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The iconic Hayao Miyazaki returns with another hit withStudio Ghibli’s The Boy and the Heron. Written and directed by Miyazaki, the film follows a young boy named Mahito Maki moving to a new home after the untimely death of his mother, but things take a turn when he begins to have strange encounters with a heron.
The Boy and the Heron has been described as part “autobiographical,” which may sound like a lie when you take into account magical worlds and talking herons. However, if you peel back the curtain, there are several connections you can find in the film to Miyazaki’s life.
The Real Life Backstory For The Boy And The Heron
Going into the development of The Boy and the Heron, Hayao Miyazaki wanted toincorporate more of his own personal life experiences into the film.Several interesting connections can be seen betweenMiyazaki and Mahito Maki, the main character who embodies elements of the director’s real-life experiences.
Memories Of War
Themes of warare recurring in Miyazaki’s works. He has even stated thatsome of his earliest memories are of bombed out cities, which is notable as The Boy and the Heron isset during World War 2.
For the film to start immediately with Japan being firebombed, and the resulting death of the protagonist’s mother being so crucial to Mahito’s character arc, it’s another moment ofcommentary on the cost of war.
Miyazaki’s own motherdid not diewhen he was young, though, and both his parents lived to old age.
Miyzaki’s father, Katsuji Miyazaki, was involved in war manufacturing during World War 2.He was at one point the director of an airplane factory. A parallel can be immediately made to Shoichi Maki, Mahito’s father in the film, who works for an airplane manufacturer during the war to support his family.
How Do You Live?
Theoriginal title for the film is “How Do You Live?”, which already adds a weighty and mysterious meaning. The inspiration for this comes from the1937 coming-of-age novel of the same name by Genzaburo Yoshino, which follows a young boy as he deals with growing up and building a friendship with his uncle.
In the film, Mahito discovers a copy of How Do You Live? is left for him by his mother. Like Mahito,Miyazaki also received a copy of the novel from his own momwhen he was young.
Grand Uncle, The Grey Heron, And Mahito
As the story progresses, Mahito encounters other people that he develops relationships with. Two of these people were inspired by Miyzaki’s colleagues and friends,Toshio SuzukiandIsao Takahata, theco-founders of Studio Ghiblialongside Miyazaki.
Takahatawas an animator and director who helped discover Miyzaki, and the pair first worked together in the 1960s.Suzukiis a producer behind many of Miyzaki’s works, and is the current president of Studio Ghibli.
Towardsthe ending of The Boy and the Heron,Grand Uncle wants to pass the torch to Mahito, hoping that Mahito will become his successor. In a sense, this reflectsthe relationship between Takahata and Miyazaki as mentor and mentee.
Originally, the Grand Uncle and Mahito storyline was going to be a larger focus in the film.Takahata unfortunately passed away during the development of the filmin 2018. The impact of this loss led Miyazaki to steer the story away from Grand Uncle, andled to a larger focus on the relationship between Mahito and the Grey Heron.
The Grey Heron can be viewed as an analogue for Suzuki.The budding friendship between Mahito and the Grey Heron takes inspiration from the personal friendship between Suzuki and Miyazaki.
Unlike the mentor/mentee friendship Miyazaki shared with Takahata,the friendship between him and Suzuki is a lot more “push and pull.”At least, as indicated by Suzuki himself inan interview with Indiewire.
Is The Boy And The Heron About Miyazaki And His Son?
Officially, the relationship between Grand Uncle and Mahito is not directly related toMiyazaki and his own son. There are still moments where an audience can seeGrand Uncle as Hayao MiyazakiandMahito as Goro Miyazaki.
As with most art, there is usually space for multiple interpretations. To talk about legacy,what kind of world we plan to leave behind and what we want to create, it can be easy to see parallels between the real-life father and son.
Goro Miyazakiis an architect, buthe has also directed with Studio Ghibli. The studio still wants to find someone to take over the company’s future after Hayao Miyazaki, and his son was naturally eyed for that responsibility, butGoro declined for various reasons.
Goro Miyazaki directedTales From Earthsea, From Up On Poppy Hill, and Earwig and the Witch.
As a piece of art, The Boy and the Heron stands on its own. While the fantasy elements of the film convey the expected Studio Ghibli pizzazz, it’s still clear thatthis film is deeply personal for Hayao Miyazaki. Between what’s on-screen, and events behind the scenes, it’s not hard to see why Miyazaki put it all on the table for one of his final films.
