Spirited Away narrates the story of Ogino Chihiro. A ten years old girl that falls into the Kami World. Kami are the Gods, Deities and Spirits venerated in Shinto, the Japanese religion. Miyazaki Hayao directed and wrote the screenplay. He said “the generation of my grandparents believes that Kami were to be found everywhere: in rivers, trees, even rocks. We don’t believe in this, today. But I love the idea that we should treasure everything because a Kami could exist in it”.
Shoujo Manga and The Everyday Life Inspiration
Miyazaki Hayao created Spirited Away based on his own experience once again. But the same way his travels around the United Kingdom helped to shape Laputa: Castle in the Sky. The director used to spend summer vacations at a cabin. And friends usually went to share the time. Producer Okuda Seiji visited the cabin together with his ten years old daughter, a central inspiration for Chihiro. But Miyazaki noted she was an avid reader of Nakayoshi. A shoujo manga magazine as popular as Jump is for shonen manga fans.
Miyazaki started to read those shoujo manga magazines trying to understand the things a ten years old girl was interested in at the time. He was surprised with much of the stories being around romance and love. So he decided to create a kind of heroine for young girls. A girl to look up to.
Spirited Away and The Bathhouse Scenario
The Bathhouse setting was always an intrigue for Miyazaki. The director thought that bathhouses are a mystery. Even an enigma. He remembers being at one back in the days. A little door was close to the tub. He remembers wondering about the door. And where it conducts. Maybe to another world or some special place. Before Spirited Away he proposed to create an anime version of the novel by Kashiwaba Sachiko, A Mysterious Town Beyond The Fog. Another story set in a bathhouse and having a young heroine. The production house rejected the draft. But for the director the bathhouse scenario was deep in his mind already.
The Dogo Onsen was the central inspiration for the Bathhouse. Natsume Soseki used to visit the onsen. A mythic onsen. Believed to exist for more than a thousand years. A legend of the onsen is particularly curious when talking about Spirit Away. According to the story, a Kami went to Dogo feeling sick. Sukunabikona no Mikoto thought to be in his last days when getting into the hot waters of Dogo. Getting healed in minutes and leaving his footprints on a rock after dancing full of happiness.
Spirited Away: A Masterpiece of Animation
Hisaishi Joe wrote the score for the movie. Once again he scored a Miyazaki’s movie. This time with a complete genius. The piano piece One Summer’s Day is one of the composer’s bests. His music makes the movie come alive and touch anyone’s heart. No matter the culture background while watching a movie deep into Japanese folklore. The theme illustrates the first steps of Chihiro into another world. A world full of Gods. In a few minutes tell us how she will come back no more as a child. Listen to One Summer’s Day with Hisaishi Joe at piano in his official Youtube channel.
Spirited Away was released in Japanese theaters on July 20, 2001. In the first three days it beat the record set by Princess Mononoke, another Ghibli masterpiece. It was the number one Anime movie in history by grossing for many years in Japan. In the Western markets it helps to mold the anime boom of the 90’s into a wide acclaim cinema. Winner of the 75th Academy Award, the Oscar for Best Animated Featured. It became a classic praised by fans and critics alike. And it is to this day a favorite among animation fans.