Translation of Goro Miyazaki’s blog 12-27-2005

Here is some more of Ged War Journal director Goro Miyazaki’s blog, in which he rather obtusely outlines the history of Studio Ghibli. As you can see from this and the last post, he’s still being vague about why his father didn’t want him to direct the film (my guess is because he’s not qualified?):

December 27 – My Father and Producer Suzuki are my Forerunners in [living] “lives that do”

The “life that does” is a life in which one has a goal and tries to achieve it.
The motivation for such a life varies from those who want fortune or fame to those who want to move people emotionally.

On the other hand, “the life that is” is a life that is not one lived having an ambition, be it for the sake of oneself or others, but a life lived satisfied with daily work.

Recently, I have gone and chosen to “do” the directing of “Ged War Journal,” but those who first come to mind as my forerunners in “lives that do” are my father, Hayao Miyazaki, and Producer (of Ged War Journal) Suzuki.

I doubt either man thought that their company would grow to encompass 170 employees when they started Ghibli Studios in 1985.
In any case, they most likely only thought “I want to make Castle in the Sky, Laputa!” (the film they were planning at the time).

However, once you makes a movie once, you are then tied by that movie’s results.

While making movies, [Ghibli] became involved with various people, the movies it made garnered social praise, and finally in April of this year the company became independent from Tokuma Shoten and the joint-stock company Studio Ghibli was born.

The president of that company did not necessarily wish for that. It came to be that Producer Suzuki was to assume that role [of president].