Kanyada Pratan is a Thai photographer and former social media manager for Studio Ghibli. She contributed material to books published by the studio, and ran the @JP_GHIBLI X account until 2023. Other activities include running a Studio Ghibli theme restaurant.
Work[]
In 2013, she started a relationship with producer Toshio Suzuki, who went on to involve her with work at the studio.
"May's Garden House" in Bangkok is Studio Ghibli's only licensed restaurant.
In 2018, she was appointed manager to a restaurant that Studio Ghibli opened in Bangkok, "May's Garden House". In the same year, she began photography work at the studio, of which she had no prior experience of.
In 2020, the restaurant permanently closed following the covid pandemic. That year, her photographs were compiled a photobook, Gorō: Where Did He Come From, Where is He Going?, a biography of Gorō Miyazaki. It includes an interview with Miyazaki by Chizuko Ueno.
She operated the X account (then known as Twitter) "@JP_GHIBLI" from 2020 until its closure in 2023. It was Studio Ghibli's official social media account. She often shared her photography around studio, such as small trinkets and objects. This included frequent photos of Friday Ojisan ("Uncle Friday"), a mascot designed by Hayao Miyazaki for Nippon TV's Kinyou Roadshow. The account operated in run-up to the release of The Boy and the Heron, helping promote the film. It is where posters and other marketing material for the film was first shared, to much media attention.
In 2023, she contributed Studio Ghibli themed illustrations for a collection of licensed apparel by Uniqlo. She appeared in a video by Uniqlo to promote her work, which mentions she also contributes a photo and poem each month for the studio's internal company magazine Neppu.
Her role in the studio has been anonymously criticised by studio staff as frivolous and sinecure, where it's claimed she is treated preferentially due to being Suzuki's partner. Staff report carrying out chores for her under Suzuki's orders. Former chairman of Studio Ghibli, Koji Hoshino, raised concerns regarding misappropriation of company funds by Suzuki directed towards Pratan's living and travel expenses partook as a couple. Hoshino left the studio in March 2023 due to dissatisfaction with corporate governance; it is disputed whether it was related to this specific matter.
Sources[]
- Studio Ghibli co-founder accused of spending company funds on Thai girlfriend. Thaiger. 30 March 2023.
- ジブリ生みの親・鈴木敏夫氏がタイ人女性にベタ惚れで内部崩壊！ タイで公認レストラン経営、未経験で写真家に起用、社長を更迭、公私混同すぎる驚きの振る舞い, ("Ghibli creator Toshio Suzuki's internal collapse after falling madly in love with a Thai woman! [...]"). JPrime. 28 March 2023.
- Miyazaki Goro’s New Biography Sheds Light on Ghibli’s Successor. Unseen Japan. December 24 2020.
- Uniqlo Ghibli collection.
Name spelled in Japanese langauge sources as カンヤダ