A 350-year-old Japanese pottery maker that once supplied gifts to the shogunate is now selling limited edition Ghost in the Shell merch with an eye-watering price tag.
Based on the beloved spider-like AI tanks from the hit anime Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, the handcrafted porcelain Tachikoma costs ¥770,000 (around $4,900) and is capped at just 50 pieces worldwide.
The figure is produced using Nabeshima ware, a prestigious porcelain style with roots stretching back roughly 350 years. Historically, these works were crafted as presentation pieces for Japan’s ruling shogunate, making them some of the country’s most elite ceramic exports.
Ghost in the Shell collab worthy of samurai royalty
According to the press release, the porcelain body was built from a newly designed 3D model to capture Tachikoma’s spider-like shape faithfully. Each model is made from premium natural clay from Amakusa and hand-painted with ancient brush techniques, giving each tank a handcrafted finish.
The final product measures approximately 14cm wide, 16cm deep, and 13.5cm tall, and ships with a certificate, stand, and wooden box. You can watch the full crafting process in the YouTube video below:
224porcelain representative Satoshi Tsuji described the collectible as one of the studio’s most intricate projects to date.
“The creation of the mold and clay for ‘Tachikoma’ was one of the most difficult and intricate projects we have undertaken to date. It involved a full combination of digital technology, meticulous handwork, with 56 mold parts, and data creation…and cutting took a total of over 450 hours,” he said.
“A total of 49 hand-attached joints were required, compared to the four or five joints required for a typical teapot, making the complexity of the structure clear.”
While the Ghost in the Shell pottery Tachikoma may be one of the most unique collabs, the Evangelion powertool collab takes the crown for one of the weirdest.
