About Hayao Miyazaki
- Hyun Ji Lee
- Nov 30, 2015
- 4 min read
The Animator, Hayao Miyazaki is the only one that I look forward to in the Animation Industries. As he is the one of the most famous Animator, also his films are inspiring and has great meaning behind them. They are filled with surprises. Though he was retired, he still continues to present his manga or work to the Ghibli museum. He is well known by his film, Spirited Away.
He was born in 5th of January, 1941. He was born in the town of Akebono-cho in Bunko, Tokyo. However he had to evacuate to Utsunomiya and Kanuma in Tochigi Prefecture. He was only 4years old when there was World War 2. Even though there were war, Miyazaki Family was one of the family who had high standard of living. It was because his father, Katsuji Miyazaki who ran a company called Miyazaki Airplane where they made rubbers for fighter planes. Due to the high standard living during that hard life period, he felt guilt and sorrow toward the victims of Japan’s aggression in Asia. Soon he lost pride and confident toward his own country. He once said, “Japanese history was the story of oppression and exploitation of the common people, and rural villages were representations of poverty, ignorance and rejection of basic human rights.”
Due to his Father’s influence, he began to take great interest in Airplane, mechanism. Hayao went to his father’s work place regularly and not only that, as his father had a great interest in Animation, Katsuji brought him along to watch movie and Animation a lot of time. It was only in 1958, where he was 17 years old where he falls in love with Animation more deeply. He went to watch “The Tale of the White Serpent,” the first animated featured to be made in Japan. Then soon enough, his ambition was to become a Manga Artist. He was having a great and enjoyable life but soon enough disaster came towards him where his mother fall ill. She was a strong and intelligent women and she received great respect from Hayao and he was impacted greatly from her, especially her characteristics. However soon enough her illness deepened and passed away. He was in a great grief. He relieves himself by watching anime hence anime became his life time pal.
As he went to Gakushuin University, he majored in Economics but he joined Children’s Literature Club as during that period of time, there was no Comic or Anime Club in School. Hence Children’s Literature Club which helps to improve in creativity and writing stories. Also, as soon as he graduated, in 1963, he took an artist’s job at Toei Animation. Hayao’s Second film, “Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind”, produced by Takahata was a surprise hit. It was produced in 1984. It was about young writers and airplanes. It was to promote non-violence.
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Also, as time pass, he began to rethink about his country, Japan, after reading this book called “Saibai shokubutsa to nook no kigen.” (Domesticated Plants and Origin of Agriculture)He made his own production company, Ghibli Animation, in June 1985 with help from Toshio Susuki, an editor of a monthly animation magazine. The name Ghibli, was proposed by him. In all his productions, there is always a twist in his stories where his supporting characters are actually bad. For example, in Spirited Away, a character name No-Face was a timid and helpful spirit towards the main character however it turns a to be an all –consuming Carnivore.
All of his films are related to the Japanese History. For example, Princess Mononoke concerns a “historical” past and pan-Asianism. His fantasy and creativity is not a mere tool to criticize the society but a link between present and the past. He was interested in the diversity of Japanese culture and even the western things became part of Japanese culture. A Disney chief creative officer and co-founder of Pixar, John Lasseter was inspired by Hayao. His famous work is “Bug’s Life”, “Toy’s Story” and “Shrek.”
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He became famous as he made this film called, “Spirited Away”. It came out in 2001. It became so famous that it made a new record in the Overseas Countries. For example it broke the domestic box-office record set by Titanic. He used Fantasy to create the link between present and past. “Spirited Away” was the first film that merged fantasy and reality. It is like a folktale for the twenty-first century. Also, he has out negative aspects of Japanese Society seen from a child’s point of few. For example, the relationship between Yubaba (mother) and Bo (a child), it shows weird relationship between parents and children. The Mother, Yubaba is too lenient to Bo, her child and she does everything that she wants no matter what. This make Bo to be spoilt and showing the unhealthy relationship of parents and children nowadays. Moreover it was to criticize on the Japan’s bubble economy in the late 1980s. The town or the mystery place in the Spirited Away and the bath house as modeled after buildings in the Edo Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum in Koganei Park, Tokyo. He also thinks that Japanese art is not purely Japanese but think that it is a mixture of different art forms. Hence, he has his own style where he mixes Western and traditional Japanese features. For example, in the “Spirited Away”, the shops looks Western but they are covered with traditional Japanese tiles and gabled roofs. He called this pseudo-Western.
There were new films other than “Spirited Away”, the 2nd most popular film was the “Howl’s Moving Castle.” This gain a lot of attention as it came out just few years after Spirited Away. It was also as interesting as “Spirited Away.” There is like fantasy and romance mixed together. The sceneries and the feels seems more like Western in this film. Also there was film named, “Ponyo”. It was a both production for Disney and Ghibli. However most of it was done by Hayao and the other Producers in Ghibli as they do not want the others to touch or change any aspects and intentions as different people has different views.
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