Star Wars Celebration is a massive annual event where fans of the galaxy far, far away come together from all corners of the world to express their passion for the franchise, meet celebrity guests, receive first-hand major announcements, buy exclusive merchandise, cosplay and more. The venue changes every year and in 2025, it’s coming to Tokyo.
A Long Time Ago, in a Galaxy in Ancient Japan
Star Wars has collaborated with Japanese artist Takumi, also known as Takumi Toxin, to create a set of 17 illustrations inspired by Edo-era ukiyo-e woodblock prints that will be presented on guests’ convention badges.
Takumi won the Weekly Shonen Jump Rookie Award in 2012 and has created art for other popular franchises such as Marvel, with promotional art for Thor: Love and Thunder.
The collaboration artwork features a wide variety of characters from the movies, streaming series and the animated shows. Even newly-introduced characters such as Osha Aniseya and The Stranger (Qimir) from 2024’s The Acolyte series are included. Other highlights include Ahsoka Tano from The Clone Wars, Din Djarin and Grogu from The Mandalorian, Cassian Andor from Andor and Rey and Kylo Ren from The Last Jedi.
Each stylized ukiyo-e piece reimagines the characters in a traditional Japanese setting; adorning samurai armor and kimono, while swinging katana-like lightsabers. The composition, color, poses and motifs all convey the traditional look and technique of Japanese woodblock prints.
Japan’s Influence on Star Wars
It’s no secret that the Star Wars universe was heavily influenced by Japanese culture. George Lucas has been a huge fan of Akira Kurosawa movies since film school and was famously inspired by Kurosawa’s The Hidden Fortress when making the very first Star Wars film. Many of A New Hope’s storylines, characters and even whole scenes were adapted from Kurosawa’s period dramas. Some of the costume choices were also Japan-inspired, including the design of Darth Vader’s samurai-like helmet and Queen Amidala’s kimono.
These collaborative illustrations by Takumi are one of many projects Lucasfilm has worked on that honors Star Wars’ strong ties to Japanese culture. Bandai has produced a line of figures depicting characters as samurai and soldiers. In 2015, Disney Lucasfilm sponsored four massive character floats for the legendary Nebuta Festival in Aomori Prefecture. And the Star Wars: Visions anthology series on Disney+ introduced short films animated by multiple Japanese studios.
Star Wars Celebration 2025 will be hosted at Makuhari Messe from April 18 to April 20.
