40 Best Hayao Miyazaki Quotes About Life, Love, & Art

Explore the best Hayao Miyazaki quotes that capture the depth of his creativity, profound insights into the human experience, and passion for the natural world and the environment.

Hayao Miyazaki is a legendary Japanese filmmaker, animator, and manga artist. As the co-founder of Studio Ghibli, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest storytellers and filmmakers in the history of animation.

He is famous for creating some of the most beloved films in children’s media. His movies such as My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, and Princess Mononoke have captivated and entertained audiences of all ages.

Miyazaki’s films are known for their imaginative storytelling, complex characters, and amazing animation. His work often explore themes of environmentalism, pacifism, friendship, life, love, family, and the strength of the human spirit.

His ability to blend fantasy with real-life issues, art, and imagination has earned him critical acclaim and a devoted fan base.

Through his films, Miyazaki has inspired generations of animators, filmmakers, and artists, leaving a lasting impact on the world of cinema and creative expression.

Miyazaki has received numerous accolades, including the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature for Spirited Away and The Boy and the Heron.

His other honors include several Annie Awards, Tokyo Anime Awards, and Japan Academy Film Prizes. In 2024, he was named to TIME Magazine’s list of the 100 Most Influential People.

Here are the most famous Hayao Miyazaki quotes from the man who redefined storytelling, animation, and the power of imagination.

Top 10 Hayao Miyazaki Quotes

1. “Engineers turn dreams into reality.” — Hayao Miyazaki 

   
2. “Life is a winking light in the darkness.” — Hayao Miyazaki

   

3. “Reality is for people that lack imagination.” — Hayao Miyazaki   

   

4. “Humans have both the urge to create and destroy.” — Hayao Miyazaki 

   

5. “Any woman is just as capable of being a hero as any man.” — Hayao Miyazaki

   

6. “The greatness of a mind is determined by the depth of its suffering.” — Hayao Miyazaki 

   

7. “The creation of a single world comes from a huge number of fragments and chaos.” — Hayao Miyazaki

   

8. “Life is suffering. It is hard. The world is cursed. But still, you find reasons to keep living.” — Hayao Miyazaki

   

9. “Always believe in yourself. Do this and no matter where you are, you will have nothing to fear.” — Hayao Miyazaki
10. “Whenever someone creates something with all of their heart, then that creation is given a soul.” — Hayao Miyazaki

Best Hayao Miyazaki Quotes About Love And Life

1. “I’d like more of the world go back to being wild.” — Hayao Miyazaki
2. “We get strength and encouragement from watching children.” — Hayao Miyazaki
3. “Is someone different at age 18 or 60? I believe one stays the same.” — Hayao Miyazaki
4. “We each need to find our own inspiration. Sometimes it is not easy.” — Hayao Miyazaki
5. “It would be wonderful if I could see the end of civilization during my lifetime.” — Hayao Miyazaki
6. “We live in an age when it is cheaper to buy the rights to movies than to make them.” — Hayao Miyazaki
7. “Children understand intuitively that the world they have been born into is not a blessed world.” — Hayao Miyazaki
8. “In our work, the question is, how much you absorb from others. So for me, creativity is really like a relay race.” — Hayao Miyazaki
9. “We depict hatred, but it is to depict that there are more important things. We depict a curse, to depict the joy of liberation. ” — Hayao Miyazaki
10. “Modern life is so thin and shallow and fake. I look forward to when developers go bankrupt, Japan gets poorer and wild grasses take over.” — Hayao Miyazaki

Hayao Miyazaki Quotes On Animation And Making Movies

1. “I would like to make a film to tell children “it’s good to be alive”.” — Hayao Miyazaki
2. “In order to grow your audience, you must betray their expectations.” — Hayao Miyazaki
3. “Animators can only draw from their own experiences of pain and shock and emotions.” — Hayao Miyazaki
4. “I create women characters by watching the female staff at my studio. Half the staff are women.” — Hayao Miyazaki
5. “Sometimes I test myself saying, ‘If I get a death sentence if I don’t make this movie, would I still make this movie?’” — Hayao Miyazaki
6. “There are so many ships in the animation sea that are computer driven, that I think we can have at least one that’s just a log raft that we can row by hand.” — Hayao Miyazaki
7. “When a man is shooting a handgun, it’s just like he is shooting because that’s his job, and he has no other choice. It’s no good. When a girl is shooting a handgun, it’s really something.” — Hayao Miyazaki
8. “I am an animator. I feel like I’m the manager of a animation cinema factory. I am not an executive. I’m rather like a foreman, like the boss of a team of craftsmen. That is the spirit of how I work.” — Hayao Miyazaki
9. “I think 2-D animation disappeared from Disney because they made so many uninteresting films. They became very conservative in the way they created them. It’s too bad. I thought 2-D and 3-D could coexist happily.” — Hayao Miyazaki
10. “Almost all Japanese animation is produced with hardly any basis taken from observing real people, you know. It’s produced by humans who can’t stand looking at other humans. And that’s why the industry is full of otaku!” — Hayao Miyazaki
11. “Many of my movies have strong female leads – brave, self-sufficient girls that don’t think twice about fighting for what they believe in with all their heart. They’ll need a friend, or a supporter, but never a savior. Any woman is just as capable of being a hero as any man.” — Hayao Miyazaki

Famous Quotes From Hayao Miyazaki

1. “Do everything by hand, even when using the computer.” — Hayao Miyazaki
2. “Airplanes are the most beautiful when they are in the air.” — Hayao Miyazaki
3. “There has never been a work of art created which didn’t somehow reflect its own time.” — Hayao Miyazaki
4. “My process is thinking, thinking and thinking – thinking about my stories for a long time.” — Hayao Miyazaki
5. “I think it’s really good for a family or children to have a dog, cat, bird or whatever to grow up with.” — Hayao Miyazaki
6. “Since I am a person who starts work without clear knowledge of a storyline, every single scene is a pivotal scene.” — Hayao Miyazaki
7. “I don’t like games. You’re robbing the precious time of children to be children. They need to be in touch with the real world more.” — Hayao Miyazaki
8. “I do believe in the power of story. I believe that stories have an important role to play in the formation of human beings, that they can stimulate, amaze and inspire their listeners.” — Hayao Miyazaki
9. “We are not trying to solve the world’s problems… However, even in the midst of hatred and killing, there are things worth living for. A wonderful encounter, or a thing of beauty can still exist.” — Hayao Miyazaki
10. “I believe that fantasy in the meaning of imagination is very important. We shouldn’t stick too close to everyday reality but give room to the reality of the heart, of the mind, and of the imagination.” — Hayao Miyazaki
11. “You must see with eyes unclouded by hate. See the good in that which is evil, and the evil in that which is good. Pledge yourself to neither side, but vow instead to preserve the balance that exists between the two.” — Hayao Miyazaki
12. “It is the fate of modern life that we repeatedly lose touch with: nature, the environment, the planet. But we try to regain it again and again. It’s like a circle. In children’s hearts and souls when they’re born into the world, nature already exists deep inside them. So what I want to do in my work is tap into their souls.” — Hayao Miyazaki

Conclusion

What are your favorite Hayao Miyazaki quotations and Hayao Miyazaki sayings (with images and pictures) that has inspired you the most? If there is a quote that we’ve missed then let us know in the comments section what your thoughts are.

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