Back Flip - The Miyazaki Blueprint

THE MIYAZAKI BLUEPRINT
It was published by Animage 28 years ago in Japan.  Many fans of Studio Ghibli director, Hayao Miyazaki, liken it to the Holy Grail, the Ark of the Covenant or that can opener Sylvester the cat was going nuts for in the Looney Tunes “Canned Feud” episode.  It’s a picture storybook and manga all rolled into one—a sweeping fairytale eloquently narrated with the delicate strokes of a watercolor brush. 

Scanned copies of this book have been on the net for years. But even with its availability online, thousands or even millions of Miyazaki’s followers have been wishing for original copies of the book to be on their shelves.

We are, of course, talking about Hayao Miyazaki’s Shuna No Tabi which was published in 1983 by Animage. Illustrated and written by the director himself, many visual elements and themes from the book have been consequently reflected in several of Studio Ghibli’s biggest hits. (Like Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Castle in the Sky and Princess Mononoke) But to say that the book was the sole springboard for his later films would be inaccurate. We have to remember that the Nausicaa manga made it to print much earlier than the storybook.  More than anything else, Shuna No Tabi, very much like the Nausicaa manga, serves as a small window into Miyazaki’s creative mind at that period of his life. 

Shuna No Tabi’s story revolves around Shuna, a prince who lives in a poor distant village at the bottom of an enormous valley. The prince is burdened with worries because the land can barely support the needs of his people. One day, while riding his Yakkul, he stumbles upon an old dying traveler along a path.  He then brings the traveler back to the village to nurse him.  Too weak and riddled with old age, the stranger passes on but not before showing Shuna a mysterious pouch filled with dead seeds. The stranger is able to tell Shuna that the seeds, when alive appear golden.  He is also able to mention, that in legend, the seeds may be found at a point where the earth ends.  Shortly after the death of the old traveler, Shuna goes on a quest to find the seeds in the hopes of saving his people from their plight.

Okay, that’s all we’ll be mentioning with regards to the plot.  For those new fans of Miyazaki who have not read Shuna No Tabi, go find it (better if you buy it), enjoy the art and read the hell out of it. Unfortunately, it's available only in Japanese.

On that note, we hope that the book is turned into a film some time in the near future.  But more than that, we wish that there was an original 1983 copy of it on our shelves.

If you wish to order reprints of Shuna No Tabi online from Japan check out http://stores.ebay.com/edo-iki.