“Hayao Miyazaki’s World” ‘Best of’ Booklet Japan in Today’s World Program (JTW) Professor Tamah Nakamura Edited by Bobby Recinos and Hiroshi Kudo – February 2013 “In Japan, Miyazaki Hayao is more than just an animation director, he is a thinker and a philosopher” Acknowledgements I would like to express my deep appreciation for Professor Tamah Nakamura who kindly allowed me to undertake this project together with Bobby Recinos. Her heartfelt instruction and encouragement drew out the best of us. Bobby always showed will to express his deeper thoughts far and wide. He studied the essays and advanced this project earnestly. I appreciate his advice. Also, I thank all of the students of the class for their outstanding work. This booklet is theirs. Finally, I want to credit Kyushu University and the JTW (Japan in Today’s World) office at that school for their unconditional support. Hiroshi Kudo Editor My sincere gratitude goes out to professor Tamah Nakamura for inspiring us through word and action to pursue this humble yet valuable enterprise. Your skill and sensibility guided us along the way. Certainly, without her, there would be no “Best of Hayao Miyazaki’s World”. To my colleague and partner in this venture, Hiro-San, I thank deeply for opening the path that led to this project. Your experience, knowledge and selflessness were the key for completing it. I feel privileged to have been able to share the experience of the JTW course “Miyazaki, Hayao’s World” with many beautiful minds from around the world, without whom this booklet would have been impossible to consider. I particularly cherish the time I spent together with my friend Mark Solis, as he would later introduce me to this fantastic program and to Nakamura-Sensei. I want to thank Kyushu University and the JTW office for trusting our abilities and judgment to put this together and kindly allowing us to make use of their resources. Finally, I cannot help but express my most heartfelt appreciation for this magical country and its people. The biggest thank you of all, however, goes to life for allowing me to be in the right place at the right time. Roberto “Bobby” Recinos Editor Contents Introduction By Hiroshi Kudo and Bobby Recinos I. My Neighbor Totoro となりのトトロ Tonari no Totoro 1. A Reflection on Ecologism in Miyazaki’s Work 2. Totoro as a Neighbor: Spirituality through Simple Shinto and the Nostalgia of Furusato 3. The Importance of Nature-Centric Spirituality 4. The Search for Roots: Creating a Hybrid Modern Myth though Totoro 5. Interpreting Totoro through the lens of Jungian Psychology 6. Spirituality in Totoro Represented through Miyazaki’s Divine Feminine 7. Totoro as More than Religious Spirituality 8. Shintoism and Entertainment 9. Religious, Unreal and Natural Spirituality 10. Religious Symbols in My Neighbor Totoro 11. Exploring the many Notions of Furusato Japan 12. Shinto Consciousness and the Fundamental Connection 13. Childhood Memories as Japanese Spirituality 14. Religious Imagery in Totoro: A Mere Reflection of Everyday Japan II. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind 風の谷のナウシカ Kaze no Tani no Naushika 1. Harmonization of Humanity and the Natural World through the Spirit of Motherhood 2. The Clash of Species and the Deceit of Human Progress 3. Nausicaä and the Ancient Elements of Nature 4. Rediscovering the Koshinto ways and the Spirits of Nature 5. A Crossing of Boundaries: Deconstructing the Illusion of Opposites 6. On Nature, Human Nature and the State of Nature 7. Nausicaä and Kushana: Princesses of Symbols 8. A Reflection on a Nuclear World Order, the Natural Realm and the Spirit of Mankind 9. Interpreting Nausicaä through the Principle of Gaia 10. Mankind’s lost Sensibility and the Current state of Disconnectedness 11. Wakefulness and Contemplation: Healing through the Voices of Nature 12. The Purity of Princess Nausicaä: The Idealization of Mankind 13. The Jungle in the World of Nausicaä as a Symbolic Extension of the Human Body 14. Miyazaki’s Developing Ambivalence Portrayed III. Princess Mononoke もののけ姫 Mononoke-Hime 1. A Word on Miyazaki’s Evolving Worldview as Revealed in Mononokehime 2. The Materialization of Miyazaki’s Influences: A Consideration of the Notions that Surround Modern Japanese National Identity 3. The Medium is the Message: Weaving the Historical Fabric through Fantasy 4. Japanese Contemporary Identity Paradoxes Mirrored in the Conflicting Aspects Between Mythology and History 5. The Legend of Princess Mononoke 6. Princess Mononoke’s Structure as Defined by Claude Levi-Strauss’s Idea of Binary Oppositions 7. Richness of Symbols through Words and Imagery and the Current State of Mankind 8. On the Importance of Nature and Love 9. The Many Myths of Mononoke-hime Revealed 10. Fusing Opposites Together to Tell a Universal Story: There and Back Again 11. Gendered Representations in Princess Mononoke 12. A Historical Examination of Princess Mononoke’s Setting 13. Revisiting Shoku Nihongi’s Mythological Accounts through Princess Mononoke IV. Spirited Away 千と千尋の神隠し Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi 1. A Noble Aim: Building the Foundation for a Healthy Sense of Identity Since Childhood 2. Heroic Humility and the Plague of Greed 3. Inner Self-Discovery through an Epic Outer Journey in Spirited Away and a Commentary on Gender Identity 4. The Haunting of the Past: Specters, Alternative Space-Time, and the Logic of the Imaginary 5. The Concepts of Self, Identity and Hope in Spirited Away 6. The Last Link in the Chain of Miyazaki’s Criticism? 7. The Dangers to Self and Identity Amid Raging Capitalism 8. Lost In Translation: A Swedish Interpretation of a Japanese Master Craft V. Other Outstanding Contributions (Only found in hard copy. Ask JTW office) 1. A look into other Works by the Master Storyteller: An Axiomatic Approach to the Analysis of Howl’s Moving Castle, Porco Rosso and Laputa: Castle In the Sky 2. Recurring Themes and Symbolic Imagery in the Works of Miyazaki Hayao: The Examples of Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away 3. Distinctive Use of Gender Archetypes by Studio Ghibli vis-à-vis Disney Animation Studios 4. Historical Spiritualized Gender Ideologies in Miyazaki's Works 5. Jomon, Yayoi, Emishi and Ainu: A Historical Account Introduction to “The Best of Miyazaki Hayao's World” By Hiroshi Kudo Hayao Miyazaki (宮崎駿) was born in 1941. After he graduated from university, he joined Toei Animation in 1963. The company was the only studio able to produce animation feature films. There, Miyazaki was presented with the chance to work with extraordinary senior animators such as Yasuji Mori, Yasuo Otsuka, Isao Takahata and Yoichi Kotabe. Of special significance was Miyazaki’s work and learning process with Isao Takahata. An early collaboration between the two resulted in the birth of the TV animation series, Heidi, Girl of the Alps (1974), which enjoyed high interest from audiences. The nature of the program’s scenography (western settings) came from Takahata but we can already see Miyazaki’s strong hand in that work, which he later built on when producing such features as as Kiki’s Delivery Service, Porco Rosso and Howl’s Moving Castle. In 1978, the cannon of Japanese animation was greatly enriched by a new TV series that would influence the field ever after: Future Boy Conan directed by Miyazaki himself. Fans and executives started identifying his name with the idea of “good quality animation” thanks to Conan and his previous work in Hols: Prince of the Sun (1968), Lupin Ⅲ (1971) and Heidi (1974). They recognized Miyazaki as Takahata’s chief assistant director, because he had been working as key animator and/or scene designer since before the days of Conan. What came next would change anime forever: In 1984 Hayao Miyazaki directed Nausicaa of Valley of the Wind, and with it, established the foundation of what would soon become Studio Ghibli. Isao Takahata has been his partner in this extraordinary venture ever since. Additionally, producer Toshio Suzuki, then Animage magazine head editor, believed in the project and provided invaluable support and access to significant social capital. Looking back into Japanese animation history, we can think of several great directors, but I believe that Hayao Miyazaki is the best one among them. His ideas, story development, depth of thought and rich backgrounds are all extraordinary even amidst the best creators and creations. Furthermore, he was able to break-through over the limits of the field of animation, and is now regarded as one of the greatest Japanese film directors ever, together with the likes of legends Akira Kurosawa, Shohei Imamura and Takeshi Kitano. Today, his talent is admired worldwide. In fact, a central interest of mine is to understand why Miyazaki is so appreciated and followed internationally. Although there are many popular domestic directors, most of them have not succeeded in projecting themselves overseas. After going through this selection of best essays, I can better comprehend the reasons why Miyazaki has. His stories develop in unexpected ways; his themes are common to every country and people, yet his worldview is based on Japanese national culture. But his ‘nationalism’ is very peculiar. It means identity based on his own personal roots, and not narrow ethnocentric discourse. In this way, genuine nationalism becomes compatible with genuine internationalism. Inside this booklet, you will find a series of short essays, which show perspectives usually not familiar to native Japanese people –as they view Miyazaki’s cultural elements as obvious and natural- yet at the same time, reveal a deep knowledge of Japanese society, culture and history as well as a strong connection with the master storyteller’s purpose. Through this compilation, you will find that Miyazaki and his films are analyzed and described from a multidisciplinary perspective (sociology, psychology, political science, law and so on) and seen though varied theoretical lenses (Jungian Psychoanalysis, Structuralism, Marxism etc.) including distinctive considerations linked with each student’s home culture.