Hayao Miyazaki and Japanese Animation Essay

“I never read reviews. I'm not interested. But I value a lot the reactions of the spectators.”- Hayao Miyazaki.

“The perfect blossom is a rare thing. You could spend your life looking for one, and it would not be a wasted life” (Zwick). These are the words of Katsumoto, an important samurai warrior. The movie The Last Samurai directed by Edward Zwick is about an American War Captain named Nathan Algren who is hired to train, lead and modernize a group of Japanese soldiers to defeat a rebellion of the country's remaining Samurai in 1876. Algren is captured by the Samurai and soon becomes part of the village he is being held hostage in. There, Algren learns from the Samurai and comes to respect them. He finds that his true warrior is becoming unleashed as he trains to become a Samurai with the very people we once called his

Lord Takeda Shingen- The Lord of Kai, a ruthless warlord whose ambition is to rule all of Japan.

Tojo was born on December 30, 1884 in Tokyo, Japan. He was the oldest son out of three of Hidenori Tojo, his father who was also a Lieutenant General in the Imperial Japanese Army. In 1899, Tojo entered the Army Cadet School following his fathers footsteps. When he graduated from the Japanese

Shigeru Miyamoto had a pleasant childhood. He was born to Lijake Miyamoto and Hinako Aruha on 15th, 1952. Miyamoto grew up in Kyoto, Japan, where he didn't have any toys or TV. Instead, he made his own toys out of wood and string along with cartoon flip books. At age seven or eight, he was fascinated by a nearby cave and kept returning to visit

Born on July 4, 1916, in Los Angeles, California, to the parents of Jun and Fumi Toguri, Iva Ikoku Toguri was an American citizen with Japanese heritage (Lerner 163; Tokyo1). Toguri and her three siblings were raised in a predominantly white neighborhood in Compton, California, where their father disapproved of them learning the Japanese language so they could better fit into American society. Toguri eventually went on to attend Compton Junior College after finishing high school and then transferred to University of California, Los Angeles where she graduated in 1941 with a zoology degree (Iva 1; Tokyo 1). Soon after college, Toguri left America to tend to an extremely ill aunt in Japan on July 5, 1941. Unfortunately, she only acquired a

Created by the Toei Doga Company, this film showed that full-length animated feature films were a viable commercial product in the Japanese market (MacWilliams 50). Previously only animated films from foreign nations reached Japanese theatres, mostly coming from the United States.

The director Miyazaki utilizes both physical and visual elements as represented by the characters, in order to communicate and individualize unique character traits and contrasting personalities. Miyazaki’s placing emphasis on character development is a significant aspect of not only the narrative, but also asserts how each gender is represented in a different way.

Many people may have a specific style in which they like to dress. A woman might have a signature lipstick she enjoys wearing, a man might have a distinct cologne that stands out from the rest. Movies are not too far apart in comparison. Sometimes people find films more enjoyable than others, and often do not realize they come from the same director. The Auteur theory is a that defines the director as the sole author of the entire film, adding his or her own personal style. When it comes to the world of animation, director Hayao Miyazaki is a pioneer in auteur. His specific directorial style is seen in many of his films in which he manages to make films enjoyable to adults of all ages. Kiki's Delivery Service was one of director Miyazaki's

Another outlet for taking a look into the great mind of Miyazaki is the film, The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness. It documents the routine and life of Miyazaki, as well as the other men and women that are very important to Studio Ghibli. During the documentary, he does interject his opinion on nuclear power and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster that happened on the 11th of March. He is quite attune with nature that before the disaster he already felt something was off in the sky and that disaster just proved it. And in an off the cuff moment, he stated how he does not use nuclear power, probably because in reminds him of the destruction that happened with that disaster. When he does have down time, either in between working or he has a

It is hard to imagine a person who has not heard of Steven Spielberg. He is one of the most renown, if not the most renown, American filmmakers of the century. His films have captivated and helped develop imaginations of contemporary society and remain among the most successful films ever made.

To discover the traditional beauty of a Japan which is disappearing; to emphasise the importance of industrially produced clothes by using synthetic materials; to demonstrate the secret beauty of Japanese women. I am striving to create clothes which give paramount importance to the movement of the body. Rather than fashion that one puts on, I want to produce fashion that one takes off...for that is where the beauty of man’s primitive spirit is found. (Tokyo Vogue p44)

Portrait of an Arhat (Rakan) was created in Edo period of the Japanese art culture. This period started in 1615-1868 when culture expression started to really blossom for the Japanese culture (Singer). From statues, lavish paintings, and religion the art speaks vibrant vibrations. This culturally diverse period gets its name from the city of Edo, known as Tokyo modern day. Which became the headquarters of the government when Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542 – 1616) unified the country (Department of Asian Art). The Tokugawa regime was started in 1603, when the emperor, in “recognition of Ieyasu’s supremacy on the battlefield”, appointed him shogun. Shogun is the highest military position you can carry in Japan (Singer). After this Japan had strict laws on not using motor vehicles were put into place. Going into the 1630s, contact with the outside world was stopped through “official prohibition of foreigners” (Department of Asian Art). Around 1720 Edo had a population of “more than one million residents having more population than London or Paris at the time” (Singer). According to Art of Edo Japan Kyoto, was city of temples and shrines. It was the leading center of arts and crafts production with a population of close to 400,000 (Singer).

Samurai signore nobles are mostly conquering, feudal lords used to each other, their behavior has brought huge disaster to the common people. Samurai allegiance to the Lord King often means an unceasingly, and the object of war is the vast majority of ordinary people. Though at the same time, the warrior is a above ordinary people class, but most of the samurai's lower life and ordinary people to the need of the survival causes warrior must be employed in signore or engage in conflict with samurai spirit, the samurai's behavior and the initial idea inevitably. The film demonstrated the four kinds of Samurai:

When one thinks about the cartoons of the past, like TigerSharks, ThunderCats, and G.I. Joe, one will remember the rich story lines, the wild character profiles, and the inspiring battle cries of "Yo Joe" and "Thunder, Thunder, ThunderCats, Ho!!" With technology changing every day, a new form of animation has arisen. This new form is called "Japanimation" or "Anime." It is slowly becoming a part of this culture just as much as hamburgers and pizza. It still has a long way to go, but it is slowly creeping into the American genre of animation.