Following the last two posts about Kenji Yanobe (if you remember: Cinema in the Wood and Postapocalyptic survival gear), here comes Giant Torayan, which is featured in Yanobe’s most recent projects. It is a robot that is much larger than humans (7.5 meter or 25 feet tall) and only listens to what kids say.

Yes, it is the anger of kids that can “wake up” Giant Torayan. Kids can for example, scream “Okore! (get angry!)” to Torayan using a special microphone.

[conceptual illustration of giant torayan. flash animation by cami dodson]

Below is a recent photo of Giant Torayan — perhaps, this was the first time he was woken up in an indoor environment like this (it’s a museum).

[giant torayan in action, at the toyota municipal museum of art]

According to Kyukyoku Eizo Mirai Kenkyusho (Ultimate Visual Images Future Lab) Blog, Yanobe visited the Toyota Municipal Museum of Art on July 30 and talked in front of over 2000 audience participants. The above photo was taken at the museum shortly after the talk event. By the way, “there were people standing in front of Giant Torayan and they might have been (really) scared.”

The blog reports that there was a plan to create a 20 meter (66 feet) tall Giant Torayan at the Aichi Expo, which was unfortunately turned down because of some political reasons.

Giant Torayan is currently featured at “Kenji Yanobe Kindergarten” exhibition at the Toyota Municipal Museum of Art. Prior to that, he (Giant Torayan) was at the City of Children in the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, in Kanazawa (Yanobe spent 6 months to design and build this “city”).

You might be wondering if he was woken up by angry kids in Kanazawa as well. Check out this video clip. (In case the link doesn’t work, the answer of course is yes. There’s another related video clip however without fire).

related website:
Yanobe Kenji Art Works