Spirited Away (千と千尋の神隠し)(2001) – a brothel in disguise & other theories

Day 3 of Miyazaki Week


Today, I bring you another interesting fan theory about Studio Ghibli’s most well known film – Spirited Away (千と千尋の神隠し) (2001). But first, let me begin with a summary of the film, for viewers who have not seen it. The film is the highest grossing movie in Japan to date, which overthrew Titanic (1997),which had previously held the title in the Japanese box office. Spirited Away was also the winner for Best Animated Feature at the 75th Academy Awards, and it isn’t hard to see why. 

Sprited Away is a magical, fantasy film about a girl named Chihiro, who find herself and her family trapped in an abandoned theme park taken over by the spirit world. It all begins when the family is on the way to their new house, they take a wrong turn and end up at an abandoned train station that ultimately leads them to the amusement park. It doesn’t take long for things to happen, as Chihiro’s parents turn into pigs as they feast upon food they find. Within moments the lights of the park turn on, spirits manifest and the once empty river surrounding the park is now filled to the brim, welcoming ghosts off large boats. Chihiro, in a panic meets a young and mysterious boy named Haku, who ends up helping her get a job at the bath house, and this is where the theory comes into play. 




BATHOUSE BROTHELS- A HISTORY
 In the film, the bathhouse looms overhead and upon the blue cloth doorway is the Japanese symbol, ゆ. This symbol is typically used on the doors of bathhouses in Japan and can be translated to mean “hot water". Bathhouses or Sento (銭湯) have been a huge part of Japanese culture for hundreds of years. They first were seen during the Nara period and were called yuya (湯屋) or hot water shop. At this time they were more for religious purposes and could be found at temples. It wasn’t until the Kamakura period when they began to appear for commercial uses, they also became mixed-sex baths. The Edo period was when the bathhouses became even more interesting though. During this time the Tokugawa shogunate required baths to be segregated by sex. That didn’t stop the popularity of the baths, as female bathing attendants known as yuna( 湯女), or hot water women, began assisting customers in cleaning. These women also assisted in a little bit more after hours, and began selling sex to the male customers. 

 Now what does this have to do with Spirited Away, you may ask?

 Once Chihiro makes her way into the bathhouse, she meets the owner, Yubaba. Some fan theories state that Yubaba means bathhouse witch, and others claim Yubaba was what the bathhouse brothel owners were called in the Edo period. (I cannot find any source that says this). However, Yubaba(湯婆婆) in the film does have a twin sister named Zeniba (銭婆), and when you combine the first two kanji’s of each of their name, you get this- 銭湯, which means Sento, communal bath house. Regardless of what Yubaba’s name means, Chihiro begs for a job and is given one in exchange for her name. It is during this time that Chihiro is given her new name Sen. Sen written in Japanese looks like this, 千, which translates to the number a thousand. Some argue this hints to how much Chihiro/Sen is worth in the brothel and the fact that her name is taken from her is similar to woman in prostitution/brothels changing their names. She is also given the job as a bath house attendant, which in the Japanese version of the film are called none other than, yuna( 湯女). It also adds fuel to the fire that all of the customers the audience ever sees in the film are seemingly male spirits, aside from the woman who work in the bathhouse. 

 NO-FACE 
 Aside from the brothel theory, many people have also claimed that no-face is or was a human at one point. When Chihiro first meets Haku, he tells her she must eat something or she will turn invisible. No-face himself is slightly invisible, allowing audiences to see his inner organs at times. Also, later in the film when they are riding the train, the humanlike riders also seem to be invisible like no-face. Does this mean no-face entered the spirit world as well, but did not have someone to advise him to eat something? When Haku takes Chihiro across the bridge to the bath house, he advises her to not take a breath until they reach the other side of the bridge. As they begin walking over the bridge, with Chihiro holding her breath, No-face is the only spirit, aside from Haku, that notices her. Maybe, maybe not. It is all just a theory. 

Check out the trailer for Spirited Away below!

 Once again, Studio Ghibli has never claimed these theories are true. Whether you are a believer or not, it is always interesting to see how viewers read a film. 

 I hope you enjoyed this post. Only 2 more days in Miyazaki week! If you missed the first posts head on over to the Japan page and check them out. Please subscribe here and let me know what you think about these crazy fan theories in the comments below. 

Enjoy! 
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