Kamikakushi (神隠し): Parallels in Kapampangan and Japanese folklore
Date Posted: May 27,2009 11:19 AM

宮崎駿のanime

The concept of kamikakushi (神隠し) as presented in the anime Spirited Away (千と千尋の神隠し) by Miyazaki Hayao (宮崎駿) contains a striking parallel to the concept of menunu in Kapampangan folklore. The Kapampangan ancestral spirits or nunu are similar in many ways to the Japanese kami (神). In Miyazaki's anime, the child's parents turned into pigs after they greedily helped themselves to a sumptuous feast that was prepared for the spirits. In the Kapampangan folklore, Apung Sinukuan, the Kapampangan Sun God and Lord of Mount Alaya, turned the greedy humans who took advantage of his hospitality and desecrated his mountain into the first pigs.

Comments
  • Josephine Britten November 27,2009 07:47 PM

    I and my children have seen this movie many times. We made a road trip to Kumamoto Prefecture sometime ago and along the mountainous road we came upon an onsen/hotel similar to the movie setting of 千と千尋の神隠し. Apparently there are still existing onsen/hotels such as in the movie in this modern day Japan.