Anime Landscapes as a Tool for Analyzing the Human–Environment Relationship: Hayao Miyazaki Films

Abstract

Common dualistic thinking in environmental design education adopts humans and the environment as separate entities, with the environment as raw material stock. This approach affects the intellectual development of landscape architects and limits their ability to create meaningful landscapes. Therefore, it is necessary to explore and highlight new ideas about the more integrated human-environment relationship. Through the films of Hayao Miyazaki, many audiences around the world have encountered a different worldview. By contrast with Western thinking, which adopts human superiority to nature, the worldview that Miyazaki reflects in his films depicts human as an inseparable part of nature. Being inspired by different communities and their relationship to nature in Miyazaki's films, we propose using anime as a means of analyzing the human-environment relationship. We classified landscapes based on power relations between humans and nature. We explored how communities shape their physical environment based on how they socially construct nature and the resulting landscapes. Thus, through apocalyptic landscapes, the bitter results of exploiting nature were depicted. Wilderness landscapes reflect the bias humanity has about nature as wild and hostile. Responsible landscapes were introduced asway of understanding the unbreakable bond between humans and the environment. Through these animated landscape types, the ways landscape architecture should approach nature in professional practices was discussed, and the importance of creating responsible landscapes was emphasized.

Animistic Customs and Practices, Attribution of Animistic Essence to Objects, and Environmentalism in an Upland Rural Community in Labo, Camarines Norte, Philippines

“…However, the research reveals a positive relationship between attributing animistic essence to specific objects, especially living entities, and heightened environmentalism. This finding aligns with prior scholarship by Harvey (2019) [19] , Mekonen (2020) [31] , Mumcu & Yilmaz (2018) [32] , Ochoa (2021) [36] , Pearce (2023) [38] , and Kunchamboo et al (2021) [26] , which underscores the significant role animism plays in fostering a more respectful and responsible relationship between humans and the natural world. Drawing on the research findings, this study proposes strengthening of specific animistic customs and practices within the upland rural community in the municipality of Labo.…”

“…These findings led the researchers to conclude that the hypothesis stating that there is no significant relationship between animistic customs and practices and environmentalism was partially upheld. [2,15,6,20,32,39,42,44,45,46,49,54] by demonstrating significant relationships and positive correlations between specific animistic customs and environmentalism. These findings support the established notion that animist communities revere nature and strive for balance between human activity and ecological abundance (Harvey, 2019; Kopnina, 2019) [19,24] .…”

“…Instead, it is seen as a living system deserving of respect. This inherent reverence, woven into the fabric of customs and practices, has fostered a complex interplay between meeting human needs and ensuring environmental sustainability (Harvey, 2019;Kunchamboo et al, 2021;Mumcu & Yilmaz, 2018) [19,26,32] . Animistic cultures view objects as imbued with spirits.…”

La relación ser-humano-naturaleza en el largometraje de Hayao Miyazaki: Nausicaä del Valle del Viento, desde el principio de armonía confuciano

“…Esta segunda es la línea hegemónica de trabajo, donde destacan tanto posiciones descriptivas como críticas. A nivel descriptivo encontramos los trabajos de Carbullido (2008), DeWeese-Boyd (2009), Bigelow (2009), Mumcu y Yilmaz (2018), Chan (2015), Cavallaro (2015), Reinders (2016) y Pan (2020), quienes destacan la influencia sintoísta (en un sentido débil, espiritual, no institucional) en la concepción de la naturaleza y de las relaciones entre los seres humanos con ella.…”

Miyazaki Hayao’s Animism and the Anthropocene

“…The significance of animism in these films is widely recognized by researchers (e.g. Ogihara-Schuck, 2014;Jensen and Blok, 2013;Harvey, 2015;Mumcu and Yilmaz, 2018;Yoneyama, 2019Yoneyama, , 2020, as well as by fans. Miyazaki himself states that he established his philosophy of animism in the 12 years he worked on the manga version of Nausicaa¨of the Valley of the Wind (hereafter Nausicaa¨), an epic story of over 1000 pages, which formed the foundation of Princess Mononoke where the human-nature relationship is the central theme (Miyazaki, 1996: 341).…”