I never thought of it in those terms before, but I love the limits on the world created by a theatre production. How it forces the story into a closed room or set of rooms.
It might be why my love of Doctor Who endures after decades. Despite the ability to travel through all of space and time, the TARDIS arrives in a closed world to begin the story and stays there until the story is complete.
A great article! The closed-room sounds like a great method to control the authors worldbuilding -- enough to compell the characters to interface with the special moments and details that one would normally overlook
whoa I thought I credited it in the post but I must have accidentally deleted it while editing! It's a page from the "Welcome to the Ghost Tower" exhibition pamphlet at the Ghibli museum! I haven't been there (yet) but it was a great share from my japanese friend Kei:) You can find some more photos of it here, I really hope to get my hands on it one day (even if it's only in Japanese)!
It's a beautiful read. I, myself have drawn inspiration from Miyazaki's works. I am in the process of going back to my creative musings - writing and drawing - as I delve into Substack. I'm scared and excited. 😅
Interesting world building technique! My favorite Ghibli movie is Whisper of the Heart. I suppose this would be a closed-room type of movie, as it takes place in their small town in a few repeat locations.
I love Whisper of the Heart!! I didn't get to cover it in this essay, but there's a third type of story Miyazaki classifies later - circular narratives! It's stories that revolve around a single location, pushing out and then coming back to it - I think Whisper of the Heart falls into that category! Really curious to explore this one more in future work!
Happy to find a fellow Whisper of the Heart lover!! Circular narrative does sound more fitting, I would love to read about it if you ever write a piece on it!!
I’ve got a soft spot in my heart for Kushi-dango films like Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade, but Temple of Doom is definitely a Misshitsu take on Indiana Jones and that film slaps in its own way.
Ohhh I love that you're going for the Indiana Jones films right away!! I LOVE Raiders and The Last Crusade, I have yet to see Temple of Doom - I've heard Ke Huy Quan is great in it!
Spielberg is soo good at building travel narratives - Tintin might be my favorite example of this, but I think most of his films are like Kushi-Dangos. Maybe why some people love them and others find them exhausting? I know my friend is always complaining Spielberg films don't sit still haha
Fascinating way to think about how to frame stories. I’ve been skewering since the jump, apparently. But now I’m tempted to try something closed room… hmm 👀
is there some way we can read your thesis? I love learning about stories and their craft and i would love to see what else you have to say!
Whoa thanks so much for reading! Yes there is! I ended up splitting it into 3 smaller essays, the first one is already up - https://storyfieldnotes.substack.com/p/how-hayao-miyazaki-builds-a-story?r=ck4s3
Part 2 should be out in the next few weeks:)
Thanks again for being here, it makes me so happy my writing can be useful to people!
can't wait to read the rest!
Loved the inspiration, thank you for this essay!
Thank you so much for reading!!
I never thought of it in those terms before, but I love the limits on the world created by a theatre production. How it forces the story into a closed room or set of rooms.
It might be why my love of Doctor Who endures after decades. Despite the ability to travel through all of space and time, the TARDIS arrives in a closed world to begin the story and stays there until the story is complete.
Whoa I never thought about it through the lens of a theater production!! So true, thanks for sharing your perspective!!
A great article! The closed-room sounds like a great method to control the authors worldbuilding -- enough to compell the characters to interface with the special moments and details that one would normally overlook
Thank you for introducing these terms and ideas to me! This is an interesting way of thinking about story.
i love this so much!! i've never heard much about his writing process, but this is so interesting!!
Ahh thank you so much!!
These are pretty sketches
This was so cool to learn. Thank you.
Thanks for reading!!
I’ve always been obsessed with misshitsu, even tho I just learned the word for it 😅.
You see a play layer on the constraints for the setting and you just get hooked. I really wish I could get how that sort of writing clicks
I feel like Miyazaki isn’t my favorite writer but man he has ideas to build on.
Hahah glad to have helped! For sure, his writing is definitely pretty atypical!
Wren, thank you for sharing! Excellent read! Where's the cover art from?
whoa I thought I credited it in the post but I must have accidentally deleted it while editing! It's a page from the "Welcome to the Ghost Tower" exhibition pamphlet at the Ghibli museum! I haven't been there (yet) but it was a great share from my japanese friend Kei:) You can find some more photos of it here, I really hope to get my hands on it one day (even if it's only in Japanese)!
https://halcyonrealms.com/illustration/ghost-tower-miyazaki-hayao-illustrations/
It's a beautiful read. I, myself have drawn inspiration from Miyazaki's works. I am in the process of going back to my creative musings - writing and drawing - as I delve into Substack. I'm scared and excited. 😅
Whoa, good luck!
This is such a fascinating read
Thanks so much! Happy you liked it:)
Great piece!
Thanks so much Grant, really appreciate it!
Interesting world building technique! My favorite Ghibli movie is Whisper of the Heart. I suppose this would be a closed-room type of movie, as it takes place in their small town in a few repeat locations.
I love Whisper of the Heart!! I didn't get to cover it in this essay, but there's a third type of story Miyazaki classifies later - circular narratives! It's stories that revolve around a single location, pushing out and then coming back to it - I think Whisper of the Heart falls into that category! Really curious to explore this one more in future work!
Thank you for reading! 🌟
Happy to find a fellow Whisper of the Heart lover!! Circular narrative does sound more fitting, I would love to read about it if you ever write a piece on it!!
I’ve got a soft spot in my heart for Kushi-dango films like Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade, but Temple of Doom is definitely a Misshitsu take on Indiana Jones and that film slaps in its own way.
Ohhh I love that you're going for the Indiana Jones films right away!! I LOVE Raiders and The Last Crusade, I have yet to see Temple of Doom - I've heard Ke Huy Quan is great in it!
Spielberg is soo good at building travel narratives - Tintin might be my favorite example of this, but I think most of his films are like Kushi-Dangos. Maybe why some people love them and others find them exhausting? I know my friend is always complaining Spielberg films don't sit still haha
"Spielberg films don't sit still" haha, I like that.
Fascinating way to think about how to frame stories. I’ve been skewering since the jump, apparently. But now I’m tempted to try something closed room… hmm 👀
Whoa that's awesome!! I'm the same! I often jump between locations too quickly, I want to try a drama in a closed room to practice Staging/Blocking!
Please update me when you make your next story, I'd be so curious to hear how it turns out! Good luck and thanks for reading! 🌟