General Info and the Early Life of Miyazaki
Hayao Miyazaki.
Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese Animator, Director, Manga Artist, Producer, Screenwriter, and most notably a Co-Founder of Studio Ghibli. You might recognize many of his movies! |
Hayao Miyazaki was born on 5th of January, 1941, in the town of Bunkyō, Tokyo, as the 2nd son of 4 to father Katsuji Miyazaki and mother Dola Miyazaki. Hayao's father was a director of a company which manufactured rudders of fighter planes during the infamous World War II. This gave a young Hayao and his family enough money to stay afloat. In 1944, the Miyazaki family then evacuated to Utsunomiya. However, they had to move again to Kanuma after the Utsunomiya bombings. < A young Hayao Miyazaki with his Mother |
in 1947, Miyazaki started going to school; an Elementary school in Utsunomiya. Having completed grades 1-3, his family moved to Suginami-ku, Miyazaki finished his fourth grade at Ōmiya Elementary school, and later his fifth grade at Eifuku Elementary School. After graduating from Eifuku, he then went to Ōmiya Junior High School. It was then he discovered that he wanted to be a manga artist, but he found that he could not draw people; instead, he only drew planes, tanks, and battleships for several years, which was heavily influenced by his childhood. After graduating from Ōmiya Junior High, Hayao later attended Toyotama High School. During his 3rd year at Toyotama High School, Miyazaki's had suddenly grown an interest in the art of animation because of a film by the name of "Panda and the Magic Serpent". Where in which the main heroine left a big impression on him. |
After graduating from Toyotama HIgh School, Miyazaki attended Gakushuin University and during his time there, was an active member of the "Children's Literature Research Club", the "closest thing back then to a modern comics or manga club. In his free time, Miyazaki would visit his art teacher from middle school and also sketch in his studio, where the duo would drink and talk about politics, life, and a bunch of things. Miyazaki graduated from Gakushuin in 1963 and earned 2 degrees in both political science and economics. < Gakushuin University Main Gates in 2015 |
The Beginning of His Career
Hayao Miyazaki
Miyazaki got a job at Toei Animation in 1963. He helped as an in-between artist for many different anime during 1963-1964. He was at the front of a labor dispute soon after his arrival, and in 1964, became the chief secretary of Toei's labor union. Miyazaki later worked as chief animator, a concept artist, and a scene designer on The Great Adventure of Horus, Prince of the Sun in 1968. During the movie's production, Miyazaki worked together with his mentor, Yasuo Ōtsuka, whose approach to the art of animation profoundly influenced Miyazaki's work. The movie was also directed by Isao Takahata, with who Miyazaki would continue to work with for the remainder of his career, this film was highly praised, and was told to be a pivotal work in the evolution of modern animation. In 1965, Miyazaki married his current wife, Akemi Ota. |
During 1969 to 1971, Miyazaki worked on many different projects in Toei Animation and pursued some of his own work, helping to animate many different pieces such as The Wonderful World of Puss 'n Boots among many others. He also drew some manga during these 2 years, such as People of the Desert and a 13-part manga adaptation of Animal Treasure island. In 1971, he left Toei Animation, and was subsequently hired at A-Pro, another animation studio. Most notably during his time at A-Pro, Miyazaki directed and co-directed with Isao Takahata 23 episodes of Lupin the Third Part I. Miyazaki and Takahata then moved to Nippon Animation in 1975, working on World Masterpiece Theater. < Isao Takahata, 1935 - 2018, RIP |
Breakthrough to Stardom.
Hayao Miyazaki
Toshi Suzuki > In 1979 he left Nippon and moved to Telecom Animation Film, a subsidiary of TMS Entertainment, so he could direct his first full-length anime film, The Castle of Cagliostr, a Lupin III film., After the release of The Castle of Cagliostro, Miyazaki began working on his ideas for an animated film. During subsequent conversations, he showed his sketchbooks and discussed basic outlines for some envisioned animation projects with his editors Toshio Suzuki and Osamu Kameyama. They saw the potential for collaboration on their development into animation. Two projects were eventually proposed: Warring States Demon Castle and the adaptation of Richard Corben's Rowlf. Both were rejected, as the company was unwilling to fund anime projects not based on existing manga, and the rights for the adaptation of Rowlf could not be secured. An agreement was reached with Miyazaki, that said he could start developing his sketches and ideas into a manga for the magazine, with the catch. It would never be made into a film. The manga, which was titled Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, ran from February 1982 to March 1994. The story spans seven volumes for a combined total of 1060 pages.. Miyazaki eventually resigned from Telecom Animation Film in November of 1982. |
Following the success of his manga, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Yasuyoshi Tokuma, the founder of Tokuma Shoten, pushed Miyazaki to start working on a film adaptation. Miyazaki initially refused, but agreed on the basis that he could direct. Miyazaki's imagination was brought to life by the mercury poisoning of Minamata Bay, and how nature responded and thrived in it's poisoned environment, using this to create the film's polluted world. Miyazaki and Isao Takahata chose the minor studio Topcraft to animate the film, as they believed its sole artistic talent could transpose the atmosphere of the manga into that ofthe film. Pre-production began on 31 May 1983; Miyazaki faced difficulties in the screenplay, because of the only sixteen chapters of the manga to work with. Takahata hired experimental and minimalist musician Joe Hisaishi to compose the film's music scores. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind was published on 11 of March, 1984. It grossed ¥1.48 billion at the Japanese box office, and made an additional ¥742 million in distribution income. It is seen as Miyazaki's pivotal work, putting in place his reputation as an animator. The successful cooperation during the project and on the creation of the manga laid the grounds for many other collaborative projects. In the April of 1984, Miyazaki finally opened his first own office in Suginami Ward, naming it Nibariki. |
Studio Ghibli
Hayao Miyazaki
In June of the year 1985, Miyazaki, together with Takahata, Tokuma and Suzuki founded the animation production company, you guessed it, Studio Ghibli, with some funding from Tokuma Shoten. From 1985 to 1996, the company created many films. The first being Castle in the Sky in 1986 (Miyazaki both directed and wrote this movie) animated by the same company that had worked on Nausicaa. Castle in the Sky would be the highest grossing Japanese movie of that year. Together with Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli would continue to push out films. My Neighbor Totoro, Grave of Fireflies (Takahata's Film), Kiki's Delivery Service, and Porco Russo to name a few. (You can see the list of Miyazaki's Movies in "Movies He's Made) Studio Ghibli set up its headquarters in Koganei, Tokyo in 1992. Founders Sitting Together > |
Tokuma Shoten eventually merged with Studio Ghibli in June of 1997. Miyazaki went on a vacation in a mountain cabin, with some family including five little girls who were family friends. Miyazaki realized that he hadn't made any films for 10 year old girls yet, so he decided to produce a film with a female heroine to look up to. The movie Spirited Away was born. Production started in 2000, with a budget of ¥1.9 billion (US$15 million). When the film was finally released on the 20th of July, 2001, it was a ginormous hit, which might even be said to be and understatement. It won the Japan Academy Prize for Picture of the Year, and the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. The film earned ¥30.4 billion (US$289.1 million) at the box office. It is the highest-grossing film in Japan TO DATE. No-Face from Spirited Away > |
In 1994, Miyazaki Begin working on the initial storyboards for an upcoming film, Princess Mononoke. Princess Mononoke was made with an estimated budget of ¥2.35 billion, being the most expensive film to make at the time for the growing company. Upon its first premiere on the 12 of July, 1997, Princess Mononoke was a huge hit, being the first animated film to win the Japan Academy Prize for Picture of the Year. The film was commercially successful, earning a total of a whopping ¥14 billion (US$148 million), and it became the highest-grossing film in Japan for many months. Miramax Films bought the film's distributions rights for North America; it was the first Studio Ghibli production to receive a decently sized theatrical distribution in the US.. While it was unsuccessful at the box office, grossing about US$3 million, it was an introduction of Studio Ghibli to the global markets. Miyazaki then claimed that Princess Mononoke would be his last film. < A scene from Princess Mononoke |
After the Release of Spirited Away, Miyazaki and the rest of Studio Ghibli kept pushing out quality films. Such as Howl's Moving Castle in 2001, based on the novel written by Dianna Wayne Jones, which along with Spirited Away, is also one of the highest grossing movies in Japan of all time. This film also won Miyazaki Many Awards. In 2005, Studio Ghibli finally split from Tokuma Shoten. After that he helped supervise his Son's making of Tales of Earthsea and other things in between. in 2008, Miyazaki released Ponyo, which like all of his movies, was a massive success as well.
Likewise, after these major films, Miyazaki continued to do more work and publish more movies, the rest of which you can see in "Movies He's Made" |
What He's Been Up to Now.
Hayao Miyazaki
In September on 2013, Miyazaki announced that he was FINALLY going to retire from making anymore feature-films because of ever growing age. However, in 2016, he came up with a new idea for an animated film, which he has since been working on. Suzuki predicts a 2021 release date for this film "How do you Live?". In January of 2019, a frequent collaborator with Miyazaki, Vincent Maraval, tweeted that Miyazaki might have another plan for another movie. Talk about dedication to not retiring. Props to Miyazaki. Miyazaki is also continuing to work on pieces and short films displayed at the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Tokyo > (est. 2001) Miyazaki is often spotted picking up trash around his home neighbourhood as well. |