Hayao Miyazaki is the director and screenwriter of the Ghibli film “Spirited Away.” A scene in the anime highlights that there are significant gaps between generations.
Which scene is it? Chihiro administers a healing dumpling to Haku in his dragon form, causing him to expel a black worm. Chihiro chases after the creature and crushes it with her shoe. Kamaji, the man with six arms, shouts at Chihiro during this scene to cut the string.
She holds her index fingers and thumbs together. Kamaji then brings his flat hand through Chihiro’s fingers.
In an interview with Hayao Miyazaki and Rumi Hiiragi, it becomes clear that even the 37-year-old Japanese woman does not understand what this gesture means. Miyazaki then explains to her what this scene is about. You can watch the interview and the scene in the YouTube video by yurikuki.
You can find the trailer for Spirited Away here:
Old Japanese Tradition That the Youth No Longer Understands
What does it mean? The act of cutting the string refers to a traditional Japanese gesture. It is essentially a good luck charm performed when one is affected by impurities. Miyazaki mentioned in the interview that it could be, for example, a dog poop that one has stepped in.
The person affected by misfortune holds two index fingers together. Another person then makes a cutting gesture through the joined index fingers and pretends to “cut the string.” This is meant to make the impurity fall away.
Why is it only understood when one is that old? The young voice actress was astonished and remarked that she had never heard of this tradition. Miyazaki replied that this custom is actually well known throughout Japan.
However, a sound engineer added that “young people today no longer know what that would be.” After all, Hayao Miyazaki is 84 years old, which is a 47-year age difference. In the past, Miyazaki has expressed his worries about younger generations, presumably also because they forget such traditions.
Over the years, the custom may have increasingly fallen into oblivion. It’s especially wonderful that Miyazaki is reviving it through Spirited Away.
If the viewers are to be believed, Spirited Away is the best film from the Ghibli animation studio. However, the studio has released several other classics over the years. How the other films rank can be found in the following article on MeinMMO: All Ghibli Films Ranked By IMDb
