Video games are a form of entertainment, but often their influence can extend far beyond the screen of our consoles. Sucker Punch’s Ghost of Tsushima had that effect in a rather unexpected way.
Back in September, a typhoon toppled a torii (the iconic sacred gates of Shinto shrines) at Watatsumi Shrine on the real island of Tsushima.
One of the priests at the shrine launched a Campfire campaign to gather funds for the Torii’s restoration.
The project, which started on November 27, 2020, reached the target amount of 5 million yen only on the fifth day (December 1) from the start. The circle of support spread, with the number of supporters surpassing 1,000 on December 3, and the amount of support has continued to increase steadily since then.
Although it is such a project, as of December 20, 2020, the total amount of support has exceeded 20 million yen, which is 400% of the target amount. The number of supporters has reached about 1,500, and the momentum has not stopped yet. According to the crowdfunding page, the total amount of torii construction is expected to be about 15 to 20 million yen (undecided), and in this project, the target amount was about 5 million yen. However, the amount of money that exceeded that amount was collected just by the support provided by crowdfunding.
According to the shrine, the background of this situation is the active support of ” Ghost of Tsushima ” players. On November 21st, ” Hitachi World Mysterious Discovery! (TBS series), the appearance of Watatsumi Shrine in the Tsushima special feature ( Click here for the program introduction page ) seems to have a big influence, but this program itself is a collaboration with “Ghost of Tsushima”. Since it was a project, it can be said that one game work contributes greatly to the support in any case.
By the way, the collapsed Otorii was built in 1989. This torii was built in Takashima, Kitamatsuura-gun, which is famous for finding the “Tetsuhau” and “sunken ship” used by the Mongolian army, so I am surprised by the mysterious connection.
Crowdfunding, which has already become a support fund that greatly exceeds the target amount, is continuing until January 10, 2021. Depending on the amount of support, multiple returns such as mask cases, bookmark sets, towels, etc. are set, and with support of 10,000 yen or more, good name engraving on a metal good name plate or stone monument (which one is currently undecided) will be done That thing.
If you enjoyed “Ghost of Tsushima”, why not consider participating in a project to protect the culture of the land that was the motif of your work?
