Miyazaki, Hayao << MEE yah ZAH kee, HY yow >> (1941-…), is one of Japan’s greatest anime directors. Anime is a style of animation that developed in Japan in the 1960’s. It has a flat look and features colorful images and heroic characters. Two motion pictures written and directed by Miyazaki have won the Academy Award for best animated feature film. They are Spirited Away (2001) and The Boy and the Heron (2023). Spirited Away was the first anime film ever to win the award, which was presented in 2003, the year after the film was released in the United States. The Boy and the Heron also won the Golden Globe Award for best animated motion picture. In addition to making films, Miyazaki has created a number of popular manga (Japanese comics).
Miyazaki was born on Jan. 5, 1941, in Tokyo, Japan. In 1963, he began working as an animator at the Toei Animation studio in Tokyo. In 1971, he joined the A Production (now Shin-Ei Animation) studio in Tokyo. There, he co-directed episodes of the anime television series “Lupin III” with the Japanese filmmaker Isao Takahata. The series was based on a popular manga about a master thief, created by the Japanese manga artist Monkey Punch (Kazuhiko Kato).
In 1973, Miyazaki and Takahata moved to the Zuiyo Eizo (now Nippon Animation) studio in Tokyo. There, they worked on the popular TV series “World Masterpiece Theater.” The series presented anime versions of classic children’s stories. Miyazaki also directed the TV series “Future Boy Conan” (1978). It was based on the American children’s novel The Incredible Tide (1970).
Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro was released in 1979. It was the first anime feature film directed by Miyazaki. Several years later, in 1985, Miyazaki cofounded the Studio Ghibli animation studio with Takahata. The studio’s first movie was Castle in the Sky (1986), written and directed by Miyazaki.
Miyazaki’s other movies include Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984); My Neighbor Totoro (1988); Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989); Porco Rosso (1992); Princess Mononoke (1997); Howl’s Moving Castle (2004); Ponyo (2008); and The Wind Rises (2013). In addition to directing, Miyazaki wrote or co-wrote a number of these films.
In 2001, the Ghibli Museum opened in Tokyo. It showcases the work of Studio Ghibli. Miyazaki serves as the museum’s executive director. Miyazaki’s son Goro Miyazaki also became an anime director.
