Abstract
This chapter examines the formation of Studio Ghibli in 1985. It begins with the studio’s own account of its formation and history before turning to alternative and sometimes highly contradictory narratives that challenge our understanding of how, why and when Studio Ghibli came into being. In doing so, it reveals comparatively overlooked but important figures in the studio’s history, including Yasuyoshi Tokuma and Tōru Hara. The chapter concludes by investigating Isao Takahata’s ambiguous and ambivalent early relationship with Studio Ghibli, and the unacknowledged role his live-action documentary film, The Story of Yanagawa’s Waterways (1987) seems to have played in the creation of Studio Ghibli. Rather than arguing for a definitive history of Studio Ghibli’s creation, this chapter makes the case for what a more contingent and contextually nuanced understanding of the wider film and animation production worlds around Studio Ghibli in the 1980s can reveal about the reasons for its existence.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Alpert, Steve. 2020. Sharing a House with the Never-Ending Man: 15 Years at Studio Ghibli. Berkeley: Stone Bridge Press.
Anon. 1985a. From Nausicaä to Laputa [Naushika kara Rapyuta e]. Animage 98 (8): 12–13.
———. 1985b. Continuing from Nausicaä and Arion!! Announcing the Production of Castle in the Sky [Naushika, Arion, ni tsudzuke!! “Tenkū no shiro Rapyuta” seisaku happyō]. Tokyo Times. 18 October. In Archives of Studio Gibli vol. 1 [Sutajio Jiburi sakuhin kanren shiryōshū], edited by Toshio Suzuki. 110. Tokyo: Tokuma Shōten.
———. 2017. The History of Studio Ghibli [Sutajio jiburi no rekishi]. Studio Ghibli [Sutajio jiburi]. Posted October. https://www.ghibli.jp/history/.
Bourdieu, Pierre. 2010. Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste. London: Routledge.
Cavallaro, Dani. 2006. The Animé Art of Hayao Miyazaki. Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Company, Inc. Kindle.
Clements, Jonathan. 2013. Anime: A History. London: BFI Publishing and Palgrave Macmillan.
Clements, Jonathan, and Helen McCarthy. 2006. Topcraft. In The Anime Encyclopedia: Revised and Expanded Edition: A Guide to Japanese Animation Since 1917. Berkeley, CA: Stone Bridge Press. Kindle.
Denison, Rayna. 2015. Anime: A Critical Introduction. London: Bloomsbury.
———. 2018. Before Ghibli was Ghibli: Analysing the Historical Discourses Surrounding Hayao Miyazaki’s Castle in the Sky (1986). East Asian Journal of Popular Culture 4 (1): 31–46.
Fujitsu, Ryota. 2004. “A Walkthrough of Studio Ghibli: 20 Years of High Cost, High Risk, High Return” [Sutajio Jiburi no ayumi: hai kosuto, hai risuku, ai rītān no 20nen]. Yurika [Eureka] 12: 205–216.
Greenberg, Raz. 2018. Hayao Miyazaki: Exploring the Early Works of Japan’s Greatest Animator. London: Bloomsbury.
Hara, Tōru. 1986. Studio Ghibli: On the Set in Kichijōji, Tokyo [Genba wa Tokyo Kichijōji ni aru Sutajio Jiburi]. Toshiba Pamphlet. In Archives of Studio Ghibli, vol. 1, ed. Toshio Suzuki, 79. Tokyo: Tokuma Shōten.
———. 2014. I Think Everyone Did a Good Job at Our First Meeting [Hajimete no kao awasede minna yoku yattekureta to omou]. Roman Album: Castle in the Sky [Roman arubamu: Tenkū no shiro Rapyuta]: 157.
Hatori, Yoshiyuki, ed. 2013. Bunshun Ghibli Library: Ghibli Textbook 2: Castle in the Sky [Bunshun Jiburi bunko: Jiburi no kyōkasho 2: Tenkū no shiro Rapyuta]. Tokyo: Bunshun.
Hu, Tze-Yue G. 2010. Frames of Anime: Future and Image-Building. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press. Kindle.
Kano, Seiji. 2006. The Complete Hayao Miyazaki [Miyazaki Hayao gensho]. Tokyo: Film Art Company.
Klinger, Barbara. 1997. Film History Terminable and Interminable: Recovering the Past in Reception Studies. Screen 38 (2): 107–128.
Lamarre, Thomas. 2009. The Anime Machine: A Media History of Animation. Minnesota, MN: University of Minneapolis.
McCarthy, Helen. 1999. Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Animation: Films, Themes, Artistry. Berkeley, CA: Stone Bridge Press.
Nomura, Masaaki. 1986. “Laputa Castle in the Sky: Interview with Director Hayao Miyazaki” [Tenkū no shiro Rapyuta: Miyazaki Hayao kantoku intabyū]. Kinema Jumpo 941: 42–49.
Osmond, Andrew. 2008. Spirited Away. London: BFI Publishing and Palgrave Macmillan.
Pangilinan, Michelle, ed. 2005. The Art of My Neighbor Totoro. San Francisco, CA: Viz Media.
Russell, James. 2004. Foundation Myths: DreamWorks SKG, The Princes of Egypt (1998) and the Historical Epic Film. New Review of Film and Television Studies 2 (2): 233–255.
Staiger, Janet. 2000. Perverse Spectators: The Practices of Film Reception. New York, NY: New York University Press.
Steinberg, Marc. 2012. Anime’s Media Mix: Franchising Toys and Characters in Japan. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
Suzuki, Toshio. 2005. My Film Hobby [Eiga Dōraku]. Tokyo: Pia.
———. 2018. Mixing Work with Pleasure: My Life at Studio Ghibli, Trans. Roger Speares. Tokyo: Japan Publishing Industry Foundation for Culture.
Takahata, Isao. 2014 [1986]. Producer Isao Takahata: I Had a Lot of Fun with the Music and Theme Song Planning [Purodyūsā Takahata Isao: Shudaika ya ongaku sekkei de tanoshii omoi o sasete moraimashita]. Roman Album: Castle in the Sky [Roman arubamu: Tenkū no shiro Rapyuta]. 140–41.
Tokuma, Yasuyoshi. 1996. The Launch of Studio Ghibli and the Production of Castle in the Sky [Sutajio Jiburi no hassoku to ‘Tenkū no shiro Rapyuta’ no seisaku]. In Archives of Studio Gibli vol. 1 [Sutajio Jiburi sakuhin kanren shiryōshū], ed. Toshio Suzuki, 98. Tokuma Shōten: Tokyo.
Yoshioka, Shiro. 2018. Toshio’s Movie Castle: A Historical Overview of Studio Ghibli’s Collaboration and Promotional Strategies. East Asian Journal of Popular Culture 4 (1): 15–29.
Zahlten, Alexander. 2017. The End of Japanese Cinema: Industrial Genres, National Times and Media Ecologies. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Denison, R. (2023). The Myth of Ghibli: The Foundation and Early Industrial History of Studio Ghibli. In: Studio Ghibli. Palgrave Animation. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-16844-4_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-16844-4_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-16843-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-16844-4
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media StudiesLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)