World-building the Miyazaki way

Three mini essays from the archives - Miyazaki Book Club 2

Hi there! This week I’m taking a break from the usual long-form writing to try something slightly different. There were a lot of interesting tidbits about Miyazaki’s process that just did not make the cut in the final edit of my thesis, and while they aren’t as polished as my usual work, they are too interesting to throw out! I hope you’ll get something out of them too!

1. Kushi-dango and Closed-room narratives

It’s always so interesting to hear how Miyazaki thinks of his own work - he never seems to use particularly convoluted language, or fancy ideas, and yet there’s so much to learn by studying his way of thinking. Here’s an excerpt from a previously untranslated pamphlet:

“I learned from my senior to categorize movies into 'kushi-dango' (串ダンゴ) and 'misshitsu' (密室). I don't know if these are industry terms. 'Kushi-dango' (skewered dumplings) refers to movies that unfold the drama by jumping from one location to another with each scene - the way dumplings are strung together on a skewer, fully separate from one another.

In contrast, 'misshitsu' (Closed-room) refers to those that unfold within a confined space. 'The Castle of Cagliostro' is a typical example of a Closed-room movie.” - from the "幽霊塔にようこそ(Welcome to the Ghost Tower)" exhibition, Ghibli museum pamflette

‘Closed room’ here simply means that a world is knowable, each location fitting into the larger whole. My friend Kei (an amazing Japanese story artist) explains it this way - “If you can draw a map of the setting, and it all fits together, it’s a Closed-room story. In Kushi-Dango, each location is completely separate from the rest, only connected through the skewer of the narrative.”

The bathhouse in Spirited Away - It’s amazing just how thought out the layout is!

While they are simple concepts, thinking of stories in this way is so different, and yet seems to open so many doors - is one better than the other? Is a Closed-room narrative, with each location connecting to each other, more engaging and memorable? If Miyazaki’s track record is anything to go by, yes! Thinking back to his most beloved films, they are all Closed-room stories - the bathhouse in Spirited Away, the bakery in Kiki’s Delivery Service, and Howl’s Moving Castle all feel so real. When I hear people talking about them, they always mention this.

And so many films nowadays go the Kushi-Dango way - I can think of so few Western stories that have connected worlds, rather than separate “Dangos” for each scene. Maybe this is part of what we’re missing!

2. Drawing with sincerity

"Don't be embarrassed or shy. Draw with sincerity and passion […] To write is to be naked!"

This quote always makes me think of the run-down bus stop where Satsuki and Mei first meet Totoro. It embodies the idea of a sincere, true moment that could not exist anywhere else. It’s also no surprise that the bus stop was a real place - in Miyazaki’s childhood home in rural Japan, it eventually became the starting point of the film.

I recently read Robert McKee’s ‘Story’, and noticed he writes something similar to this: “the smaller the world you are creating is, the more familiar you’re able to be with it, and thus the more creative your ideas within it”

Maybe the key to creating places that connect with audiences is to draw from your own experience? Maybe that way, we can uncover more creative answers to the all consuming question of ‘what happens next?’

Generic, cookie cutter scenes can be so easy to write, yet sincerity and smaller, more authentic ones are much more difficult. Is it true that, in a medium where anything is possible, limitation is everything? When the possibilities are endless, we seem to naturally lean towards safe, unoriginal ideas.

3. The three-meter radius

Miyazaki and his assistant setting up a camera in his car, in an attempt to film his daily drive to work.

“I just want to find out what I’m seeing every day”, says Miyazaki. While we don’t yet realize it, this reveals a key part of his world building - the “three-meter-radius” rule.

He’s always trying to find inspiration in his immediate surroundings, even when that means travelling to far-off places - his research trips are notorious. While storyboarding ‘Ponyo’, he travels down to a friend’s house in a small seaside town to draw inspiration for the setting of the film. Or, when building Howl’s Moving Castle, Miyazaki and the film’s key staff travelled to Colmar, France. His research trips are notorious - taking every film as an opportunity to explore a new setting, new feelings.

“It’s not just mind set of being a good observant artist. Actually, most of the locations in Ponyo align directly with the commute from his home to his studio. He was open enough to find something interesting in spaces that usually go unnoticed.”

Perhaps, this is why his settings are usually so small - when looking more deeply, rather than broadly, you end up finding fewer things. But, if Miyazaki’s filmography is anything to go by, maybe that’s all you need.

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Thank you so much to Kei for helping with the translation and explanations - you can find his amazing work here!

I’m SO curious to hear what you think! Are your favorite films Kushi-Dango, or Closed Room narratives? Please leave a comment below, or simply reply to this email! As always, thanks for reading my essays! Have a creative week! :-)