Hayao Miyazaki

Hayao Miyazaki (宮崎駿, Miyazaki Hayao, born January 5, 1941) is one of the most famous and respected creators of anime, or Japanese animated films.

Influences

A number of English and French authors have influenced Miyazaki's artwork, such as Lewis Carroll, Möbius, Diana Wynne Jones, and J.R.R. Tolkien. As in Miyazaki's films, these authors have created self-contained worlds where allegory is avoided, characters have complex or ambigious motivations, and the audience is not explicitly lectured to. In a 1994 BBC interview, Miyazaki cited the British authors Eleanor Farjeon, Rosemary Sutcliff, and Philippa Pearce as influences. He has also created TV work based on Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories. The filmmaker is also fond of Roald Dahl's stories about planes and pilots: for example, the image from Porco Rosso of a cloud of dead pilots was inspired by Dahl's "They Shall Not Grow Old". Other Miyazaki works—such as My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, and Spirited Away—specifically incorporate elements of Japanese history and mythology.

Related Topics:
Lewis Carroll - Möbius - Diana Wynne Jones - J.R.R. Tolkien - Allegory - BBC - Eleanor Farjeon - Rosemary Sutcliff - Philippa Pearce - Arthur Conan Doyle - Sherlock Holmes - Roald Dahl

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Miyazaki was also influenced by his political background in the ANPO Hantai (see U.S.-Japan Security Treaty) and labor movements of the 1960s. These political roots had an impact on the themes of his films.

Related Topics:
U.S.-Japan Security Treaty - 1960s

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