Japanese Anime 'Your Name'

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Motoko Rich, Master of Missed Connections Makes Strong Contact in Japan. New York Times, Dec 5, 2016
www.nytimes.com/2016/12/04/movie ... ntact-in-japan.html

Note:
(1) Japanese-English dictionary:
* hiro (Japanese pronunciation) / jin (Chinese pronunciation) 尋 【ひろ; じん】 (n): "fathom [a unit to measure depth; 千尋, literally, a thousand fathoms, means 'very deep']"
* makoto 誠(P); 実 【まこと】 (n): "(1) truth; reality; (2) sincerity; honesty; integrity; fidelity"
* kotoba 言葉(P); 詞; 辞 【ことば】 (n): "(1): (See 言語) language; dialect; (2) (See 単語) word; words; phrase; term; expression; remark"
* 晴れる 【はれる】 (v): "[sky] to clear up; to clear away; to be sunny; to stop raining"
* mori 守り 【もり】 (n): "protecting"

(2) Japanese animated filmmaker Makoto SHINKAI's 新海 誠 " 'Your Name' is the top-grossing movie of the year in Japan, is frequently asked how he feels about being the successor to Hayao MIYAZAKI 宮崎 駿, who has towered over Japanese animation for nearly three decades as the beloved creator of critically acclaimed hits like 'Princess Mononoke' and the Oscar-winning 'Spirited Away.' [in 2003 'for Best Animated Feature']"
(a) Princess Mononoke  もののけ姫
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Mononoke
(1997; The term "Mononoke" (物の怪 or もののけ) is not a name, but a Japanese word for a spirit or monster)
(b) Spirited Away  千と千尋の神隠し

A fictional character, Chihiro OGINO 荻野 千尋 was a 10-year-old girl, who was also known as 千 Sen. The "chi" and "sen" are Japanese and Chinese pronunciations of kanji 千.

(3) "an interview of Mr Shinkai] at the offices here of Tōhō 東宝スタジオ [1932- ; based in Tokyo], the Japanese film production"
(4) " 'Your Name 君の名は' has exceeded all expectations, making more than 10 times as much at the box office as his [Shinkai's] last movie, 'Garden of Words 言の葉の庭.' "
(5) "Since his first film, 'Voices of a Distant Star ほしのこえ' (2002) — which he made almost entirely by himself on a computer — Mr Shinkai has explored how young men and women do and do not connect."

The "hoshi ほし" and "ko-e こえ" are Japanese pronunciations of kanji 星 and 声, respectively (both have the same Chinese pronunciation: sei).

(6) "In 'Your Name,' Mitsuha [full name: Mitsuha MIYAMIZU 宮水 三葉], a country girl who longs to move to the big city, and Taki [full name: Taki TACHIBANA 立花 瀧], a soulful Tokyo teenager, swap bodies in their dreams."
(a) Mitsuha is a female given name, literally "three leaves." Both "mitsu" and "ha" Japanese pronunciations.
(b) In the ja.wikipedia.org for this film, 三葉 had a deceased mother 二葉, a father that became a monk ("俊樹は家を出ており" or 出家), and lives with her grandmother 一葉 and a younger sister 四葉 (to form a three-person household).

choi

(7) "As for influences, Mr Shinkai did not cite Mr Miyazaki * * * Instead, he named Hideaki AN-NO 庵野 秀明, an anime director who created the 'Neon Genesis Evangelion' series, and the novelist Haruki MURAKAMI 村上 春樹. Astute fans might notice some thematic echoes from Mr Murakami’s short story 'On Seeing the 100 Percent Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning 四月のある晴れた朝に100パーセントの女の子に出会うことについて.' "
(a) Neon Genesis Evangelion  新世紀エヴァンゲリオン
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neon_Genesis_Evangelion
(Classical Greek meaning "The Gospel of the New Genesis," literally [in Classical Greek] "Teachings of the New Beginning;" a Japanese animated television series (anime); broadcast on TV Tokyo from October 1995 to March 1996)
(b) neon (n; Greek, neuter of [adjective] neos new — more at NEW)
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/neon
(c) genesis (n; Did You Know?)
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/genesis
(d) Online Etymology Dictionary
(i) gospel (n): " * * * A translation of Latin bona adnuntiatio, itself a translation of Greek euangelion 'reward for bringing good news' "
www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=gospel
(ii) evangelist (n): " * * * from [Classic Greek] euangelizesthai 'bring good news,' from eu- 'good' (see eu-) + angellein 'announce,' from angelos 'messenger' (see angel)"
www.etymonline.com/index.php?ter ... ;allowed_in_frame=0
(e) Jay Rubin translated the story into English
http://cinderellainrubbershoes.t ... he-100-perfect-girl

, part of a book: Alfred Birnbaum and Jay Rubin, The Elephant Vanishes. Knopf 1993.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elephant_Vanishes
(translated from the original 象の消滅 (1986) )

(8) "Mr Shinkai's method is different from that of many anime directors. He writes a script first, and for 'Your Name,' even wrote a novelization, released two months beforehand, which has sold more than 1.3 million copies."
(a) novelization
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novelization
(b) novelize (vt): "convert (a story, typically one in the form of a film or screenplay) into a novel"
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/novelize

choi

(9) "Using a digital tablet, he lays down the dialogue, sound effects and music in a multimedia storyboard before introducing images.  He readily describes his drawing ability as mediocre. To fill out the storyboard, he plucks images from around the web, including Google Maps, and then animators flesh out his vision.:

storyboard
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storyboard

(10) " 'Your Name' features exquisite detailed images of old Japanese customs in Mitsuha's hometown and the bustling modernity of Tokyo."
(a) Mitsuha's hometown 三葉の故郷 is countryside of fictionalized 岐阜県糸守 Itomori 町, which is modeled after Hida, Gifu 岐阜県飛騨市.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hida,_Gifu
(i) City of Hida was formed in 2004 through mergers of towns, and named after ancient Hida Province  飛騨国.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hida_Province
(ii) The "mori" is defined in (1).
(b) custom
(i) Your Name
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Your_Name
(section 2 Cast: 宮水 三葉[:] A high-school girl * * * She dislikes * * * her part as a miko in rituals for the shrine creating kuchikamizake 口噛み酒, an ancient traditional way of creating sake involving chewing rice to intake yeast for fermentation_
(A) miko  巫女
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miko

is a virgin 処女.
(B) 口噛み酒 is silly conceptually, from the prospect of modernity. Alcohol is produced by baker's yeast; a human mouth is full of bacteria. not yeasts. No wonder 口噛み酒 tastes sour, because bacteria at best produces vinegar.
(C) There is no trailer from the anime "Your Name" to show the alleged segment of the movie called "kuchikamizake trip" about how this "wine" is made.