Spirited Away: Haku’s True Identity, Night on the Galactic Railroad, and the Mysterious Hand

“Spirited Away(Official Studio Ghibli)” is a feature-length animated film directed by Hayao Miyazaki, released in 2001.

This time, I’d like to explore a “rumor” that is often whispered about Haku, a major character in “Spirited Away.”

The rumor is that “Haku is Chihiro’s dead brother.” This might seem like a wild story, but what’s interesting is that it’s not as absurd a theory as it sounds. Above all, if we consider Haku to be Chihiro’s deceased brother, the story of “Spirited Away” seems to become more understandable.

However, that’s not the only possibility, so I’d like to explore other potential theories as well.

Of course, there have been no direct statements from director Miyazaki or anyone involved in the production, so it’s crucial to remember that this remains purely in the realm of “rumor.”

*This article is an English translation of the original Japanese article, “【千と千尋の神隠し】ハクの正体と銀河鉄道の夜、そして神秘の手“

What is Haku’s True Identity in “Spirited Away”?

Possibility 1: Haku is Chihiro’s Dead Brother

Reason 1: The Arm of the Boy Who Saves Chihiro

The first piece of evidence is the most important. It’s the “child’s hand” that appears for a fleeting moment in a scene near the end of the story. As Chihiro rides on the back of Haku, who has turned into a dragon, returning from Zeniba’s place to the bathhouse, she recalls a time she fell into a river.

That hand is extended to Chihiro who has fallen into the river, but there are no other scenes in the film where a “child” is depicted.

Incidentally, from the first time I saw this film, I always thought that hand belonged to Chihiro’s father (he was wearing something that looked like a short-sleeved shirt). Even now, it can still be seen that way, but if you check the storyboards, it is clearly described as a “child’s hand(子供の手, in Japanese).”

The important question is, whose hand is it? The starting point of the “Haku is Chihiro’s brother theory” is that this hand belongs to her brother.

Also, since there is no depiction of Chihiro having a brother in the film, it would mean that this brother met an untimely death in the river.

The cause of his death then becomes the issue… and “because he tried to save Chihiro” would be the answer. Alternatively, it could be “because he tried to retrieve a shoe that Chihiro had dropped into the river.” The important thing is that Chihiro was involved in his death in some way, and it happened at the river that day.

It may feel a bit far-fetched, but thinking this way solves at least one lingering problem.

Reason 2: Chihiro’s Curt Mother

Right from the beginning of “Spirited Away,” what plants a seed of “unease” in our hearts is Chihiro’s mother’s attitude towards her.

It’s somewhat brusque, or dismissive, as if there’s an invisible, strange “wall” between them.

This, too, can be somewhat understood if we consider that the cause of her eldest son’s death lies with Chihiro (or can be thought of as such).

The mother is an adult, so she’s not blaming Chihiro from the bottom of her heart. If anything, she should blame herself and her husband. Because they took their eyes off them, their son had to sacrifice himself to save his sister.

However, human emotions are fraught with “contradictions,” and while she understands this, she finds herself unable to treat her daughter “normally.”

Thus, by considering “Haku is Chihiro’s dead brother,” the mother’s puzzling attitude becomes explainable.

Reason 3: Night on the Galactic Railroad

Besides the relationship between Chihiro and her mother, there is another point that makes sense.

It is the fact that director Miyazaki was, to some extent, conscious of Kenji Miyazawa’s “Night on the Galactic Railroad” when creating “Spirited Away.”

The image of the train running over the sea near the end of the story is a fantastical scene that remains strongly in our memory, and it can be said to be an homage to “Night on the Galactic Railroad.”

In fact, in “The Place Where the Wind Returns(風の変える場所, in Japanese),” Director Miyazaki says the following:

“…So, what I wanted to draw more was the part of the train journey. You know, falling asleep and passing through unfamiliar towns. Then, forgetting which station it was, you rush to the conductor’s room to find no one there, and only the lights of the receding townscape swirling in the darkness… this is ‘Night on the Galactic Railroad,’ isn’t it? (laughs)”

(Original Text in Japanese)
「・・・だから、もっと描きたかったのは、電車の旅の部分でしたね。ついつい寝てしまってね、見知らぬ街がよぎっていくとかね。それで、今何番目の駅だったか忘れてしまって、 大急ぎで車掌室に駆け込んでみたら車掌がいなくて、闇の中に遠ざかっていく街並の光だけがワーッと渦巻いてるっていうね、これは『 銀河鉄道の夜』だぞっていう（ 笑）」

Thus, we can see that at least in that train scene, the work “Night on the Galactic Railroad” was strongly on his mind.

However, when we speak of “Night on the Galactic Railroad,” it is primarily a story of the dialogue between Campanella and Giovanni, and the premise that Campanella lost his life to save someone is most important.

If that’s the case, it wouldn’t be strange for “someone who is already dead” to appear in “Spirited Away,” a work that is strongly conscious of “Night on the Galactic Railroad.” In fact, it might even be more natural for such a character to appear.

Of course, the candidate for this is Haku.

And, considering the mother’s strange attitude towards Chihiro, “Spirited Away” becomes a story of dialogue and farewell between Chihiro and the brother whose existence she never even knew.

It’s a poignant story, but the “Haku is Chihiro’s dead brother theory” cannot be so easily dismissed, as it makes many things fall into place.

Possibility 2: Haku is Chihiro’s Childhood Friend

If we’re talking about “possibilities,” Haku doesn’t necessarily have to be Chihiro’s brother. And if we presuppose “Night on the Galactic Railroad,” a friend might fit even better.

In other words, the idea is that Haku is “a friend who died trying to save Chihiro.”

This brings the relationship closer to that of Campanella and Giovanni, and it allows us to see the two characters in the film not from the perspective of “sibling love” but simply “love.” Kamaji’s line, “It’s love, love,” would then become even more moving.

The mother’s attitude might be a slight concern, but it can actually be explained.

If her own daughter became the cause of another child’s death, she must have been under tremendous stress dealing with the aftermath. She and her husband might have endlessly repeated, “We are so very sorry.”

The reality she faced after the incident, more than the joy of her own daughter surviving, would have determined her subsequent attitude towards her daughter.

So far, we have only focused on the “mother’s attitude,” but the father is also aware of it and turns a blind eye. This is evidence that not only the mother but also the father has some pent-up feelings, and the basis for this might be stronger if we consider Haku a “friend of Chihiro” rather than “Chihiro’s brother.”

Possibility 3: Haku is a River Spirit After All

The Mysterious Hand

So far, we have proceeded by affirming the rumor that “Haku is Chihiro’s dead brother,” but all the “evidence” presented is circumstantial and not definitive. It’s the kind of evidence that would make you resent the world if you were convicted on it.

Let’s finally return to the perspective that Haku was a river spirit from the very beginning. After all, that is the most natural way to see it.

The basis for this is the storyboard we presented as one of the grounds for the “Haku is Chihiro’s dead brother” theory:

Until now, we have strongly emphasized the notation “child’s hand,” but here I want to consider the words written below it: “anyone who has fallen into a river knows(川におちたことのある人ならしっている, in Japanese).”

Unfortunately, I have never fallen into a river, so I don’t know, but it is a strange notation nonetheless.

If that were a hand extended to someone who fell into a river, it would be a hand that onlookers could also know about. But it seems that hand is only known to the “person who fell.”

Doesn’t that mean that the hand is not the hand of a real person, but a “mysterious hand that explains the miracle of not drowning despite being in the emergency situation of falling into a river“?

Come to think of it, haven’t we, as children, been saved many times by such “mysterious hands”?

Children are creatures who can basically only have fun doing dangerous things, so they enjoy things that could potentially be fatal as “play.” As a result, their lives are colored by a series of near-miss accidents or incidents that could have been fatal.

The fact that we are still alive can only be explained by the presence of the “mysterious hand” that Chihiro encountered in the river that day (of course, we usually call it “luck”).

Thinking this way, “Spirited Away” can be seen as a story of saying thank you to “something that saved us.”

Chihiro managed to survive in that mysterious world with the help of many people, including Haku, Lin, Kamaji, No-Face, and Zeniba. Above all, it was Yubaba giving her a job that started everything. The fact that Lin told Chihiro to “say thank you” when she was leaving Kamaji’s place might also symbolize this “story of gratitude.”

All the mysterious beings in that world were probably symbols of a “mysterious hand” for someone. We surely survived thanks to one of the gods who were being healed at the bathhouse.

Explaining the Mother’s Attitude

Now, if we think of Haku as “a river spirit after all,” you might think that the mother’s attitude towards Chihiro cannot be explained, but the explanation is extremely simple.

In other words, it is simply that such mothers and daughters also exist normally.

The fact that Chihiro is 10 years old also plays a role.

She is in the upper grades of elementary school, and although she is clearly a child, she is beginning to have a clear “sense of self,” and there is also the guilt of making her daughter change schools. As first-time parents, even if they haven’t been able to achieve a distance that seems reasonable from the outside, it’s probably not something they should be blamed for too much.

It’s not hard to imagine that the father, too, is becoming unsure of how to maintain a proper distance with his daughter.

Thinking this way, the attitudes of Chihiro’s mother and father are not so mysterious.

Furthermore, one could also think that it is precisely because the parents’ anxieties were somehow conveyed to their daughter Chihiro that she set off on a journey to somewhere else in the form of being “spirited away.”

In any case, the attitudes of the mother and father can be sufficiently explained without resorting to the premise that “Haku is Chihiro’s dead brother.”

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Well, this time we have proceeded by both affirming and denying the rumor or urban legend about “Spirited Away” that “Haku is Chihiro’s dead brother.”

The theory that “Haku is Chihiro’s dead brother” is extremely fascinating and interesting, but personally, the idea I wrote about at the end, that “Haku is a river spirit after all,” sits better with me.

I have managed to live to a ripe old age. That must be because I, too, had a Haku like Chihiro did. Perhaps that is the Campanella from “Night on the Galactic Railroad.” I feel that I am also approaching a time when I must reflect on “thank you.”

What do you all think?

Appendix: Wishful Thinking About Haku’s Future

In this article, I have focused on “Haku’s identity,” but his “future” is also a bit of a concern.

Of course, we can only imagine what happens, but I want to imagine the best possible future.

The basis for this speculation comes from the following two points:

While I say “the best possible future,” the first thing to consider is Haku’s desperate situation. That is, even if he regains his name, he has no place to go back to. The “Kohaku River” no longer exists, so regaining his name doesn’t solve anything for Haku.

Conversely, one could see it as Haku, who was told “you are not needed” when his existence was filled in, arriving at the “Bathhouse” as a new world.

And we know one person who was in such a predicament: Ashitaka from “Princess Mononoke.”

Ashitaka was also told “you are not needed” by his home village and was forced to embark on a journey west with no destination, eventually discovering a new world in “Tatara-ba” (Iron Town).

The ending of “Princess Mononoke” can be a bit ambiguous, but ultimately, Ashitaka lives in “Tatara-ba” and “commutes” to San, who lives in the forest.

In any case, for Ashitaka, “Tatara-ba” is a new world, and he is in a suitable position to be Lady Eboshi’s successor.

If that’s the case, then Haku, who shares the common points of “having no place to return to” and “finding a new world in the ‘Bathhouse’,” probably did well at the “Bathhouse” after that. I want to believe so.

What do you all think?

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