This essay contains spoilers for Studio Ghibli’s The Boy and the Heron.
I went into The Boy and the Heron completely blind. If you may recall, Hayao Miyazaki’s latest film debuted in Japan in July with zero marketing. No trailers, no synopsis, no early reviews. Only a singular artistic poster with a heron on it. I wanted this same experience here so I didn’t watch any of the trailers. I’m glad I did because it led me to see the movie from so many different perspectives.
The Boy and the Heron is partially auto-biographical in regards to Miyazaki’s early life. The movie is about a young boy named Mahito who moves out of Tokyo to the countryside. His mother Hisako died in a hospital fire and Mahito is still grappling with this loss. His father remarries a woman named Natsuko, who is expecting her first child, Mahito’s half-sibling. As the movie progresses, we learn that Natsuko is Hisako’s younger sister. In this countryside, an intriguing gray heron starts following Mahito, luring him into a magical tower with the promise of seeing his mother. One day Natsuko disappears into the tower and Mahito ventures in to bring her back.
The main story of The Boy and the Heron is beautiful and whimsical, containing the magic that makes it a Miyazaki film. Following this young boy on a weird adventure, the audience is confronted with themes about war, family, loss, and grief. We see Mahito tackle the loss of his mother and the longing to be with her. He also is avoiding his new stepmother who is struggling to connect with him. The movie is nothing short of a masterpiece, truly.
However, in the whimsical and new but somewhat familiar throws of The Boy and the Heron, I found myself following a different storyline. One that I believe was intentionally placed, but easy to overlook. That was the story of womanhood and motherhood. The story is about Mahito and his grief on the surface and throughout, but a layer under that lies the story of Natsuko, Himi, and the other women.
The Protection from Women
Throughout Mahito’s journey in the movie, both in the real world and the tower world, he is protected by women. When Mahito arrives home injured, Natsuko and the older maidens tend to Mahito’s wounds until a doctor arrives. In his recovery, the maidens take turns watching over him at night and keeping a cold compress on his head. Later when the heron is seeking Mahito out by the water and toads start crawling over him, Natsuko is the one who shoots an arrow, ending the moment.
When Natsuko goes missing, Kiriko goes along with Mahito to the tower, despite telling him not to go the entire time. Once he is in the other world, a young version of Kiriko rescues him and guides him along this part of his journey. With Kiriko, he sees the little figures of the older maidens, who Kiriko states are protecting him.
It’s not only Mahito the women in The Boy and the Heron protect but life and each other as well. Himi, the fire being in this world, uses her powers to protect the Warawara from the pelicans. Later on, Himi helps Kiriko escape when the tower is collapsing.
Himi also is protecting Natsuko in this tower world. When Mahito tells Himi he is searching for Natsuko, Himi says that Natsuko is her younger sister. She will help Mahito but she says Natsuko doesn’t want to leave. It’s clear that Natsuko sought out the world for refuge and Himi will do what is in her power to give it to her while she’s there.
The Story of Natsuko’s Motherhood
When Mahito first meets Natsuko, he is cold towards her. I couldn’t get a read on her before the reveal that she was Hisako’s sister and Mahito’s aunt. She was kind towards Mahito, but was it out of obligation for her new life? The slow reveal of her being Hisako’s sister makes a lot of sense as I get the feeling you aren’t supposed to trust her because Mahito does not.
When she ventures into the tower, we don’t know why she does it. As Mahito journeys into the other world in search of Natsuko, we learn that she’s there to hide from her real life. After we learn she is Hisako’s sister, I felt so much sympathy for her. Her only sister has died and she marries her sister’s husband (a very common practice of this period.) She gains a son, who is very apprehensive towards her and she is also dealing with being pregnant. On top of all that, her new son gets severely hurt. As much as Natsuko is trying, she is under a lot of stress and uncertainty.
When Mahito finally reunites with Natsuko in the delivery room of the tower, we see how much pain she is in. She tells Mahito that she hates him and that he needs to go, as the room is pushing him out. Yet Mahito seems to be understanding of her pain and calls her, “Natsuko-okasan,” or Natsuko-mother. This was a groundbreaking moment, signaling Mahito’s change of heart towards her and accepting her as a mother.
The Story of Hisako’s Motherhood
Not much is known of Mahito’s mother, Hisako, before her death. The Boy and the Heron starts with her death in the hospital fire. What we come to know about Hisako is mainly through the actions of her younger self in the tower world, Himi.
As stated above, Himi is the fierce protector of the world and the Warawara through fire powers. When she meets Mahito, Himi uses those powers to protect him and guide him to the delivery room. We eventually learn that when Hisako was younger, she disappeared for a year into the tower. It can be concluded that this is what happened during her year of disappearance.
Hisako is only a young girl when meeting Mahito as Himi, but it’s clear she has always been loving and nurturing. When it’s time for Mahito and Natsuko to return to their real world, Himi states she has to go through another door because she will become his mother. This small moment was so moving to me because even as Mahito warns her that she will die, she is happy to go through that door to have him in the future.
The Layers in The Boy and the Heron
There is so much to this movie that this small interpretation barely scratches the surface of what it all means. As someone who is a mom myself, I couldn’t help but notice the themes of motherhood in this movie. I used to watch movies where kids go on journeys and see my inner child in the kid. But for the first time, I saw the movie and saw my son reflected to me as Mahito. I found myself identifying more with Hisako as Himi and as Natsuko.
It’s also not lost on me how pivotal every single woman is to the story. As caretakers, guides, and protectors – they all play a role in aiding Mahito on his journey. Both in the real world and in the magical world, Mahito would not be able to make it to the end of his journey without them. To me, there is no Mahito saving Natsuko, without Natsuko saving him first. I think the importance of women and also of mothers in this movie is a point that is stated in almost every scene.
The beauty to me in The Boy and the Heron as well as in all of Miyazaki’s work is the ability to take its viewers out of the ordinary life into a world of magic, while still teaching us something about our own life. The movie plucks at your heartstrings and forces you to gain a deeper understanding of something, and that something is up to you to decide.
