ジブリ - Studio Ghibli Anime Titles in Japanese

Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli have released many well-loved films for a few decades now. Below is an explanation of the original Japanese titles and translation from Japanese to English.

INDEX

Whisper of the Heart

Whisper of the Heart, released in 1995 by Studio Ghibli, in Japanese is 耳を澄ませば (mimi o sumaseba). This is a phrase made up of the noun 耳(mimi) and the verb 澄ます(sumasu).

Mimi is easy, this just means ear. Sumasu though can mean to purify, or clear something out. When you translate this from Japanese to English you get something close to clean out your ears. the expression though mimi o sumasu means to listen carefully.

When Marnie Was There

思い出のマーニー (Omoide no Mānī) is the Japanese title for When Marnie Was There. マーニー is simply Marnie and 思い出 is memory or memories. So, the title in Japanese would be close to memories of Marnie or even remembering Marnie.

Arrietty

The Secret World of Arriety or Arriety the Borrower is titled 借りぐらしのアリエッティ(Kari-gurashi no Arietti) in Japanese.

借りぐらし is hard to translate. It is from the two verbs, 借りる(kariru) and 暮らす(kurasu). 借りる meaning to borrow and 暮らす meaning to live as in live one’s daily life. So, this could mean making one’s living by borrowing things. I think though that the word is closer to freeloading or living in a place for free. But, 借りぐらし does not have as strong of a negative feeling to it as a freeloader.

Spirited Away

Spirited Away was released in 2001. It’s Japanese Title is 千と千尋の神隠し(sen to chihiro no kamikakushi). This translated directly to The Spiriting Away of Sen and Chihiro.

The two names, Sen are the two names the main character was called. Chihiro is a Japanese name and Sen is one way of pronouncing the 千 Character. This Kanji means a thousand.

So the first part of the title is pretty straight forward. The second part, 神隠し needs a bit more explaining. The word is a compound of the word 神(kami) meaning god or spirit and 隠す(kakusu) which is the verb to hide.

The word comes originally from the concept of someone entering the sacred realm and disappearing. So, pretty much the whole plot of the movie.

Kamikakushi in everyday speech usually refers to someone’s sudden, unexplained disappearance. Especially children who wander into the mountains or forest and don’t return. If you are interested you can actually rent or buy the Japanese language version of Spirited Away on Amazon.

The Cat Returns

The titles of the English version and the Japanese version of this film are completely different. The Cat Returns is called 猫の恩返し(neko no ongaeshi).

猫 is the word for cat in Japanese so that is the same. 恩返し means paying someone back, repaying an obligation , or doing something nice for someone that did something for you.
https://japaneseuniverse.com/2024/02/18/pac-man-in-japaneseconcepts-behind-development-to-global-icon/
So, this would translate to something like the cat’s payback. In English, that sounds like the cat is trying to take revenge, but the word 恩返し is only meant for paying back good deeds. I am guessing Studio Ghibli had trouble trying to find an appropriate translation for the film.

Tales from Earthsea

ゲド戦記 (gedo senki) is the Japanese title for Tales from Earthsea. Here again the title is completely different in both languages. ゲド is just the name for the character Ged. 戦記 is a word meaning records of battle or records of war.

Pom Poko

The full Japanese title of pom poko is 平成狸合戦ぽんぽこ(heisei tanuki-gassen ponpoko). Every here needs explanation.

◆ 平成 (heisei) – The Heisei Era (1989 ~ 2019)
◆ 狸 (tanuki) – Racoon Dog (looks like a racoon but closer to a fox)
◆ 合戦 (gassen) – Battle
◆ ぽんぽこ (ponpoko) – The sound made from hand drums

Ok, so in more detail, Japan has a special dating system where they break up years based on who the current Emperor is. The Heisei Era was named after the last Emperor.

The word ponpoko is an onomatopoeia. The anime features the tanuki with round bellies. So this sound is representative of the tanuki using their belly like a drum. A tanuki is a real animal but in Japanese folklore, these animals are stylized as sort of mischievous spirits of the wild.

Castle in the Sky

天空の城ラピュタ(Tenkū no Shiro Rapyuta) is the Japanese name for Castle in the Sky. First, ラピュタ is just the name of the floating city, Laputa. 天空の城 translates then into Castle in the Sky. 天空(Tenkū) means sky and 城(Shiro) means castle.

My Neighbor Totoro

My Neighbor Totoro in Japanese is となりのトトロ(tonari no totoro). となり is a word that means next to. It is also used to refer to the house next to another house. So, the title can mean My Neighbor Totoro or even Totoro Next to me.

Ponyo

Finally the last film we have from Studio Ghibli is Ponyo. The full Japanese title is 崖の上のポニョ(gake no ue no ponyo) or Ponyo on top of the cliff.

I hope that you enjoyed learning some Japanese with Ghibli. If you are serious about learning more about Japanese then this blog is the right place to be. Also, I have a whole review on what I think is the best resource to learn everything there is about Japanese Grammar, if you are interested:

2,110 Pages, No Word Wasted – A Dictionary of Japanese Grammar, Reviewed

ジブリ – Studio Ghibli Anime Titles in Japanese