Princess Mononoke (1997): Fascinating Trivia, Hidden Lore, and Production Secrets

Hayao Miyazaki’s 1997 epic Princess Mononoke (Official Studio Ghibli Website) is widely celebrated as a cinematic masterpiece that completely redefined what animated filmmaking could achieve. However, beyond its breathtaking visuals and fierce environmental themes, the journey to bring this film to the silver screen was fraught with discarded concepts, secret romances, and intense creative clashes.

Today, we are opening the vault to share some of the most fascinating trivia and behind-the-scenes secrets of Princess Mononoke. While knowing these production details isn’t strictly necessary to appreciate Ashitaka and San’s journey, they offer an incredible glimpse into the brilliant, chaotic minds of Studio Ghibli’s creators.

*This is a translated version. The original (Japanese) is available here.

Princess Mononoke (1997): Unbelievable Trivia and Behind-the-Scenes Secrets

The Phantom Concept: The Original Princess Mononoke

The Princess Mononoke we revere today follows Ashitaka, a cursed prince exiled from his homeland, who discovers a brutal new world and meets San, the fierce girl raised by wolves.

However, the original concept envisioned after Porco Rosso (1992), the completion of the Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind manga (1994), and Whisper of the Heart (1995) was drastically different. At that time, Miyazaki was also conceptualizing Boro the Caterpillar (Ghibli Museum Official).

The earliest iteration of Princess Mononoke has since been published as an illustrated picture book. It featured a story where a defeated samurai is captured by a giant, Totoro-esque cat monster (a mononoke). The beast spares his life on one condition: the samurai must offer his daughter in marriage. Ultimately, his third daughter (known as the “Third Princess” or San-no-hime) is sent to be the monster’s bride.

This early picture book was based on concept image boards drawn way back in 1980. Miyazaki initially tried to use this decade-old framework for the new film.

However, modernizing a concept created over a decade earlier proved incredibly difficult. The story development ground to a halt, plunging Miyazaki into a state that producer Toshio Suzuki openly described as a “slump.”

Salvation came in the form of a request to produce a music video for the Japanese pop duo CHAGE and ASKA, resulting in the iconic short On Your Mark. This project served as the perfect palate cleanser. Fully refreshed, Miyazaki decided to scrap the old Princess Mononoke concept entirely and rebuild the narrative from scratch. He kept only the name “San” (from the “Third Princess”) to create the epic we know today.

Yet, Miyazaki rarely throws away a good idea entirely. The acclaimed 1983 illustrated story The Journey of Shuna(シュナの旅), which follows Prince Shuna riding a Yakul to find golden wheat in the land of the god-folk, heavily influenced the aesthetic and themes of the final film. If you haven’t read The Journey of Shuna, I highly recommend giving it a look.

The Title Was Announced Without Miyazaki’s Permission

Because the original, scrapped picture book focused on a giant monster (mononoke) and a princess, the title Princess Mononoke made perfect sense. But in the final film, Ashitaka is undeniably the central protagonist.

Recognizing this, Hayao Miyazaki actively wanted to change the film’s title to The Legend of Ashitaka (Ashitaka Sekki).

“Sekki” is a unique word and kanji character entirely invented by Miyazaki, meaning “a story passed down from ear to ear, hidden in the grass.” The custom kanji is written as follows (based on “Ghibli Textbook 10: Princess Mononoke,” using the old form of the “grass” radical for the character “setsu”):

However, producer Toshio Suzuki strongly believed that Princess Mononoke was a far more impactful title. So, he made a bold executive decision: he unilaterally announced the title Princess Mononoke without consulting Miyazaki during a special TV report promoting My Neighbor Totoro on December 22, 1995.

When Miyazaki eventually found out, he reportedly confronted Suzuki, loudly asking, “Hey, did you release that?!” When Suzuki calmly replied, “I did,” Miyazaki simply turned around and went back to his room.

As a result, the film retained the title Princess Mononoke. Miyazaki’s preferred title, The Legend of Ashitaka, was respectfully preserved as the name of Joe Hisaishi’s sweeping musical theme that plays just after Ashitaka leaves his village.

The Setting Was Almost Moved Outside of Japan

As the storyboards for Princess Mononoke progressed, producer Toshio Suzuki grew deeply concerned about one of the story’s core themes: “killing the forest god.”

Suzuki worried that in a lush, rain-abundant country like Japan, the very concept of “killing a forest” might feel completely implausible to audiences. He consulted fellow director Isao Takahata, who completely agreed with his doubts. Looking back at Japan’s dense geography, it was a highly logical concern.

Suzuki approached Miyazaki with this problem, suggesting that setting the story outside of Japan might give the film a stronger sense of universality. Surprisingly, Miyazaki offered no resistance to the idea and casually began drafting revisions for a foreign setting.

While the exact details of why they abandoned that idea remain unclear, they ultimately pivoted back. Princess Mononoke was firmly anchored in the untamed wilderness of Muromachi-period Japan.

The Failed Attempt to Kill Lady Eboshi

When Hayao Miyazaki submitted his first draft of the ending storyboards, Toshio Suzuki felt the conclusion was too abrupt and left him wanting more (though, from a modern perspective, an “abrupt ending” sounds incredibly intriguing). Seeking a more dramatic climax, Suzuki casually suggested, “Shouldn’t we kill Lady Eboshi?”

Miyazaki immediately lit up at the idea. He enthusiastically bounced back several creative proposals detailing “various ways to kill Lady Eboshi.”

This enthusiastic brainstorming session happened on a train ride to composer Joe Hisaishi’s studio. In the documentary How Princess Mononoke Was Born, you can actually see Miyazaki cheerfully declaring to Hisaishi, “It’s been decided that she will die.”

However, as we all know, Lady Eboshi survives the final battle, merely losing her arm. When Miyazaki finally handed the revised storyboards over to Suzuki, he reportedly sighed and said, “Suzuki-san, I’m sorry, but I can’t kill Eboshi.“

San’s Red Markings Are Actually Tattoos

San is instantly recognizable by the striking, fierce red markings on her face. Contrary to popular belief, this isn’t war paint—those markings are permanent tattoos.

This fascinating detail is officially confirmed in the production documentary How Princess Mononoke Was Born. During a segment explaining the cel coloring and character design, the narrator explicitly refers to them as “crimson tattoos to express her fierce nature.”

However, the lore never explains exactly when or how a human girl raised by wolves received precise facial tattoos.

The Subtle Cure at the End of the Film

Early in the film, Lady Eboshi guides Ashitaka to a “secret garden” within Irontown, where heavily bandaged people are shown meticulously crafting firearms.

While the film never explicitly names their affliction, these individuals are suffering from Hansen’s disease (leprosy). Hayao Miyazaki confirmed this poignant detail in an interview. You can explore his thoughts on the matter in the Asahi Shimbun article, “Hayao Miyazaki talks about Princess Mononoke and Hansen’s disease: ‘A free-spirited period drama'”.

At the climax of the story, the decapitated Forest Spirit finally reclaims its head just as the morning sun hits it, causing the god to collapse and “explode” over the landscape. This massive wave of life energy washes over the ruined forest and Irontown.

While the blast triggers a small recovery of plant life, there is a much more profound miracle hidden in the scene. As Kouroku marvels that the Forest Spirit was like a “flower-blooming old man,” the bandages of the sick people are shown blowing away, heavily implying that the god’s final breath completely cured their disease.

Did the Kodama Evolve Into Totoro?

Almost every Studio Ghibli film features a charming, mascot-like creature. In Princess Mononoke, it is the eerie but adorable Kodama (tree spirits). A famous fan theory suggests that these Kodama eventually evolved into Totoro. But is this just a myth?

According to “The Art of My Neighbor Totoro,” the massive Totoro is specifically 1,302 years old. This timeline implies that the exact Totoro we know was alive during the Muromachi period of Princess Mononoke, yet he never appears in the film.

Watching How Princess Mononoke Was Born, it becomes clear that this timeline inconsistency actually bothered Miyazaki. During a storyboard meeting discussing the final shots of the film, he revealed:

“This was at the strong request of Futaki-san. She asked me to put just one small Kodama walking around at the very end. That’s what changed into Totoro.” “That makes everything consistent.”

(Original Text in Japanese)
「これはもう、二木さんたっての希望で、ちびで一匹でいいから、コダマが、ノコノコ歩いてるやつ、最後に入れてくれって。それがトトロに変化した。」「そうすると首尾一貫するんです。」

“Futaki-san” refers to the legendary animator Makiko Futaki (June 19, 1957 – May 13, 2016).

While you might not call it a strict “lore setting,” it is undeniable that Miyazaki and his team intended for that final, lone Kodama to represent the evolutionary ancestor of Totoro.

Moro and Okkoto’s Secret Romantic Past

The terrifying, 300-year-old wolf god Moro was voiced by the iconic Akihiro Miwa. Because Miwa fundamentally understood the complex depths of the character, the recording sessions were incredibly smooth and highly praised.

In the documentary How Princess Mononoke Was Born, Miyazaki is visibly delighted while directing Miwa.

During the tense, tragic reunion scene between Moro and the blind boar god Okkoto, Miyazaki drops a massive piece of lore on his sound director to convey the correct emotional nuance: Moro and Okkoto were actually “on good terms” (romantically involved) in the past, having separated 100 years ago.

When the sound director relayed this backstory to Akihiro Miwa in the booth, Miwa burst into surprised laughter, exclaiming, “What? That happened? The boar and the dog? Hahaha!”

The Grueling 20 Retakes for a Single Line

Toki, the sharp-tongued, fearless leader of the women in Irontown, is voiced by Sumi Shimamoto—the legendary voice actress famous for playing Clarisse in The Castle of Cagliostro and the titular heroine in Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.

When Ashitaka visits the women operating the massive iron bellows, Toki barks at him: “You might as well take over!” Surprisingly, this single line required 20 grueling retakes to perfect.

Miyazaki’s feedback to Shimamoto was brutally specific: “You know, people don’t just feel overly grateful when someone comes to help them a little with their work.“

He further pushed her by saying, “You think you have to be kind to the role,” and “Shimamoto-san, you think it’s your job to be kind to everyone, that’s the problem. Treat him coldly.“

To understand Miyazaki’s strict direction, we have to look at the context. The women teasingly invited Ashitaka over, but they didn’t actually expect or need his physical help. He would just be in the way. However, Ashitaka was emotionally raw after Lady Eboshi coldly dismissed his curse and after seeing the lepers living earnestly. He had aggressively shifted into a “let me do a good deed” mode.

Sensing his pushy, unneeded chivalry, Toki essentially decided to let him exhaust himself so he would leave faster. Hence the line: “You might as well take over!”

Because Shimamoto naturally possessed such a warm, kind vocal tone, conveying that highly specific nuance of “cold, dismissive annoyance” proved incredibly difficult.

Furthermore, Toki flashes a bright, positive smile while delivering the line, making the hidden annoyance even harder to project (the people of Irontown all carry internal suffering that contrasts with their superficial cheerfulness). Miyazaki claimed, “I don’t think it’s that difficult,” but honestly, acting out such layered emotional contradictions sounds monumentally tough.

Shimamoto wasn’t the only one who struggled. Yuriko Ishida, the voice of San, also faced intense pressure. At a stage greeting, she confessed:

“I really thought I was going to be fired at first.” “The director always gave me very detailed and delicate instructions, but there were so many of them that I got confused…”

(Original Text in Japanese)
「ほんとに、おろされるとおもいました、最初は。」「監督は、とてもきめこまかく、繊細な、指示をいつもしてくださったのですが、それが多すぎて、わけが分からなく・・・」

The vocal performances in Princess Mononoke are flawless, but they were born from immense struggle and perfectionism.

The 23 Rejected Ideas for the Legendary “Live.” Tagline

Studio Ghibli films are famous for their unforgettable marketing taglines. Copywriter Shigesato Itoi crafted the brilliant taglines for My Neighbor Totoro and Grave of the Fireflies (“We’ve come to deliver something you’ve forgotten”), as well as Kiki’s Delivery Service (“I was a little depressed, but I’m doing fine”).

Naturally, Suzuki enlisted Itoi once again to capture the soul of Princess Mononoke.

Historically, Itoi’s proposed taglines were generally accepted on the first try. But Princess Mononoke proved to be a completely different challenge.

According to “Ghibli Textbook 10: Princess Mononoke,” Itoi agonizingly submitted 23 rejected ideas before finally arriving at the iconic, single-word masterpiece: Live.

However, in the documentary How Princess Mononoke Was Born, Toshio Suzuki casually claims, “We had him write about 50.”

I personally lean toward the “23” figure, suspecting that Suzuki was remembering the total number of back-and-forth fax exchanges rather than distinct concepts (though this is purely speculation).

Regardless of the exact number, it is undeniable that the legendary copywriter went through absolute agony to distill Miyazaki’s massive epic. To me at that time, Itoi was just “the guy from the Tokugawa buried treasure TV show,” so it’s deeply poignant to realize he was enduring such intense creative struggles behind the scenes.