Spirited Away is a movie that came from the
beautiful head of director Hayao Miyazaki. He takes a lot of inspiration from Japanese
folklore. He doesn’t pull directly, instead he combines
different elements to make his worlds and the characters and monsters that live there. Let’s go through the interesting bits of
folklore spread throughout the movie. What does Spirited Away mean? The movie’s title in Japanese is “Sen
to Chihiro no Kamikakushi 千と千尋の神隠し.” Chihiro is the main character’s name. Sen is the new name given to her in the movie. And Kamikakushi is translated as “spirited
away.” So the title means “The Spiriting Away of
Sen and Chihiro” or maybe “The Disappearance of Sen and Chihiro.” The word kamikakushi literally means abduction
by a kami. A kami is usually translated as a god or a
spirit. In the Shinto worldview, the world is full
of kami. They’re everywhere around us. They’re in rocks and trees and creatures. There’s a kami of agriculture that you can
pray to. A river can have a kami. Even the spirit of a dead person can be a
kami. Basically anything important can be a kami
that you can pray to. Is this channel a kami? Yes. And you should pray to it. Before the modern era, there was this idea
that children under 7 were not fully of the human world. It was like they had one foot in the human
world, and one foot in the spirit world. People thought children were more in tune
with the gods. That’s right, your kid is not talking to
his imaginary friend, he’s talking to a god. This may sound cool, but their closeness to
the gods meant that children had a tendency to be taken away by the gods. Because the gods had just given them to the
world, it was easier for the gods to take them away. If a child wandered into the forest and got
lost, people wouldn’t say the child was lost, they would say the child was stolen,
as in stolen by the gods or by supernatural creatures. Because it’s easier than admitting you’re
a bad parent. This is the meaning of kamikakushi, being
spirited away by the gods or by monsters. Supernatural kidnapping. But Disney probably rejected that title. Back in the old days, kids died a lot. They were just dropping left and right from
smallpox or ninjas. This kamikakushi idea may have been a way
to explain their deaths and to cope with it. Parents thought their kids were not fully
human, and were prepared for them to be taken away at any time. Entering the Spirit Realm. The movie starts with Chihiro in the back
seat being a little pumpkin. They pass by these mini shrines on the side
of the road called hokora 祠, which are small shrines dedicated to minor local gods, gods
who haven’t gained enough subscribers to qualify for a check mark, so they only get
small shrines. These shrines are usually put on roadsides
or within larger shrines. Chihiro also sees this stone statue as her
crazy dad speeds by and sees another one in front of a tunnel. The stone statues are called dōsojin 道祖神,
which are gods of borders and roads. They’re supposed to protect travelers. These statues are usually put near roads and
forest trails, and also at the borders between villages. They pass by a torii 鳥居 gate, which you
see at the entrance to Shinto shrines. The tunnel here is important too. Bridges, tunnels, and crossroads are often
seen as the borders between worlds. Between the hokora, dōsojin, tunnel, and
the torii gate, the movie’s telling us that the family is wandering awfully near the border
between the normal world and the spirit world. Chihiro instinctively feels this and becomes
super nervous, probably because she’s a child and is closer to the gods. Her parents are oblivious to everything around
them, probably because they’re adults in a kids’ movie. Sure enough, when they cross through the tunnel,
they enter a different world. The Night Parade of 100 Demons. When night falls, the lights turn on and the
spirits appear. These spirits don’t have definite shapes. Miyazaki explains in an interview that kami
don’t have definite forms until they inhabit some object or person. These spirits could be kami in their natural
state, without form. But kami in their natural state are supposed
to be invisible. You shouldn’t even be able to see them. Either these spirits have chosen to take on
a form, or in this world you can see them. Chihiro tries to run back to the tunnel, but
a river blocks her way. According to Japanese Buddhist beliefs, the
souls of the dead must cross a river to reach the afterlife. This river symbolizes again the border between
the human world and the spirit world. Chihiro finds herself disappearing, but she
meets Haku, who saves her by telling her to eat a berry. Eating food from this world allows you to
stay. Japanese mythology has a story about the creator
gods Izanagi and Izanami, they were brother and sister, and they were married. Look, the world just started okay? They didn’t have many romantic options. Izanagi tried to rescue his sister-wife from
the underworld, but Izanami had already eaten food from there and could not leave unless she
begged the gods of the underworld. The story doesn’t end well, but I already
made a video about it. A boat lands on shore, but they’re not the
spirits of the dead. They’re kami from all over the world who
found a Groupon for a relaxing time in some hot herbal baths. The spirits marching from the boat to the
bathhouse looks like an event in Japanese folklore called Hyakki Yagyō 百鬼夜行,
or the Night Parade of 100 Demons. On certain nights, a horde of weird, wacky,
and terrifying supernatural creatures will march through the streets, causing a ruckus. I believe one of their routes goes through
New Orleans around February or March. If you run into this demon parade, you risk
getting killed or being spirited away. But if you don’t wanna have a good time,
then you should avoid them. Let’s take a look at these spirits. Miyazaki has said that although kami have
no form, these kami choose to adopt physical forms so they can enjoy the bathhouse. Traditionally, people invited the gods into
their bath houses. Miyazaki uses this idea, creating a bathhouse
that caters to gods or spirits. These guys are called Kasuga-sama 春日様,
after the Kasuga Grand Shrine 春日大社. They wear masks worn by performers of a type
of traditional dance called bugaku 舞楽, which are often held at the Kasuga Shrine. These spirits look like creatures called namahage
生剥. They live in the mountains, but come down
during the first full moon of each new year. When they enter a village, they visit each
home, saying creepy things like, “Are there any naughty kids here?” Namahage like to scare children and women
who recently married, so they don’t misbehave. You know how they can be, those newly married
women. Namahage wear straw capes and carry knives,
similar to these spirits in the parade. These are big chicks. This guy that looks like a giant radish is
Oshira-sama お白様. That’s the name of a Shinto god of agriculture,
the home, silkworms, and horses. People worship Oshira-sama using these dolls
that originated from a story about a girl who married a horse. And you thought that god marrying his sister was weird. The awesome radish look is totally made up
for the movie. Chihiro’s new friend Haku tells her to hold
her breath as she crosses the bridge to the bathhouse, so that the other spirits don’t
notice her. In many Asian cultures, holding your breath
is a way to avoid ghosts and spirits. Holding it too long is a way to become a ghost
or spirit. Breathing means you’re alive, and the spirits
may be attracted to your breath. Or they may become jealous that you’re alive
and they’re not, and come after you. That’s why people hold their breaths when
passing by a graveyard. We find out later that Haku is a river spirit
in the shape of a dragon. He looks like a mizuchi 大虬, which is a
water dragon. It’s also a river god that has powerful
magic. The other mizuchi-like spirit is the stink
spirit that turns out to be a river spirit after taking a bath. His face looks like a flesh version of okina
masks, from Nō theatre. No-Face. No-Face is some kind of spirit, it’s not
clear what kind. His mask looks like a mask that performers
of Nō 能 theatre use. Nō theatre started in the 1300s as entertainment
for the aristocracy. They really wanted to keep it only for the
elites because they forbade commoners to learn Nō music and dance. But after a few hundred years, they were like,
“Fine, let the plebs enjoy it too. We still have our shogunate. No one’s gonna take away our shogunate.” Performers can show different expressions
using the same mask, just by tilting their heads up and down. Check it out, these are the same masks, just
at different angles. They can also take advantage of lighting. Tilting your head up to catch more light makes
the mask look like it’s smiling or laughing. Tilting your head down to obscure it from
the light makes it look sad or mad. Giant Spider Man Kamaji. Chihiro sneaks into the basement of the bathhouse
and meets the old man Kamaji, who has 6 arms and 2 legs. He looks like these creatures called tsuchigumo
土蜘蛛, which are giant spiders. They can shapeshift into human form to trick
you. There’s an old story where a hero chases
after a tsuchigumo that tried to trick him by turning into a beautiful woman, a classic
but predictable trick. When he finally slashes open the spider’s
belly, 1900 skulls spill out, along with a bunch of “smaller” spiders the size of
human children. Kamaji has these little soot ball assistants. These adoraballs don’t come from anywhere
but director Miyazaki’s head. Yubaba. After having some fun with the soot balls,
Chihiro goes to the owner of the bathhouse, Yubaba, for a job interview. Yubaba looks like a yamauba 山姥, or a mountain
hag, or mountain crone. These creatures live in the mountains and
they look like old women. Some are women who were exiled because they
were accused of doing evil deeds. Some are just old women abandoned in the mountains
because their families could not take care of them. Over time they morph into supernatural beings
with great powers. Yamauba often live in huts and offer shelter
to lucky travelers, but at night, they change into ugly hag form and eat their guests. These stories are popular with parents, who
often warn children that if they misbehave, Yamauba will take them away. Yubaba’s son, Bō 坊, looks similar to
the folk hero Kintarō 金太郎. As a toddler, Kintarō was already jacked,
Mama must’ve snuck some steroids into his formula. He had super strength and could talk to animals. So The Hulk plus Land Aquaman. He’s often drawn as a young boy fighting
a giant fish. The legend says that Kintarō was abandoned
in the mountains and was raised by a yamauba. Another version says that a red dragon visited
a yamauba in a dream, then the sound of thunder woke her up, and she realized she was pregnant
with Kintarō. Yubaba’s pet green heads look like tsurube
otoshi 釣瓶落とし. These creatures are literally gigantic heads
that live in trees. They will drop down on unsuspecting travelers
to eat them, or just to crush them. For fun. You know, because they have a great sense
of humor. Sometimes they like to light themselves on
fire and look like a huge fireball. Then drop on you. These heads just seem like normal bouncing
heads though. The Power of Words. There’s a Japanese concept called kotodama
言霊, which is the idea that words have magical powers. It’s not a purely Japanese thing, most cultures
have some form of this. When you’re at a Japanese wedding, you can’t
say certain words, like words that have to do with cutting, splitting, or ending. Once, a hairdresser mentioned to the newlyweds
that he was sick of cutting split ends and wanted to quit, and the couple immediately
committed ritual suicide, it was amazing, so be careful. True story. Names have the most power. Before the modern era, people kept their personal
names secret, and used a different name in public. They thought people could have power over
you if they knew your name. People also changed their names to get rid
of any bad luck or shame associated with the old name. The power of names is a big theme in the movie. When our charming heroine Chihiro signs the
contract to be Yubaba’s worker, Yubaba takes her name, leaving the character 千 chi, which
can also be read as sen. And Sen becomes her new name. Yubaba owns Chihiro’s name, gaining power
over her. If you didn’t notice. Chihiro actually makes a mistake when signing. Her full name is Ogino Chihiro 荻野千尋,
but she writes the first character incorrectly. Maybe she’s young and it’s just a mistake,
and that’s the end of it. Or has she accidentally saved herself? Because that may be why, at the end, Yubaba
is able to release her from the contract. Yubaba does mention that even she can’t
break the rules. If Chihiro’s real name is not on the contract,
then releasing her is not breaking the rules. I’m just speculating though. In the movie, your name is your identity. As Haku warns, forgetting your name means
forgetting your past and being stuck in the spirit world forever. Luckily, Chihiro remembers her name when she
reads it from her friend’s postcard. Haku’s real name is Nigihayami Kohakunushi
饒速水琥珀主. Yubaba took it long ago, leaving one character: Haku 珀. When he finally remembers his name, he also
recalls his past. Ghost Train. Chihiro takes a ride on the ghost train. Long ago, the train used to go both ways,
but now it only goes one way. These are just my thoughts because no one
knows for sure, but maybe the train takes the spirits of people who just died into the
spirit world. Long ago, when the train also went the opposite
way, spirits may have used it or something like it to enter the human world. That’s why people long ago were more in
tune with the spirits. They were a bigger part of people’s lives. There were even stories of people entering
the underworld to bring people back. In the modern age, the train only travels
one way, and that’s why we don’t see as many gods and spirits in our world as our
ancestors did. Random Thoughts. Most of the female workers are called slugs,
while the male workers are called frogs. This may be a reference to The Tale of the
Gallant Jiraiya, an old story where the main character Jiraiya learns frog magic and his
love interest Tsunade learns slug magic. No it’s not Naruto, it’s an older story
that Naruto borrowed from. Lin, or Rin in Japanese, is the best character
because she shares my name, and as you know, names have power. The paper dolls that attack Haku are called
shikigami 式神. They say Shinto ritualists can summon spirit
servants that they can control, called shikigami. These servants can look like ghosts or demons,
but the most common form is a piece of paper. After Yubaba releases Chihiro from her contract,
she and her parents re-enter the normal world, and realize that they’ve been away for much
longer than a few days. There’s a trope in Japanese folktales of
people being taken to a magical place for a few days, and coming back to find out that
they’ve been away for years. Like the famous story of Urashima Tarō. At the end, when Haku tells Chihiro they’ll
meet again, he meant that they will meet again many years from now when Chihiro finally dies and returns to the spirit world. *sniff* Well I think these are the most significant
folklore references. Can you name others that I missed? I wanna thank the new emperor this week, 泡沫
阿修羅 Utakata Ashura I think. Thank you so much. We also have new patrons Kyle Davidson brother
of Harley, Jamie Hunter beware all Jamies, and Tia Doran long lost member of Duran Duran. Alright I love you and we will meet again,
I promise, in the next video!
