Why Did Yubaba Try to Steal Zeniba’s Seal? -The Sisters as a Divided Hayao Miyazaki-

Last time, we considered “the reason why Yubaba steals names,” but this time, I’d like to think about the magic and contracts of Yubaba and Zeniba.

That’s because one of the mysteries in “Spirited Away(Official Studio Ghibli)” is “Why did Yubaba make Haku steal Zeniba’s contract seal?” To solve this mystery, we must first consider the contracts of Yubaba and Zeniba.

In the film, the content of Yubaba’s contract is described as the price for her magical power. In other words, it’s a contract to “give a job to anyone who wants to work.” So, what exactly was Zeniba’s contract?

*This article is an English translation of the original Japanese article, “湯婆婆が銭婆（ぜにーば）の契約印を盗もうとしたのは何故なのか？【分裂した宮崎駿としての姉妹】“

Zeniba’s Contract in “Spirited Away”

Based solely on the film, there are only two main clues regarding Zeniba’s contract.

These are Yubaba’s vow to “give a job to anyone who wants to work,” and Zeniba’s testimony that “Yubaba and I are two halves of a whole.”

Considering these two hints, Zeniba’s vow would likely be the counterpart to “giving a job to anyone who wants to work.” The counterpart is a bit tricky, but personally, I believe it would be something like “to complete any given work” (essentially, “worker and manager”).

However, just as Yubaba is bound by her contract to “give work,” Zeniba is also bound by her contract “to complete any given work.”

Doesn’t this mean that Zeniba is likely unable to move from Swamp Bottom?

In fact, Yubaba is in a similar situation. Although Yubaba goes out somewhere every night, she cannot leave the Bathhouse where various problems arise. As seen in the “Stink Spirit incident,” when a “big problem” occurs, she must be the one to make the decision. Yubaba is both the ruler of the Bathhouse and a prisoner within it.

This implies that her counterpart, Zeniba, is also a prisoner in her location. Indeed, it was not Zeniba herself but her shikigami that pursued Haku. It seems that Zeniba cannot move from that place.

Now, let’s get to the main point. Why did Yubaba try to steal Zeniba’s contract seal?

Why Yubaba Tried to Steal Zeniba’s Contract Seal

From here, I want to consider the reason why Yubaba tried to steal Zeniba’s contract seal, and there are currently two ways of thinking about it. I believe both of them are correct.

Theory 1: Yubaba Wanted to Make Zeniba Work

If what Yubaba tried to steal was the contract seal, then stealing it would allow her to freely make contracts. In the end, didn’t Yubaba want to make Zeniba work at the Bathhouse?

The biggest contradiction in “Spirited Away” is the sight of Yubaba, who is supposed to be under a contract to “give a job to anyone who wants to work,” trying to somehow block Chihiro’s plea of “Please let me work!”

To put it simply, her “exclusivity” as a manager who can’t just hire anyone and everyone comes out at that moment. And yet, the reason she stole the “contract seal” was perhaps because she wanted to force a contract with the highly competent worker, Zeniba.

Yubaba is a manager with many employees, but it’s unlikely that her employees often do as she wishes. At such times, what always came to her mind might have been her “super-competent older sister.” That’s why she tried to steal the contract seal and make Zeniba sign a contract with her.

Now, let’s examine Yubaba’s actions from a slightly different perspective.

Theory 2: Yubaba and Zeniba as a Divided Hayao Miyazaki

When you watch many of Miyazaki’s works, Yubaba in “Spirited Away” inevitably starts to look like “Hayao Miyazaki as a manager” or “Hayao Miyazaki giving instructions to animators as a film director.”

Thinking this way, it also becomes clear where Yubaba goes every night. Of course, it’s “Hayao Miyazaki’s home.” In the story, Yubaba’s residence is undoubtedly the Bathhouse, but from a meta-perspective, that scene looks like nothing but him returning home.

And if Yubaba is “Miyazaki as a manager or director,” then Zeniba would be “Miyazaki as an animator.”

The fact that Zeniba is at “Swamp Bottom, from which she cannot return” must be a metaphor for how “the days as an animator will never come back.” It may not be that he wants to return to those days, but there were probably times when he reminisced about the freedom of his days as a single animator.

Of course, an animator’s job is to realize the director’s vision, so it should be inherently restrictive. However, the freedom to complain “That’sおかしいだろ!” (That’s strange!) or “It should be done this way!” is a freedom you have when you’re not the director. Miyazaki, who has already become a director, no longer has that freedom. Everything is his responsibility, and he can’t complain to anyone.

So, who would Director Miyazaki most want to hire as an animator? It would, of course, be himself.

Let me be clear here: I am not shamelessly saying that the level of Ghibli’s animators is low. Not just Ghibli’s animators, but all animators are like wizards to us consumers. There is only respect, and certainly no contempt.

However, what Director Miyazaki wants to achieve is Director Miyazaki’s world, and in that context, the individuality and originality of the animators are completely sacrificed.

There’s a scene you can see many times in documentaries about Director Miyazaki, where the key animation that an animator has painstakingly drawn is completely rejected and corrected (erased or thrown away). Even watching from the sidelines, it makes you want to say, “You should have just drawn it yourself from the beginning,” as all their effort vanishes.

Perhaps it’s fine because he corrects it himself, but it’s clear that what Hayao Miyazaki is looking for is Hayao Miyazaki.

It feels like I’ve strayed from the topic, but the intention of this article is “Why did Yubaba steal Zeniba’s contract seal?” The reason, in this context, would be:

A manifestation of Hayao Miyazaki’s selfish desire to actually hire himself.

This kind of inner truth should never be brought to the surface, and this text is based on my own arbitrary judgment and prejudice. The fact that these things are presented wrapped in a beautiful fantasy might be the wonder of Miyazaki’s works.

The images used in this article are from “Studio Ghibli Works Still Images“.