Studio Ghibli has been making movies for nearly four decades and while each film is varied in scope and story, the Japanese directors and producers Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata and Toshio Suzuki include many similar cultural themes in each. One of their first films translated to English and one of the original studio movies that hooked American audiences, was Princess Mononoke.
This was something of a surprise hit considering it was a foreign, animated film, and a particularly violent one in the Ghibli canon as well. Princess Mononoke tells a modern tale of sustainability, redemption, and guilt all through the lens of the wider mythological pantheon of Japan.
Kodama
The kodama are the mountain and tree spirits of Japanese folklore and some are even considered gods and worshiped as such with tiny shrines built at the bottom of trees. In Princess Mononoke the kodama are a direct representation of their historical basis.
Kodama are said to be ethereal and vaguely human-shape with the ability to shape shift, much like the green goblin-like spirits Ashitaka comes across. And just like their real world versions these spirits are kind to all who visit their forest as long as they don't hurt the trees they protect.
Mononoke
Princess Mononoke may not be a spirit herself but she is a clear reference to another, fearsome spirit in Japanese folklore. The Mononoke refers to three different kinds of spirits, including one of vengeance, the onryo.
The titular character of Princess Mononoke has vengeance as a core character trait. Her hatred of humans and self-hate of her own humanity drive most of the plot. It's Mononoke who first meets Ashitaka in her attempt to exact vengeance on those she believes have destroyed her forest home.
Yatsukamizuomitsuno
Known better by the name "the forest spirit", this deer-like creature is the source of confusion, mystery, and wonder for the characters in Princess Mononoke. It's cross-eyed, eerily human face adds another level of mysticism and awe.
Both the film and real-life version are incredibly powerful deities. But while the movie's forest spirit has only the ability to create life and end it, the mythological spirit has the ability to create entire planets.
Kami
The kami of Japanese myth can represent a wide variety of gods, spirits, and vessels. They are forces of nature that can be both good and evil, more human-like than the god of Judeo-Christian religions. The non-human characters in Princess Mononoke, like the boar gods, represent these forces well.
Two boar gods make an appearance in the film, Naga in the beginning as a demon and Okkoto, two massive leaders of the boar clans. Both are incredibly powerful and revered but their statuses as gods do not keep them from death and pain.
Yorishiro
A concept in the Shinto Japanese tradition, yorishiro refers to an object, place, or person that acts as a vessel for one of the kami. There are many objects in Princess Mononoke representing this concept but the main character, Ashitaka, may be the best example.
After grappling with a demon of the forest, Ashitaka is given otherworldly strength and even referred to as a demon by those he encounters. The evil spirit possessing him threatens to destroy his body if he can't rid himself as the vessel.
Fox Spirit
Originally a spirit described in Chinese myth, the legendary nine-tailed fox found its way into the mythology and folklore of many eastern beliefs. Ninetales from the Pokemon series is one of the more recognizable representations.
In Princess Mononoke, Moro the giant wolf goddess has its mythological origin in the fox spirit. While it's not a direct analogy, Moro does have multiple tails and while it can't turn into a beautiful woman like the legend, she is voiced in the American dub by the stately, Gillian Anderson.
Daidarabotchi
The secondary form of the forest spirit in Princess Mononoke is that of the nightwalker. An ethereal and unnerving giant who strides across the forest as the moon rises. In Japanese mythology, it is said to be mistaken for a mountain while sleeping.
This is something of a departure from the movie version who is the opposite side of the coin of the deer-like Forest Spirit. Instead of slumbering during the day, the daidarabotchi reverts to its more earthly form.
Kannagara
In the Shinto religion, kannagara refers to "the way of the kami" which is the natural order of the world. Kannagara is the teachings of beauty, goodness, purity, and other virtues that followers are instructed to follow.
Doing anything against kannagara leads to pain and destruction. Iron Town in Princess Mononoke represents a culture that has not gone the way of kannagara. Instead it's a society enveloped by pride, industry, and greed along with strength and honor. But the last two virtues are not enough to save it from destruction.
Emishi
The Emishi people were a real group of Japanese natives who inhabited the island early in the country's history. Their origins are unknown but they appear throughout historical documents during the medieval-Japanese period.
These semi-legendary peoples resisted the rule of Japanese overlords for centuries but were eventually subjugated and in some cases destroyed by colonizing despots. Ashitaka and his clan claim to be the last of the Emishi people and this explains their almost mythical connection with nature and the spirits of Japan.
Shinto
The indigenous religion of Japan, Shinto, is a half-religious and half-mythical belief system that is as much a part of Japan's history as their language. The emperor of Japan is generally considered the head of the religion and it is firmly rooted in appreciation of the natural world.
Princess Mononoke and nearly every other Studio Ghibli film have themes of nature and environmental protection as major components of their stories. In Princess Mononoke the societies and cultures that forgo the Shinto religion are destroyed and the people who struggle to stay true to their beliefs end up better off in the end.
