Hayao Miyazaki is a famous Japanese anime director and the co-founder of Studio Ghibli. His films are known worldwide because of their excellent animation quality and plot. Many of his content is also available on Netflix for anime lovers.
If you want to know more about the 81-year-old animator, you’re in the right place. Here are the top four facts about Hayao Miyazaki.
- He Is An Aviation Fan
Many of Miyazaki’s films include airplanes or are related to the aviation industry. For instance, The Wind Rises is an animated biopic of Jiro Horikoshi. He was an engineer who designed the Japanese Mitsubishi flyers of World War II. Many other movies by Hayao have a theme of taking flight.
This is mainly because of the family history of the animator. His father was the director of Miyazaki Airplane. The company was famous for making rudders and plane parts during World War II for the Japanese government. Because of this, Miyazaki is an aviation fan and includes flight themes in his films.
- He Does Not Hate Traveling
Many news articles and blog posts have stated that Hayao Miyazaki hates traveling. However, the director refuses this statement because it has been confused with his other beliefs. Miyazaki has mentioned that he does not like traveling solely for work.
This means the animator does not prefer to travel to different countries to promote his films. Many magazines confused this as a universal statement causing fans to believe the director does not like traveling.
The anime director has stated that going abroad sometimes serves as inspiration for the anime’s art.
- A Real Worm Has Been Named After One Of The Director’s Characters
Miyazaki has created many characters over the years. However, only one of the names has been given to a real living being. My Neighbor Totoro is a Ghibli movie by Hayao that featured a Catbus.
A new worm species was discovered in 2007 by some Russian zoologists in Cat Tien National Park of Vietnam. Researchers named the new species as Eoperipatus totoro. They gave this title to the worms because of their caterpillar shape and stumpy legs.
You should note that the species name has been derived from the Catbus in the movie. This is because of the similar appearance of the character and this new animal species.
- Miyazaki Has Retired Twice
It may be a surprise to you, but the famous anime director retired twice in his life. The director retired for the first time in 1997 and announced that Princess Mononoke would be his last film. However, he returned in 2001 with another film called Spirited Away.
After the release of The Wind Rises in 2013, Miyazaki retired for the second time. For the next three years, he did not release any content. Again, the director returned to the industry in 2016 to direct a short film called Boro the Caterpillar.
Final Words
These are the top four facts about Hayao Miyazaki. He is a renowned Japanese anime director with many feature films to this name. The director also won an Oscar for his film Spirited Away.