Hello and welcome to the History of Japan podcast, episode 441, The Dreamer. So for about as long as this podcast, episode 441, The Dreamer.

So, for about as long as this podcast has been going, I have been getting requests to do

something on probably the most famous artist living in Japan today, Miyazaki Hayao.

I've generally resisted the idea for a couple of reasons.

First and foremost, I always feel a bit weird doing something on a person who's still alive. I've broken that rule in the past, of course, and will continue to do so again, but usually with political figures, who, A, by the very nature of their jobs, consent to being in the limelight, and B, are pretty

important to, you know, how Japan operates.

Second, I'm not a trained scholar of film or animation, and anyway, those are difficult

subjects to talk about on a podcast, given that, you know, it's a podcast.

I always worry about being able to say something

coherent on visual subjects in this context. That's why I only rarely delve into things like

painting, for example. Third, and this may really surprise some of you, I don't actually watch

that much in the way of anime in general. I do like Miyazaki, and I consider

myself reasonably versed in his work, though I haven't watched everything he's ever done,

but in general I've just never gotten that into the subject. But here's the thing. One of my

personal favorite podcasts, which does not need me to shill for it, since they're way bigger

than me, but I will anyway,

is called Blank Check, a tremendous film podcast that did a series on Miyazaki a few years back.

And as I listened to their episodes on Miyazaki, I got to thinking about him and his work,

and, as I am wont to do, the historical context of the man himself.

And that got me thinking,

maybe I do actually have something to say on this subject, less about Miyazaki's work specifically,

and more about what his work represents in terms of a certain generation of attitudes in Japan.

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