Princess Mononoke Hime

　　　　　　　　　　　Mononoke hime

　Mononoke hime is a historical drama (Muromachi era 1392-1573) involving the conflicts of civilization and nature. In the midst of a war between the Tatara (a group of working class people) and animals of the Japanese forest, a young boy (ashitaka) meets a young girl (san/mononoke hime) who has been raised in the woods by a female wolf god. He tries to persuade her to become “human”, but instead they come to an understanding of each other’s world and make an attempt to coexist without hatred and violence. “We are not trying to solve the (modern) global problems. There cannot be a happy ending to the fight between raging gods and humans. However, in the middle of the hatred and killings, there are things worth living for. A wonderful meeting or a beautiful thing can exist” (Miyazaki).The story may sound simplistic.However, Miyazaki introduces complex messages in the film, such as the members of the tatara, who include lepers and women freed from bonded prostitution. There is no “right” or “wrong”, as the tatara “are not portrayed as senseless offenders of nature; they cut down trees to make steel so that the disadvantaged can have a place in society” . Mononoke hime stands out, because it does not glorify to struggle between man and nature. While the activities of man are regarded poorly, it is not the main theme of the movie so it does not matter which side is right or wrong, or if the conflict is resolved. “what is important, is that you are alive. And perhaps this is the strongest environmental message of all” . Ashitaka's last words sum up the concluding message of the film:

"The Shishigami will never die.
He is both life and death itself.
He told me to survive." (Mononoke hime, )

Although the forest spirits and the Shishigami have disappeared, life still goes on and the Shishigami still lives within everyone and everything. In other words it is now up to humans to look after nature now.

In Hayao Miyazaki's films there is a lot of deep meaning about how it is important for the human race to respect Mother Nature. Most of his films are destined for the "urban" children of Tokyo who have never lived in the countryside. Japanese society likes to see destruction (violence) because they lead very structured lives and they are a very hard working society. The violence in Anime relieves Japanese society from there everyday lives.

 by baigal