Key #40: Wizardry

There are quite a few words, or even pairs of words, one would naturally associate with Japan: duty and discipline, service and hospitality, ingenuity and innovation - and the list goes on and on. There is also one word that might seem counterintuitive if ever found on that list: passion. The almost direct opposite of "duty", the notion of "passion" is hardly accounted for in Japanese history, arts and literature - and even the language seems to indicate its subordinate status in Japanese society. While there is a Japanese word for "love", it connotes a very reserved, platonic kind of feeling (the closest approximation to "I love you" is "I really like you"). The evidence seems to be ample, the counterevidence - few and far between, and yet...

One such counterevidence occupies a whole block in a residential area of Tokyo, and it's known by a straightforward name of "The Making of Harry Potter". As befits such a topic, the name is about the only thing that is straightforward there - the rest is wizardry, witchcraft and outright magic! A hands-on magic, to be precise: the studio in question must be one of very few places not only in Japan but throughout the world where visitors are invited to literally relive and experience the book: from soaring on a broom and participating in a Quidditch match to traveling by fireplace.

The Big Three experiences set the tone for the rest of the exhibition, and many others follow suit pretty closely by providing some kind of personal touch. The studio is divided into so-called "stations", some of them covering the story (characters and locations), others - the making part. The former are designed to wow the guests with stunningly detailed life size models

or atmospheric activities, such as a magic potion boiling in a big cauldron. The latter intend to engage and educate: that's where the visitors meet the cast and crew in a one-way video call. The heads of most departments (props, costume, lighting and such, as well as casting) share behind-the-scenes stories and reveal little secrets describing some of their day-to-day struggles and breakthroughs - like, for instance, spending weeks to create a wig or a pair of shoes that would appear in exactly one 30-seconds' episode

Staff-guided activities, including a "magic wand 101" class where everybody present is taught how to perform simple spells, come as a bonus.

And passion... It's literally in the air - in the ever smiling staffers, always around, eager and ready to help; in bevies of schoolgirls sweeping clean the shelves in the souvenir store; in the "farewell board" teeming with parting quotes recorded on the last day of filming... When most visitors are gone, and the building is almost empty, that uncharacteristic Japanese passion seems to linger in the very halls, as if waiting for the exhibits to leave their assigned stations and come alive...