The Wind Rises: a Swirling Controversy

16 The Wind Rises: A Swirling Controversy Sean Mowry ‘16 HST 401: World War II in Cinema Professor Alan Allport In the summer of 2013, Japanese recent history, and its messages are director Hayao Miyazaki released his final important to examine. This is especially the movie as a writer and director, The Wind case in the current context of Japanese Rises.55 Miyazaki is a legend in Japanese desires to remilitarize under its cinema, and is often referred to as the “Walt conservative leadership. 56 Disney of Japan.” He is a founder, and the The Wind Rises tells the story of Jiro most famous member of the Tokyo-based Horikoshi, the real life designer of the animation studio, Studio Ghibli, which has Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter plane, the produced 5 of the 15 highest grossing most famous airplane in Japanese history 57 anime movies in Japanese history. In fact, and an icon of the Pacific War. The film The Wind Rises takes the tenth spot on that begins in Jiro’s childhood dreams as he list, and it also is the highest grossing flies acrobatically in a plane, but above him 58 Japanese film from 2013. This makes the he sees dark clouds hiding aircraft all influence of this movie very prominent in marked with the Nazi Iron Cross. Jiro’s 55 Roy Akagawa, “Excerpts of Hayao Miyazaki’s 57 “Top Grossing Anime,”Box Office Mojo, News Conference Announcing His Retirement,” Accessed December 16, 2015 The Asahi Shimbun , September 6, 2013 http://www.boxofficemojo.com/genres/chart/?id=a http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/people/A nime.htm J201309060087. 58 “Miyazaki’s ‘The Wind Rises’ Top Earning Film 56 Tim Morrison, “Hayao Miyazaki: In an Era of in Japan 2013”, Japan Today, 01/13/14, High-Tech Wizardry, the Animé Auteur Makes http://www.japantoday.com/category/entertainment Magic the Old Way,” Time Magazine Asia, 2006. /view/miyazakis-the-wind-rises-top-earning-film- in-japan-in-2013 17 childhood is spent longing to be a pilot but want to allow her to stay because they are he is prevented because of his unmarried, so they marry then and there nearsightedness. In another dream he is despite Naoko’s grim health. Jiro continues told by the famous Italian airplane designer, to work, and he successfully tests his new Giovanni Battista Caproni, that designing plane, the Mitsubishi A5M, the first planes is better than flying them. He monoplane shipboard fighter and the follows Caproni’s advice and 5 years later, predecessor for the A6M Zero. Despite the when travelling by train to study at success of the test, and his cheering University in Tokyo, the Great Kanto coworkers, Jiro feels the wind change and Earthquake of 1923 strikes the city and he he runs home fearing that something is reunites a lost young girl Naoko with her wrong with Naoko. When he returns he family. After graduating with his friend and finds letters left by her before she returned future designer Kiro Honjo, they both work to the mountains, and shortly after she dies. for Mitsubishi to design planes for the The film ends right after Japan loses the war military. Frustrated with the lagging and is left devastated by air raids. Jiro Japanese technology, Jiro and Kiro are sent dreams again of meeting Caproni and to Germany and meet famed designer Hugo confesses that he regrets that his planes Junkers who is kind to them while his Nazi were used for war but Caproni comforts subordinates refuse to help. him by saying that at least his beautiful After returning to Japan, Jiro is dream was realized. Naoko makes a final promoted to chief designer and he builds appearance to tell Jiro to move on from her the Mitsubishi 1MF10, which fails in the death, and live life to the fullest. prototype stage. To recover from his When The Wind Rises was released, disappointment, Jiro goes to a summer it was met with massive commercial resort where he runs into Naoko, the girl he success and critical acclaim. It was the helped during the Great Kanto Earthquake. highest grossing film in Japan in 2013, They become engaged, but she refuses to receiving $110 million. 59 Critically, the marry him until she recovers from film was praised universally, especially in tuberculosis. A German guest at the resort, America and Europe, earning an 83 on Castorp, who is critical of the Nazis assists Metacritic, an aggregator that averages out in their relationship but is eventually chased all of the available reviews from established out by the Japanese secret police. The film critics on the Internet. Scoring over an police’s eyes turn to Jiro due to his relation 80 categorizes the film as having “universal with Castorp, so he must leave and take up acclaim.”60 The film was so popular in the residence at his supervisor’s home in order United States it was even nominated for to work on a new project. While there, he Best Animated Feature by the Academy is informed that Naoko suffered a lung Awards. 61 This praise was not all hemorrhage and is recovering up in the international, as the Asia-Pacific Journal mountains, but she cannot bear being away called it “one of Miyazaki’s most ambitious from him so she lives with him at his and thought-provoking visions.” 62 supervisor’s house. His supervisor does not However, thought provoking might be the 59 Kevin Ma, “The Wind Rises Tops 2013 Japan 61 “2013 Academy Awards Nominations and B.O.,” Film Business Asia, January 1, 2014 , Winners by Category,” Box Office Mojo, Accessed http://www.filmbiz.asia/news/the-wind-rises-tops- December 16, 2015 2013-japan-bo http://www.boxofficemojo.com/oscar/chart/?view= 60 “The Wind Rises,” Metacritic, Accessed allcategories&yr=2013&p=.htm. December 16, 2015 62 Matthew Penne, “Miyazaki Hayao’s Kaze http://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-wind-rises. Tachinu (The Wind Rises),” The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus, August 5, 2013 17 18 most key part of this review, because the pacifist whose father earned his income film stirred up plenty of controversy as during the war working for a fighter parts well. In South Korea, activists “accused the manufacturer, and a committed artist who director…of lionizing the creator of one of also tried to appreciate the realities of the most potent symbols of Japanese life.”66 So this final film can be understood militarism, and pointed out that among the as a heavily conflicted and tragic personal workers who assembled more than 10,000 reflection. However, despite its intentions of the state-of-the-art fighters were forced as a film it became part of the political laborers from the Korean peninsula.”63 In dialogue after it was released. Politically, addition, “Japanese Miyazaki addressed his pacifism in Studio nationalists…denounce[d] Miyazaki…as a Ghibli’s “July issue of Neppu, Ghibli’s free ‘traitor’ and ‘anti-Japanese’ for the film’s self-publicized monthly booklet.” 67 This focus on the futility of war.”64 If his film is booklet “featured a special section on Prime attracting criticism from both sides of the Minister Shinzo Abe and his political spectrum, those fearful of a administration’s campaign to revise militarized Japan, and those in favor of it, Japan’s pacifist Constitution. Miyazaki then it must be worth asking what makes declared his unequivocal opposition to this film so divisive. Is the film an anti-war revising the war renouncing Article 9.”68 film, or is it a pro-war film? There can also Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution be another option, because The Wind Rises states, “Aspiring sincerely to an is superficially incapable of simple international peace based on justice and categorization and in that case a more order, the Japanese people forever renounce nuanced label must be applied. To war as a sovereign right of the nation and understand what position The Wind Rises the threat or use of force as means of takes on World War 2, it can be useful to settling international disputes. In order to first understand the intentions of Miyazaki accomplish the aim of the preceding himself. paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, as well It is interesting why Miyazaki chose as other war potential, will never be to end his career on such a controversial maintained. The right of belligerency of the 69 movie but he explains, “He was drawn to state will not be recognized.” When The Horikoshi’s alleged statement that ‘All I Wind Rises was released in 2013, Shinzo wanted to do was to make something Abe, Japan’s Prime Minister had been beautiful’.”65 This reflects Miyazaki’s own pushing to amend Japan’s Constitution to 70 inner contradictions because “Miyazaki is a allow for “collective self-defense.” This http://japanfocus.org/-Matthew- 67 Roland Kelts, “Backlash Against Miyazaki is Penney/3976/article.html Generational,” The Japan Times Accessed 63 Justin McCurry, “Japanese Animator under Fire December 16, 2015, for Film Tribute to Warplane Designer,”, The http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2013/10/08/ge Guardian August 22, 2013 neral/backlash-against-miyazaki-is- http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/23/ha generational/#.VnIXkd-rSu4. yao-miyazaki-film-wind-rises. 68Ibid. 64Ibid. 69 “The Constitution of Japan”, The Prime Minister 65 Sam Byford, “‘The Wind Rises’: The Beauty and of Japan and His Cabinet, Accessed December 16, Controversy of Miyazaki’s Final Film,” The Verge, 2015, January 23, 2014 http://japan.kantei.go.jp/constitution_and_governm http://www.theverge.com/2014/1/23/5337826/the- ent_of_japan/constitution_e.html.

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