Princess Mononoke

Princess Mononoke's Plot Summary

In Princess Mononoke, a cursed Prince Ashitaka from another land becomes the only thing standing in the way of a battle between humans with machines and animals with the forest. The titular character whose name in the story is San can be seen above with her adoptive mother, Moro. San was raised by the wolves and chooses to reject her own humanity for the safety of the forest until meeting Ashitaka. San’s main goal is to save the forest by stopping Iron Town, namely the leader, Lady Eboshi. Ashitaka works with San to try and save the humans and animals from themselves in this war.

Throughout all of Miyazaki’s movies, the moments of silence or ma are given to the audience for a reason. The purpose of the moment in the picture given above is to explore the gravity of the character that the main characters are witnessing at this time. When Ashitaka saves San by getting hit with a bullet, she brings him to the water of the forest to heal. This is the first moment where the audience witnesses the forest spirit.

The spirit of the forest is deer-like but with strange characteristics like a more human face and many more antlers. When the moment comes for the forest spirit’s arrival, everything changes. "Silence functions as shared experience, but one whose meaning is not necessarily (or even likely) shared" (Glenn and Ratcliffe 125). The music changes, the humans' on-screen focus is solely on the forest spirit, and the already supernatural environment intensifies. This intentional rhetorical silence is made not for reflection, but for the audience to recognize the importance of this character. "In its most moderate understanding, silence is seen as basic withdrawal" (Glenn and Ratcliffe 118). In this instance, the withdrawal is from everything else as their focus becomes consumed by this creature. It could even be said that this scene of silence signifies this character’s nobility and godliness.

In Japanese culture, this character can be seen as the spirit of life and death and immortality. In the story, the forest spirit can be seen as a symbol of healing and hope, especially in this picture and scene as it heals Ashitaka’s bullet wound. The halo-like refraction on the creature’s image is almost regal or god-like. The trees around it look molded to frame its arrival. It is mesmerizing as the light similar to a sunrise or sunset amplifies the intensity of the being’s importance. This all makes sense in concurrence with the spirit of life; however, the spirit also transforms in the nighttime to the spirit of death, also called the night walker.

The symbolism behind the forest spirit changes drastically when it becomes the night walker. Lady Eboshi shoots the head off of the forest spirit to finally end the fight against the animals of the forest, and it turns into the night walker. As soon as it transforms, the devastation rains upon all humans and animals as nobody is safe until Ashitaka and San return the shot-off head to its body.

The forest spirit here is neither good nor evil but an equalizer for all.