Symbolism In My Neighbor Totoro

Hayao Miyazaki, an influential Japanese film director who has produced animated films that still remain popular both in Japan and worldwide. Throughout this essay, one of his most famous animated films “My Neighbor Totoro” will be discussed, exploring the religious elements used in the film, based on a comparison of Shinto and Buddhism. This should help us understand how Miyazaki delivers the message that nature is sacred.

To understand the religious elements of the film, we should discuss the two major religions central to Japanese life, Shinto and Buddhism. First, Shinto meaning the path of the gods or 神 in Japanese, is a religion that originates in Japan that symbolizes the Japanese character. Shinto holds the idea of Kami as being dangerous …show more content…
The Susutawari, a common yokai in Miyazaki’s films making appearing in “Spirited Away,” is a soot spirit, it resembles coal, with eyes and soot coming off of it. These spirits, inhabit japanese houses that have long stood empty, and disused. These spirits most likely originated from people’s fears over an empty house, and strange creaks and noises, by making them into a spirit, they can change it from an unknown fearful thing, to something respected. In one important scene, the family is taking a bath together, and they overhear Susutawari rumbling around in the house. The father tells the children to laugh loudly to get rid of their fears and as they do so the Susutawari leave the house seeing it’s now occupied and fly towards the moon. In shinto, the sun and moon are sacred, the sun being Amatarasu the Goddess of the heavens, and her brother, Tsukuyomi, the god of the moon. The moon holds importance in this case, as it is a religious representation of the divine, and the purifying light of the divine accepting all, even the lowliest Susutawari. If the spirits had just disappeared or left the house, it would feel more like banishment, a practice in Shinto, warding off evil …show more content…
Shinto worship utilizes all of these elements together, the Torii marking the entrance to the holy area and the mountain itself as an area of nature untouched by humanity, the lanterns, and the tablets. It is a blessed place, a place of protection for all creatures, one of prosperity and hope to those who undertake the pilgrimage and bring offerings to the Kami who dwell there. Even little creatures seek protection from it. The mountain bestows harvest and other blessings upon believers making this an important area for the entire