Masaru Suzuki began designing Moomin characters in 2012 with "MOOMIN TRIBUTE WORKS." For over 10 years since then, he has continued to express the Moomin stories through his designs. Suzuki's designs are not simply depictions of the characters; he creates original backgrounds and scenes, adding new narratives to the story—a unique style. In fact, Masaru Suzuki is the only person in the world recognized for this technique.
Among his notable achievements, his meeting with Sofia Jansson, the granddaughter of Tove Jansson, the original author of Moomin, is particularly noteworthy. When Suzuki showed his designs in Finland, Jansson praised them as "the best besides those drawn by Tove herself," a story that is still talked about among Moomin fans. Furthermore, Suzuki's skills have been recognized internationally, as evidenced by his winning the first "MOOMIN PRODUCT OF THE YEAR AWARD."
One reason his designs are special lies in his approach, which fuses the aesthetic sensibilities of Japan, where he was born and raised, with the Nordic sensibilities that have been imprinted on him with each visit. He has a passion for textiles, to the point that he finds old fabrics in Finnish markets and brings them back to Japan, collecting them without even making anything with them. And Suzuki-san's unique perspective, which is drawn to the slightly cynical and dark side, perhaps due to the historical context in which Moomin was born, gives his works depth.
Currently, Masaru Suzuki is developing collaborations with companies and his own brand "OTTAIPNU," while also focusing on mentoring the next generation as a professor at Tokyo University of the Arts. Suzuki's work, which continues to create new designs by understanding both Japanese and Nordic cultures, brings the world of Moomin closer to our daily lives.
Moomin and Masaru Suzuki. This special combination will continue to bring rich colors to our lives.
Here are the Moomin posters by Suzuki-san : https://agoodview.jp/collections/moomin
Moomin Official Website (Japanese Version) : https://www.moomin.co.jp/
Masaru Suzuki Official Website : https://masarusuzuki.com/
The movie "TOVE" is available on Amazon Prime : https://www.amazon.co.jp/TOVE%EF%BC%8F%E3%83%88%E3%83%BC%E3%83%99-%E5%AD%97%E5%B9%95%E7%89%88-%E3%82%A2%E3%83%AB%E3%83%9E%E3%83%BB%E3%83%9D%E3%82%A6%E3%82%B9%E3%83%86%E3%82%A3/dp/B09P4GT4CC
