Since I was a little girl, I have been fascinated with the works of Hayao Miyazaki, a famous Japanese film director, animator, producer, and screenwriter. Miyazaki’s works were first introduced to me by my mother. She would show the Japanese tapes of the 1988 hit, Totoro, I was in love. My grandmother also introduced a picture book called Kiki’s Delivery Service, based on the film. Since then, many other films have been produced, including my favorite, Spirited Away. Spirited Away is about a girl who crosses a mysterious tunnel with her parents and over time must learn how to believe in herself in order to turn her parents back to humans. Miyazaki’s works have greatly influenced many people around the globe.

Hayao Miyazaki was born on January 5th, 1941 in a town called Akebono-cho in Bunkyō, Japan. His love for anime was sparked in his third year in junior high, by the anime film The Tale of the White Serpent, written by Taiji Yabushita. His first hit film was in The Castle of Cagliostro, in 1979, Miyazaki was 38 at the time. Since then, he has directed many more movies including Castle in the Sky, Ponyo, and Howls Moving Castle.

By far, the anime movie Princess Mononoke , is the biggest movie in Hayao Miyazaki’s career. Princess Mononoke was released 1997 when he was 56 years old. A boy named Ashitaka is fighting for his village when a boar-god disguised as a demon gives Ashitaka a demon mark on his arm. He later finds out that mark will soon kill him if he doesn’t find a cure. On the search for a cure, Ashitaka arrives in a forest filled with animal gods and watches as his village is constantly being destroyed. San, a girl raised by wolf gods communicates with spirits to help Mono bring down these villages however, Ashitaki tries to bring peace and co-exist with the creatures.

Unfortunatly, with Miyazaki’s older age and declining health, his last film was released in 2013 called The Wind Rises. Many people, including myself, cherish this last film as a gift of his works. Luckily, his son, Goro Miyazaki has decided to take over his father’s business. I cannot wait to see the films he produces in the future!