A scene from Spirited Away which stretches over seven meters in length and three in height: the International City of Aubusson Tapestry, a town in central France, has unveiled a tapestry paying homage to the master of Japanese animation Hayao Miyazaki. This work, entitled Le Banquet du Sans-visage, represents the young heroine of the film facing a huge creature with a white mask in a room strewn with upside-down dishes and traditional panels decorated with dragons. It required a year’s work from four young weavers from the Manufacture Robert Four in Aubusson, a town in Creuse where the history of tapestry dates back several centuries. precision because there are many details and a wide range of colors”, explains Marie-Catherine Chassin, manager of the establishment. A first work paying tribute to the founder of Studio Ghibli, inspired by the film Princess Mononoke, was unveiled last March in the presence, in particular, of the Japanese ambassador. The ceremony was also broadcast in the archipelago, where it “was even broadcast on the screens of a train between Kyoto and Yokohama”, according to Emmanuel Gérard, director of the Cité who has also devoted a series to JRR Tolkien, the author of The Lord of the Rings. “And most Japanese tour operators refer the weaving of Miyazaki tapestries to Aubusson. Which develops our reputation internationally”, he adds. See also on KonbiniHayao Miyazaki validated, from a distance, the woven scenes. Three others are to see the light of day by 2024, all entrusted to local factories to maintain this craftsmanship classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Japanese director does not yet plan to go to Aubusson but “it is planned to present tapestries in Japan, at the Ghibli park or at the Ghibli museum”, emphasizes Emmanuel Gérard. They will already circulate in France with stages at the Bordeaux Opera at the end of March and this summer at the Quai Branly museum in Paris.
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