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Spirited Away Revealed: The Real Mythology & Folklore Explained!
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Spirited away is one of the best
animated films ever made.
Correction, it is one of the best films period.
Aside from being the highest
rated studio ghibli film on IMDB.
Aside from being the first and only Japanese
film to win an Oscar for Best Animated Feature.
Aside from still being the
highest-grossing film in Japan 19 years later,
Spirited away is simply a beautiful piece of cinema
Much has been made of director Hayao Miyazaki's
attention to detail in the visual art or
movement of his animation but Miyazaki
also applies this level of detail to the
fantasy elements in his stories.
Miyazaki's films have a mythic quality.
In part because he's an amazing
storyteller but also because they draw
from pre-existing mythology folklore and culture.
Miyazaki is usually careful not
to reference any of these myths or legends overtly.
And for this reason, it
is difficult to uncover his sources.
In this video however, I'm going to try anyway.
Just to be clear Miyazaki, has
given hints here and there but has not
revealed what specific mythology he was
inspired by for Spirited Away.
I will make my best guesses on this based on
clues I find in the film.
Also, I will try my best with the pronunciations
but I'm sure I'll make mistakes.
Gomennasai!
Let's get started!
The film's first little hint that we are
departing the world we know and entering
into an Otherworld comes in the form of
a wooden gate called a Torii.
Torii gates signify the entrance to a shrine of the
Shinto religion: One of two major
spiritual practices in Japan alongside buddhism.
Shinto however, is indigenous to Japan alone.
Entering through a Torii signifies
you are entering into the
sacred realm of the gods.
Or "Kami" in Japanese.
The word Shinto itself means
"way of the gods".
Although Chihiro doesn't pass through
this torii it may be a hint that she
will pass through another gate soon...
the train station and enter the realm of the gods.
In fact, Spirited Away's original title in
Japanese is "Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi".
That latter word means "hidden by gods",
a concept in Japanese folklore comparable
to being taken or "Spirited Away"
by fairies in European folklore.
Below the shrine Chihiro notices these
little stone houses called "Hokora".
These tiny roadside shrines are meant to
house minor Kami and guardian spirits called "Dōsojin".
Another representation of "Dōsojin"
are roadside statues
like the one Chihiro notices in the
forest and this other one that forces
her dad to abruptly hit the brakes of his Audi.
Dōsojin statues often mark boundaries,
for example the one Chihiro
and her family are about to cross.
These Kami are also thought to
protect travelers and those in
"transitional phases".
An apt description
of Chihiro at this point.
The Aburaya bathhouse or onsen that we see for the
first time here is said to be loosely
based on the Dogo onsen in Matsuyama.
Reputedly the oldest onsen in Japan.
Onsens are a staple of Japanese culture
and have been popular for millennia.
They may also be referred to as Sento when
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