Fans Are Protesting New Plans To Turn A Studio Ghibli Shrine Into A Parking Lot

The anime world recently felt the tragic loss of one of the most studied directors and founding members of Studio Ghibli, Isao Takahata, passed away at the age of 82. His 1994 film Pom Poko became highly influential for many anime fans for its depiction of a Tanuki family whose home is being threatened by human real estate development.

Unfortunately, real life may just mirror the ending of the 1994 film as the Kincho Shrine featured in Pom Poko is in danger of being torn down and turned into a parking lot.

Kincho Shrine is located in the town of Komatsushima, Tokushima Prefecture, on the island of Shikoku in Japan, was originally constructed in 1956 with money donated by a film executive and was later used as a setting in the 1994 film. In a report form SoraNews24, that the shrine is private property but is in land being treated as a municipal park. While there were plans to reconstruct areas of the park, the final reveal of the plan has Kincho Shrine being demolished to clear room for a parking lot.

Local residents have protested the proposal, and are getting support from anime fans online, who have signed a petition to keep the shrine after the park's renovation.

The petition has reached 2,000 signatures as of this writing, and SoraNews24 confirms that at least the city is willing to listen to concerns as "...planners say they want to leave behind a tanuki statue, and they've reminded everyone that while the initial proposal is to replace the shrine with a parking lot, that's by no means finalized, and planners are still debating the exact details of the redevelopment."

Find out how fans are reacting to the eerie parallel between anime and real life, and let us know how you feel about it in the comments!