WEEK SIX (ethan)

How do it and other Miyazaki films address the humanity/nature divide, according to Wright (2005)?

The divide between humanity and nature is a strong theme in the film Princess Mononoke. According to Wright (2005), Miyazaki’s films “problematise Japan’s oft-touted love of nature, the conflict is depicted as outright war between the Gods of the forest and the industrial humans in Princess Mononoke (1997). In Miyazaki’s work he infuses highly detailed worlds with and animistic ontology that relates to ancient Japanese beliefs, practices and myths. Miyazaki often writes about times when humans and nature lived together in harmony. In Princess Mononoke, Miyazaki writes about the growing conflict between the natural world and the newly industrialized humans at a time when humans declared war on the nature gods. Miyazaki goes on to say that he was “trying to summarize the history of humans since the beginning of farming, in pre-historic times-since we first began to tamper with the world.” Miyazaki’s work is often influenced by the indigenous Japanese religion of Shinto which involves the worship of ancestors and various natural deities. Miyazaki has said that he only makes films for a Japanese audience which is the main reason he relates his work back to ancient Japanese traditions such as Shinto. Religious traditions are clearly visible in Miyazaki’s work however they do not affect the plot and are only for decorative use. As Wright (2005) suggests “his films seem to offer a way forward for the Japanese people and global audiences to enjoy their animistic and beneficent view of the world without the trappings of religion."

References:

Wright, L. (2005). Nature Spirits, Giant Insects and World Trees: the nature vision of Hayao Miyazaki. In the Journal of Religion of Popular Culture. Volume X: Summer 2005.