Historical Analysis of “The Wind Rises”

The Wind Rises is an animated film set in the real world directed by Studio Ghibli’s very
own Hayao Miyazaki that focuses on the life of Jiro Horikoshi, an engineer and designer of a
couple aircrafts by Mitsubishi that were used in World War 2. Hayao Miyazaki is a renowned
director for award winning animated films such as “Spirited Away”, “My Neighbor Totoro”, and
“Kiki’s Delivery Service”. Born in January 5, 1941, in Tokyo, he came from a family that
manufactures parts for warplanes namely, “Miyazaki Airplanes”. Growing up, Miyazaki became
interested in animated movies, even though graduating with a degree in economics and political
science, Miyazaki knew that his heart is set in creating art. He started his career animating for a
well-known studio which is Toei Animation, and from there he started to gain independence and
with the help of Tokuma Production Company they created Studio Ghibli.

Although the movie is heavily fictionalized, there were some historical representations
that were accurate and true to its inspiration. The story starts with a young Horikoshi dreaming
of creating the perfect airplane, while taking the necessary steps into making that dream a reality.
Later on he meets with a young lady that would eventually be his lover, though she would be
diagnosed with a terminal illness and eventually succumbing to it. This bit was the fictional
tragedy twist that the animated film offered to us, this never happened to the real Jiro Horikoshi.
Some of the preceding events leading to the eventual war did happen, like the designing of the
plane which would then be used in the war. Most of the story’s premise came from what would
Jiro Horikoshi’s life be if he’s not actively engaged in weaponizing his designs for the war, just a
man at a crossroad in life, thinking of actively pursuing his dream and achieve greatness, or to
dedicate his time for his wife Satomi and other personal relationships. The story wraps up with
Horikoshi achieving his dream, but this came with a cost, a cost fitting for the path that he took,
not a single plane that he designed came back and due to the nature of the Japanese and their
tradition of “Kamikaze” all of it became tools for the war itself. Hayao Miyazaki deeply
resonates to Jiro Horikoshi’s sacrifices and life choices; he too pursued greatness at the cost of
his personal relationships. There will come a time in that we will see ourselves at our own
crossroad in life, facing it and choosing the right path could be difficult, but there’s no other way
but to move forward in life, whatever choice you make, the important thing is what you make out
of it.
References:

1. Ray, M. (2021, January 1). Miyazaki Hayao. Encyclopedia Britannica.

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Miyazaki-Hayao

2. Plante, C. (2020, May 30). The wind rises remixes history to make a deeper, more
personal point. Polygon.

https://www.polygon.com/animation-cartoons/2020/5/30/21275291/the-wind-rises-
studio-ghibli-hayao-miyazaki-hbo-max.

3. Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2021, March 7). Kamikaze. Encyclopedia

Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/kamikaze