The Hero’s Journey and Kishotenketsu in Miyazaki’s Howl’s Moving Castle: The Co existence of Story Structur

Abstract

In an increasingly globalizing world, we are exposed to different cultures and customs, including different storytelling techniques. However, a desire to identify or interpret stories through the lenses of a single encompassing model seems to exist in Western societies, which may result in a limited or false understanding of other cultures. Furthermore, as we tend to think and understand the world through stories, it is paramount that we do not only acknowledge the differences in perspective but also do our best to consider alternative ways of understanding the world to enrich our own personal thinking. As an attempt to explore and introduce two possible ways of telling a story and how they can productively co-exist, this thesis analyzes Hayao Miyazaki’s retelling of the British novel Howl’s Moving Castle through the Western Hero’s Journey and Japanese kishotenketsu, since the movie provides a compelling example of hybridized storytelling. The thesis begins with a general overview of the relevance of the topic and is followed by a more in-depth theoretical background of other related subjects. Later in the thesis, the movie is analyzed using the story structures in question and some further differences not directly connected to the models are discussed.