In Studio Ghibli’s 1997 masterpiece Princess Mononoke (in our opinion, their greatest film) there’s a famous scene transition to begin the protagonist’s adventure.
The hero Ashitaka leaves his remote village and begins his journey to Western Japan, which leads to a very brief segment where he rides his elk to the backdrop of an amazing landscape.
Ashitaka’s Journey to the West
The iconic moment above in Princess Mononoke is rather fleeting. Lasting about 10 seconds only, the Journey to the West scene remains a beautiful depiction of Studio Ghibli’s creative prowess.
Considering how long it would have taken to produce the above scene and its dramatic landscape, it says a lot about director Hayao Miyazaki that he can briefly focus on on short moments of perfection.
It’s an establishing shot, essentially, that shows the protagonist beginning his uncertain mission. Yet despite its short screentime, this section of the scene is all over the place online—it’s, arguably, the most striking piece of imagery in the film.
There is a tantalising glimpse of the world around Ashitaka and how it kind of powers his vision along. As it’s a story of challenging hatred, bringing some peace to the land—a pertinent a theme as ever before.
All set to composer Joe Hisaishi’s beautiful score.
Other bloggers have documented the magic of the moment. Back in 2015, SceneCritic noted this:
“Every time I watch it (I have watched this film many times) I get a tightness in my chest, my eyes widen to take in the largeness of the world and of the film and I’m instantly on the edge of my seat, getting that feeling of ‘what will happen next?’ Because that is what this scene is; it takes away some of your hope, fills you with nerves and then opens you up to this wide, vast and unknown world – reflecting the nature of Ashitaka’s journey and the rest of the film. It’s going to be large, it’s going to be difficult, it’s like nothing the hero has ever seen before, and it’s going to be like nothing you’ve ever seen before.”
The film offers a complex plot where Lady Eboshi attempts to build an industrial empire, destroying forests in the process, before being challenged by the feral warrior San.
Ashitaka joins the feud as an outsider doomed with a curse that’s set to end his life, but he’s determined to bring some peace to the land before his end. His mission:
“To see with eyes unclouded by hate.”
For the first time, Princess Mononoke is in IMAX format for UK cinemas (August 2025). Seeing it on the big screen was something else, that 10 second segment in all its glorious enormity.
For a chance to see the Journey to the West scene on IMAX, even though it lasts for seconds only, will be one to savour.
The Forests of Shirakami-Sanchi
The inspiration for Princess Mononoke’s landscapes was the Shirakami-Sanchi (白神山地) beech forest, which was visited by Hayao Miyazaki and his team during development of the film.
For 8,000 years this forest has been there.
There’s 500 square miles of the stuff and it’s home to black bears, monkeys, and eagles. The triples waterfalls of Anmon no taki (Shadow Gate Falls) are famous in the region, too.
You can clearly see how it influenced the film.
Miyazaki is always very thorough in his research. He visits locations and spends considerable amount of time there to gain inspiration, for example spending two months in the Japanese seaside town Tomonoura (鞆の浦) for the Ponyo (2008).
The results continue to inspire. Miyazaki is 84 now and he’s already retired once. But rumour has it there’s at least one more film in him and he may well be planning away right now.
