Japan (Lonely Planet, 11th Edition) - Chris Rowthorn [43]
In high school, Miyazaki saw one of Japan’s first anime, Hakujaden, and resolved to become an animator himself. After graduating from university in 1963, he joined the powerful Tōei Animation company, where he worked on some of the studio’s most famous releases. He left in 1971 to join A Pro studio, where he gained his first directorial experience, working on the now famous (in Japan, at least) Lupin III series as co-director. In 1979 he directed The Castle of Cagliostro, another Lupin film and his first solo directorial credit.
In 1984 Miyazaki wrote and directed Nausicaa of the Valley of the Winds. This film is considered by many critics to be the first true Miyazaki film, and it provides a brilliant taste of many of the themes that run through his later work. The film enjoyed critical and commercial success and established Miyazaki as a major force in the world of Japanese anime. Capitalising on this success, Miyazaki founded his own animation studio, Studio Ghibli, through which he has produced all his later works.
In 1988, Studio Ghibli released what many consider to be Miyazaki’s masterwork: My Neighbor Totoro. Much simpler and less dense than many Miyazaki films, Totoro is the tale of a young girl who moves with her family to the Japanese countryside while her mother recuperates from an illness. While living in the country, she befriends a magical creature who lives in the base of a giant camphor tree and is lucky enough to catch a few rides on a roving cat bus (a vehicle of pure imagination if ever there was one). For anyone wishing to make an acquaintance with the world of Miyazaki, this is the perfect introduction.
Serious Miyazaki fans will want to make a pilgrimage to his Ghibli Museum, located in the town of Mitaka, a short day trip out of Tokyo.
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SPORT
Sumō
A fascinating, highly ritualised activity steeped in Shintō beliefs, sumō is the only traditional Japanese sport that pulls big crowds and dominates primetime TV. The 2000-year-old sport, which is based on an ancient combat form called sumai (to struggle), attracts huge crowds on weekends. Because tournaments take place over the span of 15 days, unless you’re aiming for a big match on a weekend, you should be able to secure a ticket. Sumō tournaments (bashō) take place in January, May and September at Ryōgoku Kokugikan in Tokyo; in March at the Furitsu Taiiku-kan Gymnasium in Osaka; in July at the Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium in Nagoya; and in November at the Fukuoka Kokusai Centre in Fukuoka. Most popular are matches where one of the combatants is a yokozuna (grand champion). At the moment, sumō is dominated by foreign-born rikishi (sumō wrestlers), including Mongolian Asashōryū and Bulgarian Kotoōshū.
Soccer
Japan was already soccer crazy when the World Cup came to Saitama and Yokohama in 2002. Now it’s a chronic madness, and five minutes of conversation with any 10-year-old about why they like David Beckham should clear up any doubts you might have to the contrary. Japan’s national league, also known as J-League (www.j-league.or.jp/eng), is in season from March to November and can be seen at stadiums around the country.
Baseball
Baseball was introduced to Japan in 1873 and became a fixture in 1934 when the Yomiuri started its own team after Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig had swung through town. During WWII the game continued unabated, though players were required to wear unnumbered khaki uniforms and to salute each other on the field.
Today, baseball is still widely publicised and very popular, though many fans have begun to worry about the future of the sport in Japan as some of the most talented national players, such as Matsui Hideki, Suzuki Ichirō and Matsuzaka Daisuke, migrate to major league teams in the USA. If you’re visiting Japan