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Perhaps this is why his film was the highest-grossing ever in Japan at the time.
Another possible reason is the sense of cultural loss that Japan has been experiencing ever since the World Wars. The increasing Americanization of the country has brought home to its citizens a sense of cultural alienation, both from their own and the foreign culture. The sense of cultural loss is exacerbated by the ambiguous conception of the United States as the "Other." This image was subverted, whereas American culture was accepted by the Japanese as inevitable. Indeed, the country has been continually prone to the influences of other cultures. While this provided for a dynamic and changing cultural landscape, there is a certain loss of identity involved. Miyazaki addresses this by returning the country's consciousness to a time where the battle was not so much for cultural identity as it was for the retention of human civilization and spiritual survival in an apparently hostile natural environment which would not be tamed.
The city Tokyo can perhaps be seen as the quintessential representative of traditional Japanese culture. Constructed during the first half of the 1960s in preparation for the ultimate meeting of cultures in the form of the Olympics, the city was fundamentally changed. It was reconstructed from its traditional, Japanese cityscape to a modernized, westernized metropolis...
This can be seen as representative not as much of construction as of destruction. Tokyo became Japan's meeting point with the world on the world's terms, rather than on its own terms.
This, as well as its acceptance of previously hostile America as part of its civilization, is what brought to Japan its sense of cultural loss and alienation. This is what Miyazaki attempts to regain through is film, and to a certain extent, he appears to succeed. He emphasizes an undiluted view of Japan, along with its civilization, natural and cultural roots. It is a Japan that is not influenced as much by the Western paradigm as it is by its collective consciousness of nature as wild and of women as ambiguous and powerful beings.
In returning to the ancient, Miyazaki appears to offer a reconstructed collective conception of Japan. In this, he offers collective healing to a country that has been ravaged by influences beyond her borders.
Sources
Morris-Suzuki, T. (1998). Re-Inventing Japan: Time, Space, Nation. Armonk, NY: ME Sharpe.
Napier, Susan J. Anime: from Akira to Howl's Moving Castle. Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation.
Naming the Unnameable.
From the Anti-Security Treaty Movement to the Tokyo Olympics: Transforming the Body, the Metropolis, and Memory.
Sources
Morris-Suzuki, T. (1998). Re-Inventing Japan: Time, Space, Nation. Armonk, NY: ME Sharpe.
Napier, Susan J. Anime: from Akira to Howl's Moving Castle. Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation.
Naming the Unnameable.
From the Anti-Security Treaty Movement to the Tokyo Olympics: Transforming the Body, the Metropolis, and Memory.
Shinto-Buddhism in Japan Japan's main religious tradition is a combination of the conventional Shinto beliefs integrated with the imported Buddhist practices. Long been considered the land of several million gods, Japanese base their traditional Shinto beliefs on this pantheon. But the introduction of Buddhism in the mid 500's A.D. forced an amalgamation of the two belief systems. Over time these two very different religious traditions blended together into a unique system
Shinto Today Shinto is the indigenous religion of Japan. It is often called 'nature worship' because of the way the material world is invested with spiritual significance. The world is populated with kami: "the best English translation of kami is 'spirits', but this is an over-simplification of a complex concept - kami can be elements of the landscape or forces of nature" ("Kami," 2009). Kami may include nature, the spirits of
These narratives were also intended to validate the Imperial house, showing its lineage back to the Sun Goddess Amaterasu, as other ethnic groups were warring against the Shinto and not accepting the Imperial House's rule. Eventually, Shinto was made the official religion of Japan in hopes of unifying the country, and combining it with Buddhist beliefs was outlawed. Shinto beliefs spread to territories like Hokkaido and Korea. After World War
The ritual is the most important aspect of Shinto; thus performing the ritual the right way is the most important part of worship in Shinto. The rituals serve to bind Japanese to their past as well; since the rituals themselves are sacred they do not change. The other key element of Shinto is purification. Wiping clean restores the natural process, which is clean and beautiful, and free from pollution. For
As a consequence, the society provides a culturally acceptable outlet for such expression, i.e., while under the influence of alcohol during a Shinto festival procession (also known as Japanese matsuri). During these public processions, which are generally held on annual basis, a large object (supposedly containing the spirit of a local deity) is carried shoulder-high through the streets, in order to revitalize the community with its supernatural presence. The bearers
..as Shinto was hijacked by the military before the War to their own political ends." (1999) Lamont-Brown states "...today members of the new religions-based spiritual regenerations tends to be both socially and politically conservative." (1999) the influence that is seen is the "contemporary trend for such member groupings to be more selective of their choice of candidates to support..." (Lamont-Brown, 1999) Lamount-Brown states that the Risshokosekai has five million members