Hayao Miyazaki - Early Life

Early Life

Miyazaki was born in the town of Akebono-cho in Bunkyō, Tokyo, the second of four sons born to Katsuji Miyazaki. During World War II, Katsuji was director of Miyazaki Airplane, owned by his brother (Hayao Miyazaki's uncle), which made rudders for A6M Zero fighter planes. During this time, Miyazaki drew airplanes and developed a lifelong fascination with aviation, a penchant that later manifested as a recurring theme in his films. Miyazaki's mother was a voracious reader who often questioned socially accepted norms. From 1947 until 1955 his mother underwent treatment for Pott disease. She spent the first few years mostly in the hospital, but was eventually able to be nursed from home.

During his upbringing, Miyazaki was forced to switch schools several times. These would impact elements of his films. When Miyazaki was three years old, his family was forced to evacuate Bunkyō and began school as an evacuee in 1947. At age nine his family returned home, but the following year he switched to another American-influenced elementary school. Miyazaki attended Toyotama High School, and as with many children in postwar Japan, he wanted to become a manga artist. His talents were limited to things like planes, tanks and battleships; he had an especially problematic time drawing people. Famous manga artists like Osamu Tezuka, Tetsuji Fukushima and Sanpei Shirato influenced his early works. To distance himself from the criticism he expected from following Tezuka's form, he consciously developed his own style, but was unable to fully shake Tezuka's influence off until he began studying animation.

During his third year at Toyotama, Miyazaki saw the film Hakujaden (The Tale of the White Serpent), directed by Taiji Yabushita, animated by Toei Animation described as "the first-ever Japanese feature length color anime". He "fell in love" with the movie's heroine and it left a strong impression on him. It was after this Miyazaki decided to stop his pursuit of being a manga artist and pursue animation. To become an animator, Miyazaki had to learn to draw the human figure. After graduating from Toyotama, Miyazaki attended Gakushuin University and was a member of the university's "Children's Literature research club," the "closest thing to a comics club in those days." Miyazaki graduated from Gakushuin in 1963 with degrees in political science and economics.