Saint-Exupéry died because he was bound to die. I want to honor his way of living. It shouldn’t matter if one has setbacks, or dies from drink, or dies in an airplane. We all have the right to make that choice, and we should be entitled to it. There’s no need for all of us to live in a healthy way, always being positive. Poets in particular should

MIYAZAKI: They are trying to shorten childhood, which is the best time of one’s life. I’m afraid the world of children changes when they learn how to read and write. From what I saw of my own children, when they didn’t know how to read and write and didn’t yet have the ability to grasp abstract matters, they were so free in making wonderfully

UMEHARA: So you are saying the Jōmon folk engaged in commerce? AMINO: Obsidian for tools was collected under the premise that it would be bartered, and salt was also traded.

The manga format is so readily comprehended that it has become Japanese culture’s common denominator. That is the peril faced by Japanese culture.

MIYAZAKI: A friend of mine from Nagoya says, “Nagoya got rid of alleyways with its city planning. The result is that young people don’t stay there. I was surprised when I came to Tokyo to discover so many narrow alleys that are fun to stroll along.” As I’m used to them, I don’t notice them as much, but alleys seem to provide a psychological

Children these days have it tough. Yet they are told to live with hopes and dreams. When grown-ups themselves are doubtful whether a bright future exists, how can they insist that children have hope for the future?

EBERT: On the very first film, how did you decide to go to work on the first day to make your film? What was in your heart at that time? MIYAZAKI: Hmm. When I start a film, I think about the long journey ahead and, with a heavy heart, I start trudging along.

No matter what kind of complex, insoluble problems I may be burdened with as an adult, when I see children smile, in that instant I feel glad. That moment is so precious. What pleases me in making films for little children is to witness the moment when they see the film and become truly liberated. When the children are really enjoying it and that

It may take about five years for critical assessment of this film to be made.