoro” (となりのトトロ) and “Shigarakiyaki” (信楽焼) in Japanese.

The Shigarakiyaki Totoro is priced at 4,950 yen (US$33) and is available through the Donguri Kyowakoku online shop here. And if you prefer your ceramic Totoros to be smooth and sleek, they’ve got options of that ilk too.

Source, images: Donguri Kyowakoku
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