MEDSAN - Totoro in the Bamboo Rain (竹林の雨とトトロ) - UNIQUE WORK

THERE IS ONLY ONE IN THE WORLD - EDITION 1/1

With this vertically formatted work, Medsan brings Totoro, the forest spirit from My Neighbor Totoro (Hayao Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli, 1988), into the language of the Japanese ukiyo-e print. The creature no longer inhabits the rural Japan of the film’s 1950s: it waits for the downpour in the heart of a bamboo grove, surrounded by villagers in kimono who look straight out of an Edo-era engraving. In the top right, the cartouche メドサン signs the scene as a print title.

Totoro occupies the entire right side, standing tall, round eyes and a huge smile, a large lotus leaf held above him like an umbrella — a direct quotation of the famous bus-stop scene. Under his creme-colored belly marked with chevrons, four villagers crowd under a second leaf: a woman with a bun, a peasant wearing a conical hat, two men in ochre and indigo kimono, chatting as if the giant spirit behind them goes without saying. On the left, a small stone shrine and its torii, moss-covered, anchor the scene in a sacred place; in the foreground, a frog and a snail watch over the gleaming rocks. Medsan selects a range of damp greens, rain grays and earthy browns, crossed by vertical hatching that imitates the engraved line of Hiroshige’s great rain prints and draws the eye from the treetop of the bamboo toward the group.

The mashup speaks a simple and true message: Totoro is not a modern invention, he is a kami, a nature spirit that Japan has painted for centuries. By placing him among peasants who are unshocked by anything, the work restores the character’s status as a familiar deity and makes the downpour a moment of complicity between the visible world and the other.

A warm and narrative piece, ideal for adding a poetic and Japanese touch to an interior of a collector devoted to both Ghibli culture and classical prints. The buyer receives a single giclée on canvas, a pigment print numbered 1/1 and hand-signed.

Technical specifications:
Artist: Medsan
Reference: Totoro / Studio Ghibli / Ukiyo-e / Bamboo Grove / Rain / Forest Spirit
Dimensions: 40 x 60 cm
Edition: Unique work — 1/1 (one copy in the world)
Year: 2026
Support: Giclée print on canvas, using a high-quality pigment print to faithfully reproduce details and colors.
Signature: Yes, hand-signed
Condition: Excellent condition
Certificate: Certificate of authenticity (on request)

About the Atelier:
Atelier Joconde is a collective of artists united around a living, contemporary creation. Established as a true place of artistic production, the studio operates both in collective creation and in individual approaches, depending on the projects and works. Atelier Joconde is also a family venture. Le Yack, a contemporary figurative painter, develops a narrative and introspective body of work with filmic and realist influences. Beside him, Medsan, oriented toward pop art painting, explores color, modern iconography, and visual culture. Finally, Neo Pablo is part of a more instinctive search, blending abstract art, outsider art, and figurative abstraction. Each work is conceived, realized, and followed within the studio, with a shared artistic standard and an identity unique to each artist.

Keywords:
Medsan, Atelier Joconde, Le Yack, Totoro, Studio Ghibli, Ukiyo-e, Bamboo Grove, Rain, Torii, Forest Spirit, Vertical format, Contemporary, Unique Work, 1/1