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There was a
time, long, long ago,
when people killed the Great God of the Forest.
Human Face. Body
of a wild beast.
Horns atop his head like the trunks of massive trees.
For what reason did the humans take his life?
The human
population was large.
Much of the primeval forest had been cut.
Here and there, bits and pieces of the forest remained,
defying the humans' attempt to penetrate it.
These wooded
refuges were protected by giant and godlike beasts,
animals of the forest, wild boars and wolves,
who would give their very lives to preserve the ancient forest.
They were the raging gods of the forest who attacked the humans
who invaded their sanctuary.
They revered the Great God of the Forest.
They did as he commanded.
The clan called
Tatara were makers of iron,
and it was the Tatara who fought battle after savage battle
with the raging gods of the forest.
Their leader was
a woman, Lady Eboshi.
Her lieutenants Gonza, Otoki and Kohroku did the Lady Eboshi's bidding.
And the
mysterious priest, Jiko, who is sworn
to defeat the Great God of the Forest -
whose ally was he really?
Okkotonushi,
Moro, a giant white wolf, and Nago are the forest gods
who follow the Great God of the Forest.
(And the tiny forest spirits called Kodama.)
The girl San was
born a human.
But she was raised by Moro
to be Mononoke Hime, The Spirit Princess.
She loathed the humans who invaded the forest
and she sought to protect the sacred sanctuaries
by killing the invaders.
An orphaned
youth, Ashitaka, a warrior of astonishing skill
joins the final battle between the Tatara and the raging forest gods.
His arm bears a twisted scar: the spell of a strange curse
that is slowly killing him.
His search for a way to break the spell
has led him to the camp of the Tatara.
Ashitaka and San
meet
in the midst of the carnage and chaos of the battlefield.
Fighting on opposite sides.
What hope could there be for feelings of love born of a place
steeped in hatred and killing?
In the weaving
of this epic tapestry,
which current will prove stronger -
the battle for the forest between human and beast
or
the love between warrior and princess?
© Studio Ghibli, 1997
You are now entering ...
... the forest of the Shishi Gami
Choose your path carefully...
This page was last updated on August 22, 1998
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