ON FEMINISM TONED-DOWN

IN THE ENGLISH DUBBING OF

HAYAO MIYAZAKI’S PRINCESS MONONOKE

BY

JIANG YUE, ANGEL

STUDENT NO. 14202336

AN HONOURS PROJECT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF

BACHELOR OF ARTS IN TRANSLATION (HONOURS)

HONG KONG BAPTIST UNIVERSITY

April 2019

1. HONG KONG BAPTIST UNIVERSITY

April 2019

We hereby recommend that the Honours Project by Ms Jiang Yue, Angel entitled “On

Feminism Toned-Down in the English Dubbing of Hayao Miyazaki’s Princess

Mononoke” be accepted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Bachelor of

Arts Honours Degree in Translation in English Language and Literature.

______________________________

Dr. YEUNG, Jessica W. Y.

Supervisor

_________________________________

Second Examiner

Continuous Assessment:

_____________________________________________

Product Grade:

_____________________________________________

Overall Grade:

______________________________________________

Title: On Feminism Toned-down in the English Dubbing of Hayao Miyazaki’s Princess

Mononoke

Student name: JIANG Yue

Student No.: 14202336

Program: Bachelor of Arts in Translation (Honours)

Year of completion: 2019

Abstract:

This Honours Project is a thesis on the topic of the influence of feminism on the

characterization and power relations of characters on the dubbing of Hayao Miyazaki’s

Princess Mononoke. This project compare the original Japanese script and the English

script of the animation movie and examine how the changes made to the English script,

along with voice-acting of the actors for the movie’s English dubbed version, changes

the characterization and power relations in Princess Mononoke’s English dubbed

version in the light of feminism and gender in translation.

2. Table of Contents

Introduction 5

Literature Review 7

Plot Summary and Background of Princess Mononoke 12

Feminism in the Original Princess Mononoke

The Plot and Story 15

Challenging Gender Stereotypes 16

Characterization

Gender Reference to Characters 19

Direct Confrontation of Female Characters Towards Other

Characters

21

The Release of Princess Mononoke in the United States 23

Discussion of English Dubbing of Princess Mononoke

Female Stereotypes Within Discourse 24

The Dubbing of Moro 30

The Constriction of Iron Town as s Space of Breaking Feminist

Stereotypes

35

Conclusion 39

Appendix 40

Bibliography 51

3. Introduction

As stated in Jones S.H.’s online article Hayao Miyazaki: the great feminist

filmmaker of his time, many filmmakers or critics praise Hayao Miyazaki as the greatest

feminist filmmaker, given that the representation of female characters in his films being

strong, brave, and ambiguous, as opposed to the traditional feminine characters in

Hollywood movies or Disney animations. This research aims to study whether dubbing

can change power relations between characters in a film and the case study chosen is the

English dubbed version by Miramax of Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke. By analyzing

and comparing the original Japanese movie and the English dubbed version, this paper

hopes to analyze how the English dubbing affects the characterization of female

characters and the power relations between female and male characters compared to the

original Japanese version. To clarify the use of terms, the focus of interest in this

dissertation is the dubbing of Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke, as opposed to subtitling,

which maintains the original sound of the film, presents the translation as written text at

the bottom of the screen and strives to recount the dialogues of the original film (Diaz-

Cintas & Remael, 2007, p. 8). According to Chaume, dubbing is a type of audiovisual

translation which “consists of replacing the original track of a film’s source language

dialogues with another track on which translated dialogues have been recorded in the

target language” (2012, p. 1). Both dubbing and subtitling are covered under the

academic term of audiovisual translation. Given the popularity of Miyazaki’s movies,

they are adapted into different languages and dubbed by voice actors. One of the

countries where Miyazaki's films have achieved great success is the United States,

meaning the dubbing of Miyazaki’s films into English is a common practice. Princess

Mononoke was the second Miyazaki film that was adapted into English and released in

the United States. Given the previous release of the heavily cut version of Nausicaä of

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the Valley of the Wind upsetting Miyazaki1, Princess Mononoke was released in 1999

without any cuts. However, considering the cultural and acceptance differences of the

audience, the dialogues adapted from the Japanese original to English mark a long list

of changes that not only simplify the movie, but also alter the characterization of

Miyazaki’s brave and strong female characters in Princess Mononoke, and this has

distorted the power relations between the characters presented in the original Japanese

movie.

1 When Miyazaki’s Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind was first released in the U.S. in 1987, the original 117-minute movie was recut to 97 minutes, the plot modified to resemble traditional children’s action-

adventure movie, and the names of many characters were changed, which totally distorted Miyazaki’s

original work. Given this unpleasant experience, Miyazaki insisted no cuts for Princess Mononoke’s

release in 1999. See LaPierre, J.

7

4. Literature Review

This dissertation hopes to discuss and analyze Hayao Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke

in the light of dubbing and the power relations between genders, also the relationship

between translation and feminism. The three trademark studies that set the frame of

feminism studies include The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir (the “accurate”

English translation by Constance Borde and Sheila Malovny-Chevallier), the Feminine

Mystique by Betty Friedan, and the Sex Which Is Not One by Luce Irigaray (English

translation by Catherine Porter with Carolyn Burke). De Beauvoir’s The Second Sex is

considered one of the earliest works that tries to confront human history in the

perspective of feminism. Her primary thesis is that men oppress women by

characterizing them as the Other, as opposition to men. Man is the self, or the subject

that is essential and absolute, has the power to actively take action. On the contrary,

women is the object, the Other that is incomplete and men is their savior. De Beauvoir

states that while it is human nature that divides people between themselves as opposed

to others, this process is flawed when applied to gender, as when characterizing women

as the Other, men is denying the full humanity of the other sex.

In the first chapter of the Feminine Mystique, Friedan identifies a silenced

dissatisfaction that upper-middle class suburban women experienced in the United

States during the 1950s as “the problem that has no name”. During that era, women

were taught that to have “true femininity” or “true womanhood”, which means to get

married and have children and put the needs of one’s husband and children first.

However, women who seem to have fulfilled lives of being housewives started to share

a feeling of dissatisfaction, which many later realized is not a personal problem but

rather a problem shared by a lot of seemingly happy housewives (Freidan, 1963, p. 26 –

27). Friedan concludes that “the problem that has no name” is the result of widely

accepted standards of “feminine normality” that was part of the American Dream:

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misunderstanding of fulfillment, adjustment and maturity that still effect women today.

The so-called “true femininity” is another patriarchal idea decorated as the best and only

way for a woman’s fulfillment in life.

One of the topics that Luce Irigaray’s the Sex Which Is Not One treats is the

understanding of womanhood and articulating feminine discourse in relation to the

thought of Freud and Lucan (Irigaray, 1985, p. 23). She also discusses the significant

difference between male and female sex organs and how this difference explains the

experience of erotic pleasure of both sexes, disabling a man’s understanding of woman

discourse. Throughout her essay, Irigaray seeks to dispute and challenge male-centered

structures of language in the hopes of putting an end to the culture of “the West”

enduring phallocratism, leaving room for women’s sexuality, imaginary and language to

take place. The idea of feminism as opposed to patriarchy expressed in this dissertation

is built on the understanding of the mentioned studies above.

The pioneer study linking feminism and the gender issue with translation studies and

practice is Sherry Simon’s Gender in Translation: Cultural Identity and the Politics of

Transmission that was first published in 1996. Simon argues that the translation of

feminist texts, or the translation of texts by female translators, is a cultural production

that seeks to create new cultural meanings and bring about social change. She elaborates

on the history of feminist theories of language and translation studies, linguistic issues,

women translators through history from the Renaissance to the twentieth century, the

translation of the Bible in feminist frame, and how French feminist texts have been

translated into English (Simon, 1996, p. 166-167). The other important book that

examines translation in the background of feminism is the book Translation and Gender:

Translating in the ‘Era of Feminism’ written by Luise von Flotow. Von Flotow places

translation against the background of feminist movements and its critique of patriarchal

language, which helps explain and examine translation practices sprung from

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experimental feminist writing, the development of translation strategies in the light of

cultural transfer and identity, the start of retranslating fundamental texts such as the

Bible, translating writings to understand them without the patriarchal veil, and

translation history focusing on women translators in the past. Both books refer to the

trademark feminism studies mentioned above: the Second Sex and This Sex Which Is

Not One.

In order to explore how dubbing changes the representation of power relations

between the genders in films, studies done through the lens of both gender and dubbing,

or rather, audiovisual translation, are taken as reference to form a more comprehensive

point of view. According to Luise von Flotow and Daniel E. Josephy-Hernández’s essay

“Gender in Audiovisual Translation Studies: Advocating for Gender Awareness”, the

most productive work in the field is being done in the Romance languages such as

Spanish, French and Italian; and scholars study how the dubbing industries fail to

advocate gender-aware source materials (2018, p. 308). But there are also up-to-date

research attempts in audiovisual translation in relation to gender: the study of English

translations of audiovisual products from Greece and Japan. English, even though

widely considered as being a more liberal language, fails to render genderlects and

neologisms from the two languages respectively. So as far as gender terminology is

concerned, English translation is bound by sexual difference that the language itself

beholds (von Flotow & Josephy-Hernández, 2018, p. 308). Even though feminism has

been closely related to gender-aware language study, this group of study also includes

other gender issues such as queer, which diversifies the focus of audiovisual translation

studies and allows it to go beyond feminism. In the relatively new field of studying

audiovisual translation in terms of gender, there are two studies that focus on Japanese

anime, and only one that touches on dubbing. One of the studies was by Mie Hiramoto,

in which she compares the Japanese and American English scripts of the anime series

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Cowboy Behop and studies the gender stereotyping illustrated in the scripts (von Flotow

& Josephy-Hernández, 2018, p. 304). The second study was by Daniel E. Josephy-

Hernández, in which he researches the portrayal of gender in Kon Satoshi’s anime film

Perfect Blue by examining the subtitled, dubbed and fan-subbed versions (von Flotow

& Josephy-Hernández, 2018, p. 305). That said, study of the English dubbing of

Japanese audiovisual material is still rather limited and most studies of audiovisual

translation are rather Eurocentric, focusing on the translation between English and

European languages such as French, Spanish and Italian.

A large number of studies and research have been done in regards to Miyazaki’s

works and his way of constructing characters, especially his ambiguous, strong and

brave heroines, and Sen or Chihiro in Spirited Away is the most widely researched

character. In an extensive dissertation written by Lesley Anne Shore examines in detail

Miyazaki’s heroines in relation to Japan’s post-patriarchal consciousness, San and Lady

Eboshi from Princess Mononke were among the female characters that she details.

However, rather than discussing Miyazaki’s heroines through the feminism scope,

Shore’s dissertation The Anime in Animation: Miyazaki Heroines and Post-Patriarchal

Consciousness examined the role of the anima rich heroine by drawing upon the depth

of psychological theories of James Hillman, Hayao Kawai, Marie-Louise von Franz,

Ginette Paris and Christine Downing (2013). A book of collected essays titled Princess

Mononoke: Understanding Studio Ghibli's Monster Princess specifically discusses

Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke, analyzes the film from three aspects: 1) politics,

religion and the environment; 2) animation influences, feminism and cultural liminality;

and 3) the adaption, promotion and reception of the film in the United States (2018).

Helen McCarthy, an independent scholar and anime commentator, has written a chapter

titled “Teenage Wildlife: Princess Mononoke and the danger of feminine power in the

works of Hayao Miyazaki”, which examines how San, Lady Eboshi and Moro in

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relation to other Miyazaki heroines demonstrate Miyazaki’s view on feminism (2018).

Her essay concludes that in Princess Mononoke, Miyazaki presents a way of

representing women that are revolutionary in Japanese pop culture, where women do

not need men to validate them and can live their own lives. Even though the mentioned

studies extensively examine Princess Mononoke, none has discussed the film through

the two lenses of dubbing and feminism.

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5. Plot summary and background of Princess Mononoke

The blockbuster movie Princess Mononoke was produced and released in Japan in

1997 and became the highest-grossing film in Japan of 1997. The story starts with

Ashitaka, the young prince of the Emishi tribe killing the monster that attacked his

village. It turns out that the monster is the Boar God that has been driven mad being

shot with an iron ball. Ahistaka is cursed as a result of killing the monster and is cast

away from his village and tribe. In search of a way to remove the curse, Ashitaka

eventually reaches Iron Town, which is ruled by Lady Eboshi. Iron Town, which

represents human civilization in the movie, was constructed by clearing the forest and is

a utopian refugee for outcast women who Lady Eboshi has bought out of sexual slavery

and people with incurable illnesses like leprosy. Lady Eboshi employs these outcasts to

help her mine iron sand and produce iron and weapons. Animals from the forest,

including packs of monkeys, boars and wolves, are determined to get rid of Lady

Eboshi and her clan. San, nickname Princess Mononoke, is the feral child brought up by

the giant Wolf Goddess Moro and leads attacks against Lady Eboshi. Jigo, a corrupted

Yamabushi ascetic monk stalks Shishigami, the Deer God or the Great Forest Spirit that

resides in the forest where San lives. Jigo claims he has an imperial decree authorizing

him to kill Shishigami, which he aims to achieve so he can earn a large amount of

money from the imperial family. Momentum grows when Lady Eboshi and her clan,

along with Jigo and his troop, charges into the forest to hunt down Shishigami. Lady

Eboshi and Jigo’s joined forces encounters the tribe of Okkotonushi, a blind Board God

who has traveled to Shishigami’s forest to protect it. Ashitaka tries to stop the war

between the animals and humans, but in vein. Lady Eboshi lances the head of

Shishigami, and the Great Forest Spirit explodes over the forest in gruesome lumps of

jelly-like liquid that sucks the lives of any living creature that crosses it path. In midst

of the chaos, Lady Eboshi throws Shishigami’s head towards Jigo to take to the imperial

13

family for his price. Moro with its last breathe jumps at Lady Eboshi and bites off her

right arm. The Great Forest Spirit who has lost its head slowly expands and envelops

the forest, pressing towards Iron Town. Ashitaka and San chase after Jigo and finally

return Shishigami its head. Shishigami lowers its giant body to retrieve its head. At the

same time of sunrise, Shishigami falls into the lake and explodes, bringing large gusts

of wind. The wind blows away the human debris that the war around Iron Town has left

and the jelly-like liquid that Shishigami left in the wake of retrieving its head. After

Shishigami has vanished, vegetation springs up in the area around the forest where it

once resided. The story ends where San and Ashitaka part ways, San returns to the

forest to live with the animals and Ashitaka moves to Iron Town to help Lady Eboshi

rebuild her town.

Princess Mononoke is set in the historical background of the fourteenth-century

Muromachi period in Japan. The period is considered the height of Japanese high

culture, where well-known Japanese cultural products such as tea ceremony, Noh

theater, and Zen-inspired landscape gardens are at their most brilliant form (Napier,

2005, p. 233). The Muromachi period was also a period of relative peace when the

ruling samurai class grew increasingly literate. However, the movie Princess Mononoke

takes place in a mythical space deeply removed from Kyoto, the capital city of the

Muromachi era. Miyazaki explained, “Contrary to the usual jidaigeki (period film), this

is a movie in which few samurai, peasants, or feudal lords appear. This is a film in

which the main protagonists are those who usually do not appear on the stage of history.

Instead, this is the story of the marginals of history” (Napier, 2005, p. 233). As

explained by Miyazaki himself, the setting of the story develops marginal ethos of

Princess Mononoke, where not only woman and gender are contextualized in the overall

sense of “marginality” in the film but most characters represent marginality of one form

or another. The male protagonist Ashitaka is the prince of the Emishi tribe, which is a

14

weakening tribe that was expelled east by the Japanese emperor 500 years ago. Not only

is Ashitaka’s tribe marginalized from Japan in the Muromachi period, he himself is also

forced to leave his tribe due to the curse that the Boar God has placed on him. The

female protagonist San was thrown away by her human parents and brought up by the

Wolf Goddess Moro, so she identifies herself as a wolf but has the appearance of a

human, which sadly marginalizes her from both the wolf tribe and human society. Lady

Eboshi was once sold to Japanese pirates. Later she managed to kill the pirate leader

and take the pirates’ gold to return to Japan. It was during the time when she was with

the pirates that she got the advanced weapons that was later used at Iron Town. In

Miyazaki’s design, Lady Eboshi represents modern people, where she is the main

character that symbolizes the huge evil against nature and is the only character in the

whole film who does not believe in salvation of the soul. Lady Eboshi’s past explains

why she buys women out of sexual slavery and people with incurable diseases to work

at Iron Town. So most of the people living at Iron Town are marginalized people who

cannot return to the society where they once belong.

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6. Feminism in the Original Princess Mononoke

6.1 The Plot and Story

The main characters of Princess Mononoke are the male protagonist Ashitaka and

female protagonist San. Even though they are protagonists of opposite sex, Miyazaki

has not staged the film as a love story between the two characters. The relationship

between Ashitaka and San grows throughout the film, but there are no romance

dialogues between them and their relationship only helps guide the storyline and

construct the characterization of San and Ashitaka respectively. In the end of the movie,

even though San tells Ashitaka she likes him (which does not directly point to a

romantic relationship, as the word “like” in Japanese can neutrally mean one person

having positive feelings for another person, either of opposite or the same sex), they still

part ways in the end, which does not follow the popular endings of Hollywood or

Disney movies in the 1990s of “happily ever after” between the male and female

protagonists.

Unlike typical Hollywood or Disney movies, none of the characters are heroes in

Princess Mononoke. As the film highlights the conflict and struggle between nature and

the environment versus human industrialization, there is no definite Good or Evil in the

film for a hero to battle and defeat. Miyazaki does not characterize Ashitaka as the hero

who solves the problem and saves the world in the end. As the male protagonist,

Ashitaka’s perspective does not dominate the dialogues in Princess Mononoke but

rather act as a guide for the audience to follow and understand the story, while meeting

other characters. Even though Ashitaka tries to stop the battle between San and her tribe

against Lady Eboshi and her clan, it is not done out of the intention to save anyone, but

to stop the spread of hatred. Near the end of the film, Ashitaka and San together try to

return Shishigami’s head so as to stop it chasing after it and taking lives of any living

creature in its path. But Shishigami is not the Evil in the film, so for Ashitaka and San

16

to return its head to stop it does not necessarily make them heroes of the movie. Even if

this is one possible interpretation of being a hero, in this sense both Ashitaka and San

are heroes who have saved the people of Iron Town. This characterizes both male and

female protagonists as heroes and not staging the male character as the hero and the

female character a subordinate to him.

6.2 Challenging Gender Stereotypes

Along with many of Miyazaki’s films, Princess Mononoke disposes of traditional

gender roles, especially the ones that are familiar to the Japanese audience and defies

gender politics. The two main female characters San and Lady Eboshi break from

traditional gender roles and female stereotypes.

Unlike typical female stereotypes that regards female as having a nurturing nature

and resembling the beautiful side of Mother Earth, San is an aggressive force that fights

and attacks Lady Eboshi face-to-face, with the latter representing human

industrialization that is destroying nature. With typical female stereotypes, the male

character usually embodies the strong and dark emotions of hatred in contrary of the

female character who will try to comfort and stop the male character to take revenge.

Conflicting this stereotype, San is the character who embodies the hatred towards

human and wants to destroy Lady Eboshi and Iron Town. On the other hand, the male

protagonist Ashitaka is not the one who joins the fight or leads the army. He acts as the

character who tries to seek a way to stop the war between the humans and the animals,

the “peacekeeper” character that is stereotypically taken up by females. Also unlike

typical gender stereotypes, Ashitaka is not acting as the “savior” of San, and this also

breaks from female stereotypes. Even though Ashitaka tells San on a few occasions that

she is a human and belongs to human society, he never indicates that he would save her.

17

Even in the scene where he is asking Moro what Moro’s plans for San are, Ashitaka

tells Moro to set San free as she is a human.

As San was raised by wolves, her hairstyle and clothes contradict those worn by

traditional females in the Muromachi period. Even though Iron Town is set in a place

far from Kyoto, Miyazaki still designs for the people living in Iron Town to resemble

how people in the Muromachi period dressed. San has short hair, paints her face, wears

a sleeveless shirt and long skirt, compared to the women in Iron Town who wear a

single kimono with obi and tie their hair with a type of obi called katsura obi and wear

head covering (Choi, 2006, p. 76). How San dresses not only subverts her gender role

bound by the society, it also suggests isolation from human society. In the end, even

though she loses her protector Moro, she decides to stay with the wolf tribe and live in

the forest and not move to Iron Town with Ashitaka. The ending where San and

Ashitaka part ways also breaks from gender stereotypes which usually require the

female character to eventually develop a romantic relationship with the male character

and follow him to form a family. And it is Ashitaka who suggests he will go visit San,

which breaks from the gender stereotype again, which requires the female to be the

passive one who waits at home for the male to return.

Lady Eboshi also defies typical gender stereotype. Traditionally, a Japanese town,

especially a town in which people make a living using iron, will not have a female

leader. But Lady Eboshi is the one who has carved out a piece of land and built Iron

Town, brought women out of sex trade and employed them to work on iron. She also

teaches the women how to handle weapons and defend themselves when needed. In the

scene where Ashitaka tells her that Iron Town is under ambush by the samurais, Lady

Eboshi quickly makes the decision to continue to proceed into the forest with the

reasoning that she has taught the women at Iron Town to protect themselves, showing

that she has traits of a strong leader and has the ability to make steadfast decisions. This

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differentiates her from the gender stereotype of “women thinking with their hormones”.

She is also the one who has led Jigo and his troop into the habitat of Shishigami and

shot down its head with the cannon that the blacksmiths at Iron Town made. Women are

traditionally linked to nature and Mother Earth, but Lady Eboshi is the one who shoots

and kills Shishigami, the symbol of Mother Earth in the film. Even after Iron Town is

destroyed, the people of Iron Town want to rebuild the town with Lady Eboshi.

Ashitaka is only moving to Iron Town to join the reconstruction process, but does not

act as the “hero” or “leader” after the war.

Both San and Lady Eboshi are independent characters who make individual and

independent decisions for themselves. As stated by Napier (2005), “...Princess

Mononoke subverts the traditional history, aesthetics, and gender relationships of

Japanese society… Princess Mononoke uses female characters who exist in their own

right, independent of any male interlocutor. Furthermore, these independent females are

not domesticated by marriage or a happy ending but are instead interested in living

separate but presumably fulfilling lives, San with her companions in the natural world,

Eboshi with her industrializing community” (p. 246).

Another symbol that Miyazaki has placed in the film that breaks female stereotype is

the women working on iron in Iron Town. It is stated in historical documents that the

furnace or tatara-ba2 where iron was made was strict about “purification”. As women

give birth and had menstruation, they were considered “filthy” and could not enter

tatara-ba. Historically, men were usually the ones who worked at tatara-ba. Women who

were former prostitutes in the film from a marginalized group, is placed by Miyazaki to

work at tatara-ba against the historical background of the Muromachi period, which

2 The word “tatara-ba” means the place where people refine metal or make iron in Japanese (もーり

[Mori], 1997, para. 1). That is why there are two English translations for the term: Iron Town or the

Tataraba when the town is referred to in academic writings. The English adaptation that I refer to uses the

translation Iron Town to refer to the town that is governed by Lady Eboshi, so I refer to the actual place

where the women made iron as “tatara-ba”.

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largely highlights the role of women at tatara-ba not as housewives or as women who

supports the men, but as individuals who are part of the society’s major labor force.

Another interesting feature to note is that despite there are a lot of working men and

women living at Iron Town, there is no mention of children. Even though there are

scenes that show family units of husband and wife, there is no depiction whatsoever as

to the traditional family unit of a father, a mother and children, which subverts the

traditional or main purpose of forming a relationship between a male and a female: to

reproduce and bring prosperity to the family and the country. Near the end of the movie

when Toki is telling the rest of Iron Town to evacuate, there is no mention of children

either. Rather, Toki says, “Help the injured and the sick,” which confirms that there are

no children living in Iron Town. This can be added to the consideration of Iron Town as

a space that challenges and defies traditional gender roles and power relations between

male and female.

6.3 Characterization

6.3.1 Genderless Reference to Characters

The gender of the Gods in Princess Mononoke, especially that of Moro and

Shishigami, is ambiguous. Unlike English, contemporary Japanese does not have

pronouns that are grammatically distinguished from nouns. This means that various

nouns such as a person’s name can be used as a first person pronoun, according to the

style and position of the speaker (Hishida, 2016, para. 19-21). So pronouns in Japanese

function more as content word, contrasting how pronouns function in English. As nouns

can substitute pronouns in Japanese, characters can refer to one another by their names

instead of using pronouns, which evade the gender bounded pronouns that are used in

English. This trait that is unique to Japanese makes it possible to refer to the characters

without revealing its gender. Even though there are gender-bounded first-person

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pronouns in contemporary Japanese such as 俺 (ore, which are widely used by men in

conversation with another person who is in a close relationship), the most commonly

used pronoun 私 (watashi) can be used by both females (in casual or formal occasions)

and by males (in formal occasions). Throughout the original Japanese Princess

Mononoke, all characters, regardless of gender, uses the pronoun watashi as the first-

person pronoun. Shishigami itself does not speak so there is no way of judging the

gender of Shishigami through the use of language.

Even though San refers to Moro as mother, Moro does not have the typical

“motherly” traits which traditional mother figures have: gentle, nurturing, kind. Moro

uses language that is typically marked male or “masculine” in Japanese, especially

when it talks to Ashitaka or other animals in the forest. Moro does have a more

“motherly” side but it only shows this side to San. Even Moro is San’s adoptive mother,

Miyazaki has chosen to use a Japanese actor and singer named Akihiro Miwa for the

voice of Moro. Miwa voice-acting Moro adds to the gender or rather genderless play of

a Wolf Goddess having a male voice and enhances the characterization of Moro having

power and dignity. However, in certain scenes, Miyazaki asked Miwa to voice-act in a

more feminine way (for example, in the scene where Moro is talking to Okkotonushi,

Miyazaki asked Miwa to voice-act in a way that sounded like Moro having once been in

a romantic relationship with Okkotonushi (Mr. Fox, 2018, para. 11-12)), which adds to

the genderless characterization of Moro. The appearance of Moro is a giant white wolf,

which is said to be modeled after the appearance of the Nihon Ookami (Japanese wolf).

Moro’s representation of the Wolf Goddess is typical of Japanese mythologies. It is

typical that dogs or wolves assume voices by males and cats by females in Japanese

mythologies regardless of the God’s gender. Even with this cultural background,

Miyazaki has characterized Moro in a way that breaks from traditional gender roles.

21

Shishigami is characterized in the form of a deer with antlers, which is likely to lead

the audience to interpret Shishigami as a male character. However, as Shishigami has

both the power to heal wounds (healing power commonly attributed to Goddesses in

Greek mythology) and to absorb life energy of living creatures, it also has resemblance

to Mother Earth, which is a commonly known feminine reference. Given Shishigami

has the male visual outlook of a deer but showing feminine traits at the same time, this

character is characterized without special gender reference, making it a genderless

character in the film.

6.3.2 Direct Confrontation of Female Characters Towards Other

Characters

A significant symbol against gender stereotype is Iron Town. The women living in

Iron Town were bought and taken out of sex trade by Lady Eboshi. As they are

employed to work on iron at Iron Town, they are not economically dependent on their

husbands or the men at Iron Town and feel free to openly challenge them. One typical

scene is when Toki, a former prostitute and the leader of Eboshi’s women, confronts

Gonza, Lady Eboshi’s bodyguard. Toki scolds Gonza for acting big when he leaves the

injured behind and does not do any work around Iron Town. Given the gender

stereotype, women should not challenge men, especially in public and dismiss his work.

And Gonza is not Toki’s husband, so Toki should not be challenging the authority and

pride of a man who is not her husband. But in Iron Town, Toki has more power and

authority than Gonza does, so Toki’s actions are accepted and also against traditional

gender stereotype. Another scene is when the women of Iron Town gather before the

night of killing Shishigami. When Gonza tells the women not to worry about Lady

Eboshi as he is going to protect her, Toki quickly challenges him by saying “If you are a

woman, then we can absolutely trust you.” This challenges gender stereotype, as

22

traditionally men fight wars, so having a man to protect Lady Eboshi should make it

safe for her. But Toki challenges that stereotype by stating that having a woman from

Iron Town to protect Lady Eboshi is safer than having one a man to do so.

After Lady Eboshi and her clan win a battle against a group of jizamurais (lords of

smaller rural domains in feudal Japan), a small group of messengers from the ruling

family want to greet Lady Eboshi and come to the gate of Iron Town. However, Lady

Eboshi tells the women guarding the gate of Iron Town to greet the messengers. This is

a challenge of both class and gender stereotype. As a woman, no matter her status,

should not refuse to greet the messenger from the ruling family of Japan. But not only

that, the women of Iron Town tell the messenger to leave, as they know what the ruling

family wants is the iron they produce. The messenger gets offended and tells them that

they will not forgive their rudeness and the women say they have been rude since they

were born. One of the women fire directly at the feet of the messenger, mockingly

saying they will let them have some of the iron they want from Iron Town. Not only do

they not fear what punishment they might face for being rude to the ruling family’s

messengers, they also act in that attitude knowingly, which directly challenges the

power between male of a higher class and female of a much lower upbringing.

23

7. The Release of Princess Mononoke in the United States

In the same year that Princess Mononoke was released in Japan, the English subtitled

version of the film was produced by Tokuma International and previewed by Disney.

Disney concluded that without any change it would be difficult to release the movie in

the United States. A total of three hundred and fifty million dollars were spent to finish

the English dubbing of Princess Mononoke, and the English script was edited seven

times before final approval. Edits were made to the story in the dubbed version so it is

more comprehendible and easy to understand for English audience in the United States.

The final release of the movie in the United States was in 1999. Miramax that handled

the English dubbing hoped to cut the movie shorter but Studio Ghibli refused the

request, and the movie was released as a PG-13 movie. PG-13 is a rating of movie that

has been adopted since early 1980s, which means “Parents Strongly Cautioned – Some

Material May Be Inappropriate for Children Under 13” (Justia Trademarks, n.d., para.

1). The PG-13 rating of Princess Mononoke is a result of violence, gore and possibly

complicated story, but not caused by any gender issues. The translation from Japanese

to English was done by Steve Alpert, Haruyo Moriyoshi and Ian Macdougall, which

Neil Gaiman wrote and adapted the final English script.

24

8. Discussion of English Dubbing of Princess Mononoke

8.1 Female Stereotypes within Discourse

Not only examining the dialogues of the female characters is important, but how

other characters refer to the female characters also reveals the power balance of the

community described in the movie and adds to the characterization of the female

characters. This paper not only focuses on the dialogues of the major female characters

San and Lady Eboshi, but also the dialogues that demonstrate the difference of

characterization of female characters in the English dubbed version.

First, how a male character and a female character speak to each other need to be

scrutinized because this is the most direct interaction between the genders and

stereotypes are constructed in interactions. How the men and women refer to each other

in the English dubbing of Princess Mononoke implements a power balance that is

different from the one presented in the original Japanese version.

The first example is the conversation between Toki and her husband Kohroku. Toki

is a former prostitute who was saved by Lady Eboshi and is the leader of Iron Town’s

women during the absence of Lady Eboshi. The following dialogue is Toki scolding

Kohroku right after she sees Kohroku return to Iron Town with an injured leg and arm.

Affectionate names that Kohroku used to address Toki are added in the English dubbed

dialogue. One can argue that the addition is to construct a weaker characterization of

Toki compared to Kohroku, which is not the case in the source text. Although very

often in daily-life Japanese dialogues, female talks are expected to be much more gentle,

it is not the case for Toki’s speech in the original Japanese dialogue.

Characters Japanese version My translation English dubbed

version adapted by

Neil Gaiman

Toki このグズ！牛飼い

が足を挫いて！ど

うやってオマンマ

食ってくんだよ

You slug! An ox driver

with a broken leg! Now

how can you drive the

ox?

That’s just great! How

are you going to drive

the ox now all banged

up and mangled?

25

Kohroku …ンナコトイッタ

ッテ…

Even you complain, I

can’t do anything about

it...

But, my little flower...

Toki 心配ばかりかけや

がって、いっそ山

犬に食われれえば

良かったんだ！そ

うすりゃ、もっと

イイ男を見つけて

やる

You always just have

me worried. I wish the

wolves had eaten you,

then I can just find a

better husband!

You scared me half to

death. Don’t you

“little flower” me. I

wish the wolves had

eaten you. Then

maybe I could have

found a real husband!

Kohroku おトキ 堪忍して

くれよー

Toki, forgive me! Sweetness, can we

discuss this later?

The original tone in the Japanese dialogue characterizes Toki as the strong wife and

her husband Kohroku the weaker one in their relationship. However, the English

adaptation written by Neil Gaiman changed the power relations between Toki and

Kohroku and sets the two characters into the stereotypical heterosexual relationship. In

the above conversation between Toki and Kohroku, Toki’s scolding tone in the original

Japanese dialogue (“You slug”) was adapted to an appreciative tone (“that’s just

great!”), or even a flirtatious tone (“Don’t you ‘little flower’ me”) in the English

dialogue. Toki scolds Kohroku with the direct insult “You slug” and Kohroku

addresses Toki as “you” in the original Japanese dialogue, but Kohroku addresses Toki

as “little flower” in the English version. Furthermore, in the original Japanese dialogue,

Kohroku is asking for Toki’s forgiveness, where he says “Toki, forgive me”, this shows

that the husband is in a weaker position than the wife. However, the English adaptation

changes Kohroku’s reaction to try to brush off Toki’s confrontation by telling her

“Sweetness, can we discuss this later?” This switch of power relations in the English

adaptation succumbs to the stereotype of the heterosexual power relationship where the

husband has the say and the wife’s opinion could be excused easily. Kohroku’s words

are patronizing. The power relation between the two is changed in the English dialogue.

Second, the agency, meaning the capacity to act, of the male and female characters

respectively can also contribute or negate stereotypes. The following example takes

26

from the scene towards the end of the movie when Shishigami loses its head and is

enveloping the forest and closing in on Iron Town. Ashitaka and San riding on wolf

backs arrive upon the gate of Iron Town and Ashitaka tells Toki and the people of Iron

Town to escape:

Characters Japanese version My translation English dubbed

version adapted by

Neil Gaiman

Ashitaka みんな逃げろ！シシ

神が首を取り戻そう

と、追ってきたん

だ。あのドロドロに

触ると死ぬぞ！水の

中へ行け。ドロドロ

が遅くなる。男達と

エボシは対岸をこっ

ちへ向かっている。

私達は首を取り戻し

てシシ神に返す。

Everybody get out!

Shishigami is chasing

after his head. If you

touch that slime you

will die! Head for the

lake! Water will slow

down the slime. The

men and Lady Eboshi

are heading this way.

We will take back

Shishigami’s head and

return it.

Get everyone out!

The Great Spirit's

head's been cut off,

and he wants it back!

If that black ooze

touches you, you're

dead! Run for the

lake! The water will

slow it down! Lady

Eboshi and the men

are on their way

from the other side.

I'm gonna try to

return his head

before he kills us all.

Hurry!

San アシタカ！ Ashitaka!

Ashitaka 急げ！ Hurry up! Hurry!

In the original Japanese version, it is obvious that both Ashitaka and San are trying

to return the head of Shishigami to save everybody. In the original Japanese dialogue,

Ashitaka says, “We [San and I] will take back Shishigami’s head and return it”, so

Ashitaka the male protagonist is not the only hero. In contrast, the English dialogue

changes “we” in the Japanese dialogue to “I”, where Ashitaka says “I’m gonna try to

return his head”, making the action of returning Shishigami’s head a lone action on the

part of the male exclusively. San is relegated to the position of the companion, or even

witness of Ashitaka’s heroic deed. In the original Japanese dialogue, both Ashitaka and

San are the agents. But in the English version, the change from the pronoun “we” to “I”

places agency on the male character only and the agency of San is taken away, making

27

Ashitaka the hero of the movie. In stereotypical Hollywood movies, the male

protagonist is usually portrayed as the hero and the female protagonist as the

subordinate to him. This is corroborated in the visuals shown on screen, as Ashitaka is

not the only character being active in returning Shishigami’s head. The female

protagonist San is also moving actively. When Ashitaka is telling Toki and the people

of Iron Town to evacuate, San is looking around attentively to see if Shishigami’s jelly-

like liquid is closing in on them. When San sees the liquid coming, she yells for

Ashitaka to leave, which shows not only a shared agency, but also San as the stronger

agent. This shows that San participates with the same aim as Ashitaka: to return

Shishigami’s head to it. Therefore, the change of pronoun from “we” which refers to

both Ashitaka and San in the original Japanese dialogue to “I” that just refers to

Ashitaka and deleting San’s line in the English dubbing, changes the power relations

between Ashitaka and San. Even though the original Japanese dialogue does not make

Ashitaka and San in the patriarchal hierarchy of the female character subordinate to the

male character, the English version reverted to the traditional power relations between

the genders. But the deleted dialogue in the English version is only possible because the

scene where San yells to Ashitaka for them to leave is a long shot, where the audience

cannot determine whether San’s lips moved or not.

This reduced agency of the female characters can be shown even more clearly with

another example. Ashitaka carries San who has lost consciousness to leave Iron Town.

When he opens Iron Town’s gate, wolves charge towards the gate. The following

conversation is spoken between Ashitaka and the wolves:

Characters Japanese version My translation English dubbed

version adapted by

Neil Gaiman

Ashitaka やめろ！そなた達

の姫は無事だ！

Stop! Your princess is

safe!

She's all right! Your

princess is safe with

me!

Wolves [growl] [growl] [growl]

28

Ashitaka 今そっちへ行く！

ヤックル、行こ

う。

I will come to you now!

Let’s go, Yakul.

Stay and I will bring

her! Come on, Yakul.

When San loses consciousness and is carried out of the gates of Iron Town by Ashitaka,

the wolves of her tribe charge at Ashitaka. Ashitaka yells “Stop! Your princess [San] is

safe!” Ashitaka then tells them “I will come to you now”. There were no preposition or

linking words that suggest any relationship between Ashitaka and San. In the original

Japanese dialogue, even though Ashitaka is carrying San, Ashitaka is having the

conversation with the wolves and Ashitaka and San are independent of each other.

However, in the English version, San is described as someone connected to Ashitaka. In

the same scene where the wolves charged at Ashitaka, Ashitaka replies, “She’s all right!

Your princess is safe with me!” This response implies that San is safe because San is

with Ashitaka, unnecessarily connecting the two characters. And this connection is not

neutral, but one of protection. San is safe only because she is with Ashitaka. Ashitaka

continues to say, “Stay and I will bring her!” The word “bring” is a transitive verb,

indicating that Ashitaka is the agent who acts, and San is the recipient of his action and

agency. Even though one might argue that the end result is the same in both the original

Japanese movie and the English dubbed version: Ashitaka brings San to the wolves, the

connection added in the English dialogue suggests a power relation that places San in a

position subjected to the agency of Ashitaka, whereas no such connection is indicated in

the original Japanese dialogue. Such active-passive contrast between the male and the

female character conforms to the stereotype of gender inequality discussed in De

Beauvoir’s theory of the two genders. San becomes the Other in the presence of

Ashitake.

Last but not least, the relationship between Ashitaka and San is different in the

original Japanese version and the English dubbing version. In the original Japanese

version, there are no obvious romantic feelings between Ashitaka and San. It is true that

29

they have feelings for each other, but given the main interest of Miyazaki for Princess

Mononoke is in universal humanist and environmental concerns rather than romantic

relationship, the way romantic love plays out does not dominate the discourse (Judah,

2014, p. 61). There were hints throughout the movie that let the audience have their own

interpretation of the relationship between Ashitaka and San. In the last section of the

movie where San tells Ashitaka that she likes him, the emotion expressed in the original

Japanese movie is being amplified in the English dubbing version:

Characters Japanese version My translation English dubbed

version adapted by

Neil Gaiman

San アシタカは好き

だ。でも人間を

許すことはでき

ない。

I like you Ashitaka, but

I can’t forgive what the

humans did.

Ashitaka you mean so

much to me. But I can’t

forget the humans for

they’ve done.

Ashitaka それでもいい。

サンは森で、私

はタタラ場で暮

らそう。共に生

きよう。会いに

行くよ、ヤック

ルに乗って。

That’s alright. San live

in the forest, and I’ll

live at Iron Town.

Together we’ll live on.

I will visit you, along

with Yakul.

I understand. You’ll

live in the forest and I’ll

go help them rebuild

Iron Town. I’ll always

be near. Yakul and I

will come and visit you

whenever we can,

alright?

The use of the phrase “好き” (suki) in Japanese can directly means the word “like”

in English. However, it doesn’t necessarily equal to romantic feelings. A female can say

she suki (likes) a male and it can vaguely mean having positive feelings towards a male

as a friend or generally as a person. Therefore, in the original Japanese dialogue when

San told Ashitaka that she suki (likes) him, it can generally means that she has positive

feelings towards him but not in a romantic way. However, the phrase where San says

“Ashitaka wa suki da (I like you Ashitaka)” is adapted into “you mean so much to me”

in the English dubbing, which already amplifies San’s feelings towards Ashitaka. This

is added with the intonation and emphasis of the voice actress that sound more

affectionate than the original voice-acting in Japanese, especially when an affective

30

accent is put on the words “so much”. This contributes to establish the relationship

between Ashitaka and San as a romantic one. This English version results in shaping the

heterosexual relationship as a romantic one, and this conforms to the stereotypical

depiction of gender relationship in popular Hollywood movies. Adding on, in the

original Japanese dialogue, Ashitaka told San that it is all right that she cannot forgive

the humans and even though they live separately, together they will live on. This

communication between Ashitaka and San establishes a long distance friendship

between the two characters. However, in the English dubbing version, Ashitaka’s

response to San is that “he understands” and he will always be near San, as if the

purpose of what San has told Ashitaka previously is to get his understanding for them to

part ways and Ashitaka will always be near to support San, establishing a power relation

in which the male character is the lead and the female character needs support from him.

The change from mutual understanding between the two in the original Japanese movie

to the male character being the lead in the English dialogue alters the power relationship

between Ashitaka and San altogether.

8.2 The dubbing of Moro

One interesting and obvious difference relevant to the present discussion of gender

between the English dubbed version and the original Japanese dialogue is the voice

acting of Moro, a giant Wolf Goddess and San’s adoptive mother. Even though San

refers to Moro as her Mother in both the original Japanese version and the English

dubbing version, Akihiro Maruyama, a Japanese male actor, has voice-acted Moro in

the original movie. In contrast, Gillian Anderson, an American actress, voice-acted

Moro in the English dubbed version. There is no explanation why Miramax did not

follow Studio Ghibli’s casting of an actor in the original movie but instead chose an

actress to voice-act Moro in the English version. However, the fact that an actor voice-

31

act Moro in the original Japanese version challenges the gender role of “mother”. Even

though Moro is the adoptive mother of San and is portrayed as the Wolf Goddess,

Miyazaki’s decision to use a male voice actor for this character is an interesting play of

gender roles in the original Japanese dialogue. So the change of voicing-acting Moro

from a male actor in the original Japanese movie to a female actress in the English

adaptation has a huge effect on the characterization and interpretation of Moro, one of

the major characters in Princess Mononoke. Given the general concept that mother is a

female, changing Moro’s voice to a female voice will remove the awkwardness that

audience have of a male being mother, but the play of gender role is also removed in the

English dubbing.

Another play of gender is the characterization of Shishigami. Even though

Shishigami is presented in the form of a deer with antlers, all the characters refer to

Shishigami by its name, calling it “Shishigami-sama”, which makes the character’s

gender ambiguous. Furthermore, as one can draw parallels between Shishigami’s

imagery to Mother Earth as already discussed above, Shishigami can be interpreted as a

female character altogether. However, due to the grammatical requirement of English,

gender is attributed by meaning and not by form (Simon, 1996, p. 17), and the other

characters refer to Shishigami as “he” instead of “she”. In the following example, the

power relations between Shishigami and Moro is changed in the English version exactly

because of their “new gender” acquired in the English translation. This has resulted in

the two characters put in positions corresponding to strong and weak, which also

correspond to the relational and binary concepts of “masculine” and “feminine” that are

detached from “real” sexual difference (Cameron, 1992, p. 82). In the original Japanese

dialogue, the power relations between Moro and Shishigami are rather defined by the

ranks of Gods, where Shishigami is the Great Forest Spirit above Moro and

Okkotonushi. In the below conversation, San refers to Shishigami as “he” and Moro as

32

“mother” (a female role), so the power relations of strong and weak is set in the context

of gender roles:

Characters Japanese version My translation English dubbed

version adapted by

Neil Gaiman

San モロ だからシシ神

様に

Moro! So please ask

Shishigami-sama…

Mother! Please ask the

Forest Spirit to save

you.

Moro サン 私はすでに充

分生きた。シシ神

は むしろ生命を吸

いとるだろう

San, I have lived long

enough. Shishigami

might take my last

breath instead of

healing me.

I have lived long

enough, San. Soon the

Forest Spirit will let me

rest forever.

San そんなはずない！

母さんは シシ神様

を守って来た

That shouldn’t be!

Mother had protected

Shishigami all this

time!

All these years you

defended the Forest

Spirit! He must save

you!

The original Japanese version has no indication of Shishigami’s gender. San urges

Moro to ask Shishigami to save her as Moro had protected Shishigami all this time,

which can be interpreted as partnership based on a more mutual understanding between

the upper and lower God. San is categorical about Moro actively “protecting”

Shishigami. So, there is no strong versus weak binarism. However, in the English

adaptation, San refers to Shishigami as “he”, and said that “He [Shishigami] must save

you [Moro]”. As Moro is depicted as a female God and Shishigami a male God, the

pronouns used in the English dialogue puts the power relations in the context of gender

imbalance instead of neutral power balance between the animal Gods.

Not only so, as Moro is voice-acted by an actress in the English dubbing version, the

dialogues are made much softer compared to the original Japanese version. Moro speaks

in a much softer tone and use of language in dialogues, losing the power and fierceness

that the original Japanese version has.

The following dialogue between Ashitaka and Moro further illustrate the “gendered”

characterization of Moro in the English version:

Characters Japanese version My translation English dubbed

33

version adapted by

Neil Gaiman

Ashitaka サンをどうする気

だ？あの子も道連

れにするつもりか

What is your intention

for San? To take her

with you to death?

And what happens to

San? What's your

plan, to let her die

with you?

Moro いかにも人間らし

い手前勝手な考え

だな。サンは我が

一族の娘だ。森と

生き、森が死ぬ時

は共に亡びる

That is typical thinking

of humans, egocentric

and selfish. San is the

daughter of my tribe.

She lives and dies with

the forest.

Typical. Selfish. You

think like a human.

San is my daughter.

She is of the wolf

tribe. When the forest

dies, so does she.

Ashitaka あの子を解き放て

あの子は人間だぞ

Set that girl free! She is

a human!

You must set her free!

She's not a wolf. She's

human!

Moro だまれ小僧！お前

にあの娘の不幸が

癒せるのか。森を

侵した人間が我が

牙を逃れるために

投げてよこした赤

子がサンだ。人間

にもなれず山犬に

もなりきれぬ。哀

れで醜い かわい

い我が娘だ。お前

にサンを救える

か？

Shut up you brat! Can

you overturn the

misfortune of that girl?

Once some humans

snuck into the forest. I

found them and when

they were fleeing from

my sharp jaws, they

threw their baby at me.

That baby was San. She

cannot become a wolf,

nor can she return to

human society. My

pathetic, ugly, and

lovely daughter. How

can you save San?

Silence, boy. How

dare you speak to a

god like that? I caught

her human parents

defiling my forest.

They threw their baby

at my feet as they ran

away. Instead of

eating her, I raised her

as my own. Now, my

poor, ugly, beautiful

daughter is neither

human nor wolf. How

could you help her?

Ashitaka 分からぬ。だが共

に生きることはで

きる

I don’t know. But

together we can live.

I don't know, but at

least we might find a

way to live.

Moro フハハハ！どうや

って生きるのだ？

サンと共に人間と

戦うというのか

Huh-haha. How? Will

you join forces with

San to fight the

humans?

Huhahaha. How? Will

you join forces with

San and fight the

humans?

Ashitaka 違う それでは憎

しみを増やすだけ

だ

No! That will only

infuse more hatred.

No. All that would do

is cause more hatred.

Moro 小僧 もうお前に

できることは何も

Brat, there’s nothing

you can do. You will

There is nothing you

can do, boy. Soon the

34

ない。お前はじき

に痣に喰い殺され

る身だ。夜明けと

共にここを立ち去

れ

soon be killed by that

curse. Leave here by

daybreak.

demon mark will

spread and kill you.

Now leave this place

at sunrise. Return and

I shall kill you.

In the above conversation when Ashitaka asks Moro to set San free, Moro confronts

Ashitaka angrily in the original Japanese dialogue, saying in a stern tone “だまれ小

僧！(Damare Kozou!, which means Shut up you brat!)” The vocative 小僧 (kozou) is

frequently used in Japanese when a man of higher position or rank talks to a younger

man in an impolite way3. However, instead of reserving the raged tone, the English

utterance is changed to a softer one of Moro telling Ashitaka “Silence, boy”, losing the

ferocity in grammatical masculine speech shown in the original Japanese dialogue and

shows a tendency towards a more stereotypical motherly and feminine characterization

of Moro. Furthermore, Moro uses a more taunting and challenging attitude towards

Ashitaka in the original Japanese dialogue compared to the English version. In the

original Japanese dialogue, after telling Ashitaka to shut up, Moro challenges Ashitaka

by asking him, “Can you overturn the misfortune of that girl [San]?” Moro knows that

there is no answer to this question, as Moro explains later in its dialogue that San is

sadly marginalized between the animal world and human society and there is no

solution to save her. However, this furious and taunting attitude is adapted into a more

scolding, even nagging, motherly tone in English, where Moro says, “How dare you

[Ashitaka] speak to a god like that.” This sounds like a mother nagging her son for

being impertinent towards adults. This change of tone in the English dubbing might be

attributed to gender double standards: when men express anger, people see that as

passionate or holding individual opinions; on the contrary, when women express anger,

it is marked as emotional (Tatera, 2015, para. 6). Even though the gender of Moro does

not change in the English version, due to the gender difference of its voice in the

3 In my translation, I hope to reserve the angry and impolite tone in the original Japanese dialogue by

using a personalized negative vocative (Culpeper, 2011, p. 135) “brat” in English.

35

original Japanese version and the English version, the angry and stern tone in the

original Japanese dialogue is changed to a relatively calm, soothing and motherly tone

in the English dialogue, which seems more “suitable” for Moro’s status as a Wolf

Goddess. This is in fact gender stereotyping.

8.3 The construction of Iron Town as a space of breaking feminist

stereotypes

According to Miyazaki, Iron Town is set in a space very distant from the capital city

of Kyoto and focuses on marginal history. It is a fictional space full of symbolic

meaning, including the aspect of gender relations. Lady Eboshi, a strong female leader,

leads Iron Town and the women working there at tatara-ba who make iron, this was

something forbidden in the historical background of the Muromachi period. There are

scenes in the film where Toki, the leader of Iron Town’s women during the absence of

Lady Eboshi takes the leader role, despite there are a large number of men living in Iron

Town as well. Iron Town itself is a constructed space in Princess Mononoke where a lot

of feminist stereotypes and traditional gender roles are discarded.

As mentioned before, Miyazaki placing women to work at tatara-ba in Princess

Mononoke is a significant symbol given the historical background of the story’s setting.

However, the negligence or inability of the English dubbing to explain the cultural

background of the story set during Japan’s Muromachi era (1392-1573) on the cusp of

the Iron Age (McCarthy, 1999, para. 7) diminishes the feminist slant that Miyazaki

intended. For Miyazaki to set the women of Iron Town to work at the furnace is an

obvious feminist highlight for Japanese audience who has the background knowledge,

but this does not ring a bell for English audience, especially when there is no

explanation in the dialogue whatsoever. Comparing the original Japanese dialogue that

gives a bit more explanation of women working at tatara-ba, the English dubbed version

36

fails to explain the background, which makes the dialogue sound strangely like the men

of Iron Town looking down upon the women and Lady Eboshi:

Characters Japanese

version

My translation English dubbed

version adapted by

Neil Gaiman

Ashitaka いい村は女が元

気だと聞いてい

ます

It’s said that good

villages have lively

women

They say that happy

women make a happy

village.

Villager 1 でもなぁ タタ

ラ場に女がいる

なんてな

But hey, having women

at tatara-ba

Happy? Ha! Those kind

of women workin' here?

Villager 2 普通は鉄を汚す

って いやがる

もんだ

Usually they say women

pollute the iron and

won’t let women near

tatara-ba.

Women like that... It's a

disgrace. They defile

the iron.

Villager 3 エボシ様ときた

ら 売られた娘

を見るとみんな

引き取っちまう

んだ

But when it comes to

Lady Eboshi, when she

sees young women being

sold, she takes them all

in.

Lady Eboshi goes

around buying the

contract of every

brothel girl she can

find.

Villager 4 優しい方なんだ

よ

She is kind. Milady has a kind heart,

that's all.

In the original Japanese version, the dialogues of Villager 1 and 2 explain the

background and unusualness of having women working at tatara-ba. Villager 1 is very

clear that the wonder is having women at all there. This is further explained by Villager

2 that people believe that women, meaning all women, pollute the iron and do not let

any at all near the iron work. However, in the English dubbed version, the dialogue uses

strong words such as “those kind of women”. So, it is not all women, but the kind of

women Lady Eboshi has saved, in other words, who were once prostitutes, that the men

look down upon. This becomes a moralistic issue, distracting from the gender issue.

This moralistic tone is further reinforced by the words “disgrace” and “defile”, which

further derails the audience attention to the more general moralistic attitude of looking

down on prostitutes. This does not help English audience to understand the uniqueness

37

of women working at tatara-ba and changes the tone of the conversation between

Ashitaka and the villagers.

A second relevant example is a conversation between Ashitaka and the women

working at tatara-ba. The original Japanese version shows that the women appreciate

the men’s attitude in Iron Town, whereas in the English dubbing version, the dialogue

highlights the men’s action instead of attitude:

Characters Japanese version My translation English dubbed

version adapted by

Neil Gaiman

Ashitaka 厳しい仕事だな。 This is hard work. It's hard work, isn't it?

Toki そうさ。四日五晩

踏み抜くんだ

It sure is. Doing this

four days five nights.

Mm-hmm. You bet,

and our shifts are four

days long.

Ashitaka ここの暮らしはつ

らいか？

Is your life here tough? You must lead hard

lives here.

Toki そりゃあさ… で

も下界に比べりゃ

ずっといいよ。ね

ぇ

I suppose… but it’s

much better than

working at the brothel.

Right?

Yeah, I suppose. But

it sure beats working a

brothel in the city,

huh?

Woman 1 うん。 Yeah. Mm-hmm.

Woman 2 お腹いっぱい食べ

られるし、男がい

ばらないしさ。

We can eat as much as

we want and the men

aren’t all puffed up with

pride and acting big.

Here we get to eat as

much as we want, and

the men don't bother

us!

Woman 3 Unless we want 'em

to!

In the original Japanese dialogue, the women said the life at Iron Town is not as

tough as working at a brothel because they can eat as much as they want and the men

are not acting big with pride. This shows that the women at Iron Town do not rely on

the men and are not subject to them. However, in the English dialogue, the women told

Ashitaka that life at Iron Town is not as tough as working as prostitutes because

similarly, they can eat as much as they want, but on the contrast, that the men does not

bother them unless the women want them to. This suggests that the women at Iron

Town has nothing to worry about except for men, which hints even that women have

38

their own jobs, they are still not fully independent from men. The added line at the end

sounds almost flirty. This sexualizes the women and return them to the position of

men’s sexual object, which is exactly what they have escaped by leaving the brothel to

live in Iron Town.

Such changes in the power relations between the genders in the English dubbing are

common in the film. It is not possible to analyze each instance in detail, but I have

identified them and listed them out in the appendix with my own translation of the

original into English for comparison purpose.

39

9. Conclusion

Given the fact that the dubbing is done on the canvas of the original visual of a film,

it is a common belief that the change that dubbing can bring about is very limited.

However, this case study of Princess Mononoke shows that dubbing is much more

complicated than simple translation from one language to another. The script from

Japanese to English was translated then rewritten a few times before the script was

finally approved to be dubbed, and the process from translation and dubbing has

changed the dynamics and power relations between the characters. Adding on, voice

acting by the voice actors in the dubbed version has added another layer that has further

altered the tone of the dialogues and characterization. Even excluding obvious cultural

differences involved in translation, Princess Mononoke has already shown that dubbing

is not a simple translation between the original and target language. In Princess

Mononoke, this is particularly obvious when it is examined through the lens of

feminism. The English dubbing actually heightens or adds the use of patriarchal

language that changes the power relations established by Miyazaki, and further results

in altering the characterization of the female characters constructed by Miyazaki in the

original Japanese movie.

40

10. Appendix

Characters

Ashitaka – the male protagonist; the last prince of the Emishi tribe

San – the female protagonist; young woman who was raised by the wolves and

feels hatred for humans

Kaya – the sister of Ashitaka

Ji-san – the watchman of the Emishi tribe’s village ; also an elder in the village

Jigo – the main antagonist; want to present the Forest Spirit's head to the

emperor so he could earn large amount of money

Lady Eboshi - the ruler of Iron Town who continually clears the forest

Gonza - Lady Eboshi's bodyguard

Toki - a former prostitute and the leader of Eboshi's women

Kohroku - an ox driver; Toki’s husband

Yakul - Ashitaka’s red elk

Shishigami (aka. the Great Forest Spirit) - the protector of the Forest and is the

God of life and death

Moro - a giant Wolf God and San's adopted mother

Okkotonushi - a blind Boar God

Female Stereotypes within Discourse

Original Japanese

dialogue

My translation (literal

translation)

English dubbing adapted

by Neil Gaiman

Kaya: 兄さま！

Ashitaka: ちょうど良か

った。ヒイ様が皆すぐ村

へ戻れと。

Kaya: じいじもそういう

の。

Ashitaka:じいじが？

Kaya: 森がおかしいって

Girl 1: 鳥たちがいないの

Girl 2: 獣たちも

Ashitaka: そうか。じい

じのところへいってみよ

う。皆は早く戻りなさ

い。

Girls: はい！

Kaya: Brother!

Ashitaka: At the right

moment. Hii-sama wants

everyone back at the

village.

Kaya: Ji-san said the same

thing.

Ashitaka: Ji-san did?

Kaya: He says the forest is

strange.

Girl 1: The birds are gone.

Girl 2: So are the animals.

Ashitaka: I see. I will go to

check with Ji-san.

Everybody hurry and go

back to the village.

Girls: Yes!

Ashitaka: Girls!

Kaya and others:

Ashitaka!

Ashitaka: There's

something strange going

on. You have to hurry. The

wise woman wants

everybody back to the

village at once.

Kaya: We just came from

Ji-san.

Ashitaka: Did he see

something?

Kaya: Yes, in the forest.

Something's wrong.

Girl 1: The birds have all

gone.

Girl 2: The animals too.

Ashitaka: I'll go to the

watchtower and check with

Ji-san. You three hurry

back home and be quick

41

about it.

Kaya: All right.

Girl 1: Be careful!

Girl 1: アッ

Kaya: しっかり！

Girl 1: Ah!

Kaya: Steady yourself!

Girl 1: Ah!

Kaya: Get up!

Ashitaka: Kaya!

Ashitaka: [to the girls]

Run!

Kaya: Come on! Hurry!

Girl 1: [Squeals]

Kaya: 兄さま

Ashitaka: カヤ 触れる

な。ただの傷ではない

Kaya: Brother.

Ashitaka: Kaya, don’t

touch it. It’s not a normal

wound.

Kaya: Ashitaka! Are you

alright?

Ashitaka: Kaya, don't

touch it. This wound is evil.

Kaya: 兄さま！

Ashitaka: カヤ、見送り

は禁じられているのに…

Kaya: おしおきは受けま

す。どうかこれを私の代

わりにお伴させて下さ

い。

Ashitaka: 大切な玉の小

刀じゃないか…

Kaya: お守りするよう息

を吹き込めました。いつ

もいつもカヤは兄様を思

っています。きっと、き

っと。

Ashitaka: 私もだ。いつ

もカヤを思う。

Kaya: Brother!

Ashitaka: Kaya, it’s

forbidden to see me off.

Kaya: I’m willing to take

punishment. Please take

this so it can be by your

side in my place.

Ashitaka: Isn’t this your

treasured crystal dagger.

Kaya: I prayed so it will

protect you. Kaya will

always think of brother.

Always, always.

Ashitaka: Me too. I will

always think of Kaya.

Kaya: Ashitaka!

Ashitaka: Kaya, what are

you doing here? You know

it's forbidden.

Kaya: Do you think I care

about that? I came to give

you this so you won't forget

your little sister.

Ashitaka: Your crystal

dagger. Kaya, I can't take

this.

Kaya: Please, keep it with

you, brother, to protect you.

You must take it with you.

Please, I want you to have

it, so you won't... forget.

Ashitaka: Kaya, you know

I could never forget you.

Ashitaka: 罠だ！やめ

ろ！山犬の姫森へ帰れ！

みすみす死ぬな！退くも

勇気だ。森へ帰れ！

Ashitaka: It’s a trap! Stop!

Princess of the wolves, go

back to the forest! Don’t

die for nothing! It also

takes courage to retreat. Go

back to the forest!

Ashitaka: It's a trap. No!

Wait! Princess of the wolf

gods! Don't go down there!

Go back to the forest!

Listen to me, please! Don't

throw your life away!

Lady Eboshi: 何の真似

だ、アシタカ

Lady Eboshi: What are

you doing, Ashitaka?

Lady Eboshi: What do you

think you're doing, boy?

42

Ashitaka: この娘の生命

私がもらう。

Lady Eboshi: その山犬を

嫁にでもする気か？

Ashitaka: そなたの中に

は夜叉がいる。この娘の

中にもだ

Ashitaka: This girl’s life is

mine.

Lady Eboshi: So you plan

to take that wolf as your

wife?

Ashitaka: You have a

demon inside you. So does

this girl.

Ashitaka: Stay your hand.

The girl's life is now mine.

Lady Eboshi: I'm sure

she'll make a lovely wife

for you.

Ashitaka: There's a demon

inside of you. It's inside

both of you.

San: おまち！私の獲物だ

よ。

San: お前撃たれたのか？

死ぬのか。

San: なぜ私の邪魔をし

た。死ぬ前に答えろ！

Ashitaka: そなたを死な

せたくなかった

San ：死など怖いもん

か。人間を払うものな

ら、命などいらぬ！

Ashitaka: 分 か っ て い

る。最初に会った時から

San: 邪魔をして無駄死に

するのはお前の方だ！そ

の喉切り裂いて、二度と

無駄口叩けぬようにして

やる。

Ashitaka: 生きろ。

San: まだ言うか！ 人間

の指図は受けぬ。

Ashitaka: そなたは美し

い。

San: Wait! He’s mine.

San: Were you shot? Are

you going to die?

San: Why did you get in

my way? Answer me

before you die!

Ashitaka: I didn’t want to

see you killed.

San: I’m not afraid to die!

If it can drive humans

away, I offer my life!

Ashitaka: I knew that when

I first saw you.

San: You were in my way

and you will now die in

vain. I will cut your throat

so you quit talking!

Ashitaka: Live.

San: Stop talking! I don’t

take orders from a human!

Ashitaka: You are

beautiful.

San: Leave him! He's

mine!

San: His own people shot

him. He's dying.

San: Why did you stop me

from killing her? Tell me

while you're still alive.

Ashitaka: I didn't want

them to kill you. That's

why.

San: I'm not afraid to die.

I'd do anything to get you

humans out of my forest.

Ashitaka: I knew that from

the first moment I saw you.

San: And I'm not afraid of

you! I should kill you for

saving her! That woman is

evil, and there's no one who

can stop me from killing

her.

Ashitaka: No. Live.

San: That's enough! I'm not

listening to you anymore!

Ashitaka: You're beautiful.

San: そいつを寄越せ！八

つ裂きにしてやる！

Ashitaka: モロが仇をう

った。もう罰は受けて

る。

Gonza: エボシ様！

Ashitaka: 手を貸せ。

Lady Eboshi: 余計な情け

San: Give me that woman!

I’ll chop her into eight

pieces!

Ashitaka: Moro took

revenge. Punishment was

executed.

Gonza: Lady Eboshi.

Ashitaka: Lend me a hand.

Lady Eboshi: Do not

San: Give her to me! I’ll

cut her throat!

Ashitaka: Your claim has

been avenged. Your mother

saw to that. Here.

Gonza: Lady Eboshi.

Ashitaka: Help me.

Lady Eboshi: Don't waste

your sympathy. Ow!

43

は… ウッ

Ashitaka: おトキさん達

に連れて帰ると約束し

た。

Ashitaka: 首を探してい

る ここも危ない。サ

ン。力を貸してくれ

San: いやだ！ お前も人

間の味方だ！その女を連

れてさっさと行っちま

え。

Ashitaka: サン

San: 来るな！人間なんか

大嫌いだ！

Ashitaka: 私は人間だ。

そなたも人間だ。

San: 黙れ！私は山犬だ！

Ashitaka: サン

San: 寄るな！

Ashitaka: すまない。な

んとか止めようとしたん

だ。

San: もう終わりだ。何も

かも。森は死んだ。

Ashitaka: まだ終わらな

い。私たちが生きている

んだから。力を貸してお

くれ。

waste your empathy. Uh...

Ashitaka: I promised Toki

and the others that I will

bring you back.

Ashitaka: It [Shishigami]

is looking for its head. It’s

dangerous here. San! Lend

me a hand.

San: No! You’re also on

the human’s side! Take that

woman and go away!

Ashitaka: San.

San: Keep away! I hate

humans!

Ashitaka: I am

human…and so are you.

San: Shut up! I’m a wolf!

Ashitaka: San.

San: Stay back!

Ashitaka: I’m sorry. I tried

to stop it.

San: It’s over.

Everything’s over. The

forest is dead.

Ashitaka: No, it’s not over

yet. We are still alive.

Please lend me a hand.

Ashitaka: I promised Toki

that I'd bring you back to

Iron Town.

Ashitaka: He's

[Shishigami] searching for

his head. We can't stay

here. San, you have got to

help us.

San: No! You’re on their

side! You always were!

Take that damn woman and

just go away!

Ashitaka: San

San: Never! I hate all of

you humans!

Ashitaka: Yes, I’m human

San. And so are you.

San: Stop it! I’m a wolf

you hear!

Ashitaka: San

San: Stay back!

Ashitaka: I’m sorry. I tried

to stop it.

San: It’s over.

Everything’s over. The

forest is dead.

Ashitaka: Nothing is over.

The two of us are still alive.

Now will you help me San?

Ashitaka: サン… サン。

見てごらん

San: 蘇っても、ここはも

うシシ神の森じゃない。

シシ神様は死んでしまっ

た。

Ashitaka: シシ神は死に

はしないよ。生命そのも

のだから、生と死と二つ

とも持っているもの。私

に生きろと言ってくれ

Ashitaka: San. San, look.

San: Even if the forest

revives, this is no longer

the forest of Shishigami.

Shishigami is dead.

Ashitaka: Shishigami

won’t die. It is life itself. It

has both sides of life and

death and it told me to live.

San: I like you Ashitaka,

but I can’t forgive what the

humans did.

Ashitaka: That’s alright.

Ashitaka: San. San, look.

San: Even if all the trees

return, it won't be his forest

anymore. The Great Forest

Spirit is dead now.

Ashitaka: Never. He's life

itself. He's not dead, San.

He's here right now, trying

to tell us something, that

it's time for us both to live.

San: Ashitaka you mean so

much to me. But I can’t

forget the humans for

44

た。

San: アシタカは好きだ。

でも人間を許すことはで

きない。

Ashitaka: それでもい

い。サンは森で、私はタ

タラ場で暮らそう。共に

生きよう。会いに行く

よ、ヤックルに乗って。

San live in the forest, and

I’ll live at Iron Town.

Together we’ll live. I will

visit you, along with Yakul.

they’ve done.

Ashitaka: I understand.

You’ll live in the forest and

I’ll go help them rebuild

Iron Town. I’ll always be

near. Yakul and I will come

and visit you whenever we

can, alright?

45

The Dubbing of Moro

Original Japanese

dialogue

My translation (literal

translation)

English dubbing adapted

by Neil Gaiman

Ashitaka: サンをどうす

る気だ？あの子も道連れ

にするつもりか ？

Moro: いかにも人間らし

い手前勝手な考えだな。

サンは我が一族の娘だ。

森と生き、森が死ぬ時は

共に亡びる。

Ashitaka: あの子を解き

放て！あの子は人間だ

ぞ！

Moro: だまれ小僧！お前

にあの娘の不幸が癒せる

のか。森を侵した人間が

我が牙を逃れるために投

げてよこした赤子がサン

だ。人間にもなれず山犬

にもなりきれぬ。哀れで

醜い、かわいい我が娘

だ。お前にサンを救える

か？

Ashitaka: 分からぬ。だ

が共に生きることはでき

る。

Moro: フハハハ！どうや

って生きるのだ？サンと

共に人間と戦うというの

か？

Ashitaka: 違う！それで

は憎しみを増やすだけ

だ！

Moro: 小僧、もうお前に

できることは何もない。

お前はじきに痣に喰い殺

される身だ。夜明けと共

にここを立ち去れ 。

Ashitaka: What is your

intention for San? To take

her with you to death?

Moro: That is typical

thinking of humans,

egocentric and selfish. San

is the daughter of my tribe.

She lives and dies with the

forest.

Ashitaka: Set her free! She

is human!

Moro: Shut up brat! Can

you overturn the misfortune

of that girl? Once some

humans snuck into the

forest. I found them and

when they were fleeing

from my sharp jaws, they

threw their baby at me.

That baby was San. She

cannot become a wolf,

neither can she return to

human society. My

pathetic, ugly, and lovely

daughter. How can you

save San?

Ashitaka: I don’t know.

But together we can live.

Moro: Huh-haha. How?

Will you join forces with

San to fight the humans?

Ashitaka: No! That will

only infuse more hatred.

Moro: Brat, there’s

nothing you can do. You

will soon be killed by that

curse. Leave by daybreak.

Ashitaka: And what

happens to San? What's

your plan, to let her die

with you?

Moro: Typical. Selfish.

You think like a human.

San is my daughter. She is

of the wolf tribe. When the

forest dies, so does she.

Ashitaka: You must set

her free! She's not a wolf.

She's human!

Moro: Silence, boy. How

dare you speak to a god

like that? I caught her

human parents defiling my

forest. They threw their

baby at my feet as they ran

away. Instead of eating her,

I raised her as my own.

Now, my poor, ugly,

beautiful daughter is

neither human nor wolf.

How could you help her?

Ashitaka: I don't know,

but at least we might find a

way to live.

Moro: Huhahaha. How?

Will you join forces with

San and fight the humans?

Ashitaka: No. All that

would do is cause more

hatred.

Moro: There is nothing

you can do, boy. Soon the

demon mark will spread

and kill you. Now leave

this place at sunrise. Return

and I shall kill you.

San: 母さん、ここでお別 San: Mother, I have to go San: Mother, I have to go.

46

れです。私乙事主様の眼

になりにいきます。あの

煙に困っているはずだか

ら。

Moro: それでいいよ。お

前にはあの若者と生きる

道もあるのだが…

San: 人間は嫌い！

now. I’ll go and be

Okkotonushi-sama’s eyes.

He must feel powerless

because of the smoke.

Moro: Alright. You also

have the choice to live with

that young man.

San: I hate humans!

Okkoto's blind. I must be

his eyes. You understand?

Moro: Do as you must.

You know that boy wanted

to share his life with you.

San: I hate him! I hate all

humans!

47

The Construction of Iron Town as a Space of Breaking Feminist Stereotypes

Original Japanese

dialogue

My translation (literal

translation)

English dubbing adapted

by Neil Gaiman

Gonza:トキ、夫婦喧嘩は

よそでやらんかい？

Toki: 何さ偉そうに。ケ

ガ人を捨てて来やがっ

て、なんのための護衛な

のさ。普段タタラの一つ

も踏まないんだ、いざと

いう時は生命を張りやが

れ！

Gonza: 仕方なかろう…

エッ…

Gonza: Toki, you have

your domestic quarrels

somewhere else.

Toki: Now who’s acting all

big here? You left the

injured behind. What’s

your purpose of a

bodyguard? You never help

produce any iron around

here so you should stake

your life when needed!

Gonza: Well, I can’t help

it. Eh...

Gonza: Toki, save your

sweet nothings for some

other time.

Toki: And as for you,

Gonza, a fine captain of the

guard you are, always

strutting and throwing your

weight around once the

danger's over. You never

do a lick of work around

here.

Gonza: That's unfair and

untrue.

Lady Eboshi: ゴンザ、後

で礼を言いたい。客人を

案内しなさい。甲六。

Kohroku: ヘ ヘイ！

Lady Eboshi:よく帰って

来てくれた。すまなかっ

たな。

Kohroku: ヘ ヘイ！

Toki: そんな滅相もない

エボシ様。バカがつけあ

がるだけですよ。

Lady Eboshi:トキも堪忍

しておくれ。私が付いて

いたのにザマァなかっ

た。

Toki: いいえ！男達だけ

だったら今頃みーんな仲

良く山犬の腹ん中に収ま

ってますよ。

Lady Eboshi: Gonza, I

will like to thank him later.

Show the guest around.

Kohroku.

Kohroku: Y-yes.

Lady Eboshi: I’m happy

you are back safe and

sound. I’m sorry.

Kohroku: Y-yes.

Toki: Oh don’t mention it

Lady Eboshi. That idiot

will just get spoiled.

Lady Eboshi: I hope you

also forgive me Toki. I was

heading the group and still

let this happened.

Toki: No please don’t say

that. If it’s just the men, by

now they will all be inside

the wolves’ stomach.

Lady Eboshi: Gonza?

Bring the stranger to me

later. I would like to thank

him personally. Kohroku.

Kohroku: Uh, yes?

Lady Eboshi: I'm happy

you're back, and I

apologize.

Kohroku: Uh, okay.

Toki: Uh-oh, milady, you

really shouldn't tell him

things like that. If you're

too nice to him, he'll walk

all over you.

Lady Eboshi: I hope you'll

forgive me, too, Toki. I was

responsible. I should never

have let it happen.

Toki: Oh, that's all right.

Milady, if you hadn't been

there, the wolves would

have eaten everyone, and

then we'd all have to find

ourselves new husbands.

Blacksmith: エボシ様、

首尾はいかがでしょう

や？

Blacksmith: Lady Eboshi!

How is the result?

Lady Eboshi: Fairly made.

Blacksmith: Milady! How

does the action feel to you?

Better?

48

Lady Eboshi: 上出来だ。

正に国崩しにふさわし

い。が、やはりちょっと

重いな。

Blacksmith: ハハハハ。

コワヤ コワヤ。

It is exactly the cannon we

need. But after all, it is a bit

too heavy.

Blacksmith: Hahahaha.

Scary scary.

Lady Eboshi: Smooth as

silk, the perfect thing for

ruling the world.

Blacksmith: Ah!

Lady Eboshi: It's still too

heavy for the girls.

Blacksmith: All right.

Lady Eboshi: もののけ

姫！聞こえるか？私はこ

こにいるぞ。お前が一族

の仇を討とうというな

ら、こちらにも山犬に食

い殺された夫の無念を晴

らそうと心に決めた者達

がいる。

Woman: 出ておいで！今

夜こそケリをつけてや

る！

Lady Eboshi: Mononoke-

hime [originally means

Princess of the Beasts], can

you hear me? I’m here! If

you are seeking revenge for

your tribe, we also have

women here who want

revenge for their husbands

killed by the wolves.

Woman: Come out! We

will settle this tonight!

Lady Eboshi: Can you

hear me, Princess of

Beasts? If it's me you want,

here I am. If you seek

revenge for all the animals

we've killed, well, there are

two women down here

whom I'd like you to meet.

They want revenge as well

for husbands killed by your

wolves.

Woman: Come on out, you

little witch! My husband's

dead because of you!

Samurai: タタラ者エボ

シとやら、さきほどの地

侍相手の戦、見事なり。

我らは公方様の使者とし

て参った。かしこまって

門を開け！

Woman 1: ふん！用があ

るならそこで言いな。

Woman 2: この山はエボ

シ様がもののけから切り

とったんだ！

Woman 3: 金になると分

かって手のばしやがっ

て。とっとと帰れ！

Samurai: 女ども！使者

への無礼ゆるさんぞ！

Woman 2: 無礼だって

さ。

Woman 1: こっちは生ま

れた時からずーっと無礼

Samurai: Lady Eboshi, the

tatara artisan. The battle

against jizamurais [lords of

smaller rural domains in

feudal Japan] just now was

amazing. We came as

messengers of Kubou-sama

[the ruling family]. Please

greet us politely and with

respect.

Woman 1: Hmph. Just tell

us what you want there.

Woman 2: Lady Eboshi

fought the animals and

beasts to win this mountain.

Woman 3: Now you see its

worth something and want

to take it! Leave now!

Samurai: You women! We

won’t forgive you for your

rudeness!

Woman 2: So they say we

Samurai: Lady Eboshi,

mistress of Iron Town! I

bring a message to you

from my Lord Asano. You

have fought valiantly and

well. Now, open your gates

that we may speak with

you.

Woman 1: Hmph! We can

hear you just fine from

down there.

Woman 2: Milady took

this mountain away from

the gods, the boars and

beasts!

Woman 3: And now that

it's worth something, you

want it! Well, you won't get

it!

Samurai: The brazen

impudence! You ladies

need to be taught some

49

だい！

All women: べー！

Woman 4: 鉄がほしけり

ゃくれてやるよ！

All women: アハハハ！ワ

ッハハハ！

are rude

Woman 1: We have been

rude since we were born!

All women: Beh! [sound

made when sticking tongue

out]

Woman 4: You want some

of our iron so here you go.

All women: Hahahaha.

respect!

Woman 2: Respect?

What's that?

Woman 1: We haven't had

any respect since the day

we were born!

All women: Nah!

Woman 4: You want some

of our iron? Here ya go!

All women: Hahahaha

Woman 1: せっかく石火

矢を覚えたんだから…

Lady Eboshi: だからこそ

みんなにここを守っても

らいたいのさ。怖いのは

もののけより人間の方だ

からね。シシ神殺しが済

んだら、いろいろ分かる

だろうよ。唐傘連の師匠

達がシシ神の首だけでこ

こから手をひくもんか

ね。侍だけじゃないよ。

石火矢衆が敵となるかも

しれないんだ。男は頼り

にできない。しっかりや

りな みんな！

Gonza: エボシ様のこと

は案ずるな！このゴンザ

必ずお守りする！

Toki: それが本当ならね

ぇ…

Gonza: なにぃ！

Toki: あんたも女だった

らよかったのさ！

Lady Eboshi: ハハハハ

Woman 1: We took all our

effort to learn how to fire

these rifles...

Lady Eboshi: That’s why I

want you to be here and

protect Iron Town. Humans

are scarier than beasts. We

will know more once we

kill the Forest Spirit. I

doubt will leave once he

takes the head of the Forest

Spirit. Our enemies are not

only samurais. Jigo’s men

might turn on us. We

cannot rely on men. Let’s

stand strong, everyone!

Gonza: Don’t worry about

Lady Eboshi. I Gonza will

make sure to protect her.

Toki: Like we can really

trust you.

Gonza: What!

Toki: If you are a woman,

then we can absolutely trust

you.

Lady Eboshi: Hahahaha

Woman 1: You said

yourself we're better shots

than the men are.

Lady Eboshi: That's

precisely why I want you

all here in Iron Town. I can

deal with forest gods. It's

humans I'm worried about.

Once the Forest Spirit is

dead, we don't know what

will happen. Will Jigo be

satisfied with the creature's

head...or will he be after

my ironworks as well?

Jigo's riflemen may turn on

us. If that happens, I'll need

every one of you here to

fight them. Remember, you

can't trust men.

Gonza: Don't worry about

her ladyship. I'll be right at

her side, protecting her.

Toki: That's what we're

afraid of.

Gonza: What?

Toki: Even if you were a

woman, you'd still be an

idiot!

Lady Eboshi: Hahahaha

Toki: 持ち場を離れるん

じゃないよ！

Woman 1: どうしよう？

こっちへ来るよ！

Toki: Don’t leave your

position.

Woman: What should we

do? It’s coming this way!

Toki: Everybody, hold

your positions!

Woman 1: Toki, it's

coming right at us.

50

Kohroku: ダメだ！逃げ

よう！

Toki: タタラ場を守るん

だ！エボシ様と約束した

んだ！

Kohroku: There’s no

hope. Let’s run!

Toki: We will protect Iron

Town! We promised Lady

Eboshi that we would.

Kohroku: Run! We've

gotta go!

Toki: No! We promised

Lady Eboshi we would

defend Iron Town!

Woman 1: くるよ！

Woman 2: どうしよう？

こっちへくるよ！

Woman 3:どうしようト

キ？

Toki: 騒ぐんじゃない！

みんなを湖へ！落ち着い

て。ケガ人や病人に手を

貸すんだよ。

Woman 1: It’s coming

Woman 2: What shall we

do? It’s coming this way.

Woman 3: What shall we

do? Toki?

Toki: Be quiet! Get

everybody to the lake! Stay

calm. Help the injured and

sick.

Woman 1: What are we

gonna do now?

Woman 2: It'll kill us all!

Woman 3: We'll never get

out now!

Toki: That’s enough! Get

everyone down to the lake

and stay calm. We can

carry the sick and

wounded.

Kohroku: 大屋根が

Kohroku: もうダメだ。

タタラ場が燃えちまった

ら、何もかもおしまい

だ。

Toki: 生きていりゃなん

とかなる！もっと深いと

こへ。早く！

Kohroku: There goes the

roof…

Kohroku: It’s done. Once

the forge starts to burn, it’s

all over.

Toki: As long as we’re

alive, we’ll manage. Let’s

move to center of the lake.

Quick!

Kohroku: There it goes!

Kohroku: We’re done for.

Once the forge burns, that’s

it. That will be the end of

Iron Town.

Toki: We’re still alive,

Kohroku. We’ll manage

somehow. Now let’s go!

51

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