What does “Mononoke Hime” mean?
Hime means “Princess” in Japanese. Ghibli has given Mononoke Hime the English title, “Princess Mononoke”. Mononoke Hime (or Princess Mononoke) is what San, the heroine, is called by other people, since she was raised by a mononoke and looks and acts like a mononoke. So, what is a mononoke? Good question. ^_^; It’s a monster/ghost/spirit. Mononoke means “The spirit of a thing”. Basically, the Japanese blamed mononoke for every unexplainable thing, from a major natural disaster to a minor headache. A mononoke could be the spirit of an inanimate object, such as a wheel, the spirit of a dead person, the spirit of a live person, the spirit of an animal, goblins, monsters, or a spirit of nature. Totoro is also a mononoke.
Hime means “Princess” in Japanese. Ghibli has given Mononoke Hime the English title, “Princess Mononoke”. Mononoke Hime (or Princess Mononoke) is what San, the heroine, is called by other people, since she was raised by a mononoke and looks and acts like a mononoke. So, what is a mononoke? Good question. ^_^; It’s a monster/ghost/spirit. Mononoke means “The spirit of a thing”. Basically, the Japanese blame mononoke for every unexplainable thing, from a major natural disaster to a minor headache. A mononoke could be the spirit of an inanimate object, such as a wheel, the spirit of a dead person, the spirit of a live person, the spirit of an animal, goblins, monsters, or a spirit of nature. Totoro is also a mononoke.
