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Hayao Miyazaki might be a renowned director and animator, but if there’s one thing that isn’t synonymous with him — being a perfect parental figure. The Ghibli co-founder has always had a rocky relationship with his family, and it was his son, Goro Miyazaki, who aired the family’s dirty laundry.
Miyazaki has earned fame via his beautiful movies, two of which have won Oscars. But in his strive to create these movies, he has been neglectful of his own family. Perhaps the biggest victims of his workaholic nature have been his wife and son.
Hayao Miyazaki Was Not Happy with His Son’s Directorial Debut
Goro Miyazaki made his directorial debut withTales of the Earthsea. The movie, inspired by Ursula K. Le Guin’sEarthseaseries, is often considered one of the weakest Ghibli movies. By the time the author’s rights were gained,Hayao Miyazakiwas busy withHowl’s Moving Castle, after which he intended to retire.
Thus,Toshio Suzukichose Goro Miyazaki to direct the new project. Despite having little to no experience in the field, Goro Miyazaki was pressured to accept the offer. But the end result was disastrous, both forhis animation careerand his relationship with his father. After the film’s debut, Hayao Miyazaki refused to talk to his son, and they even had a huge fight.
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In aJune 2006 interview with Monthly Cyzomagazine, Goro Miyazaki accepted that he hadn’t spoken to his father at all since the film was released. Hayao Miyazaki had an adverse reaction to his son’s words at the pre-production meeting. And even in the workplace, they silently move out of the other’s way.
“When this is over, I want to go back to the Ghibli Museum”. I said this to put everybody at ease. When it reached my father’s ears, he called me in and said “Are you that half-hearted! Don’t build yourself an escape route from the start!”. We had a shouting argument, and that was the last time we talked to each other.
Hayao Miyazaki eventually refused to retire afterHowl’s Moving Castleand createdPonyoand the characters in the movie seemed to be based on his own family. A father who is barely present for his child, a hardworking mom, and a kid who has to entertain himself. Sosuke, the child protagonist, saved the world, and it might be a metaphor for Goro Miyazaki taking onTales of the Earthseain the absence of his father. In a way,the movie was Hayao Miyazaki’s apology to his son.
Goro Miyazaki Watched His Father’s Movies to Get to Know Him Better
During the production of Tales of the Earthsea,Goro Miyazaki kept a diligent journal. Thankfully, they have been translated into English, and in some of the entries, Goro Miyazaki has pointed out just how extreme his father’s absence was throughout his childhood.
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Inentry 39, titledZero Marks as a Father, Full Marks as a Director, Goro Miyazaki explained that it was his mother who had to fill in the place of both his parents. According to him, Hayao Miyazaki always returned home in the middle of the night when he had already gone to sleep.
Almost every weekend, he was still at work.He was so absorbed in his workthat it was Goro Miyazaki’s mother who did all of the housework and took care of him. She was also an animator but had to give up her career to bring up children.
Due to Hayao Miyazaki’s prolonged absence and the fact that his son never had the opportunity to speak to him, Goro Miyazaki eventually wanted to know more about his father, which he elaborated onin entry 41. He began watching Ghibli movies since it was the only way he could learn more about his father.
The more wonderful I thought my father’s movies were, the more I watched them because I wanted to learn about him through them. In this way, ever since I can remember, at the same time as enjoying them, I have been watching Hayao Miyazaki’s works to understand my father.
Goro Miyazaki wrapped up his entry with simple but powerful words:
For me, Hayao Miyazaki gets zero marks as a father but full marks as a director of animated films.
Goro Miyazaki’s attempt to express his suffering is commendable. It grounds Hayao Miyazaki, the legendary director, as he is just another human being with deep and dark follies, and not someone who needs to be worshipped apart from his skills in animation.
Aaheli Pradhan
Anime Content Writer
Articles Published :1556
Aaheli is an Anime Content Writer at FandomWire with 1300+ published articles. With five years of experience under her belt, she is a living, breathing encyclopedia for anime and manga. From Shonen and Shojo to the most niche anime, nothing escapes her radar. Her poisons of choice are Assassination Classroom, Gintama, Ouran High School Host Club and every Ghibli movie ever. She believes in living a slow life, surrounded by incomplete art projects and her beloved cats.
