Spirited Away Isn't the Innocent Children's Story We Thought It Was

Spirited Away may seem like an innocent film. But one fan theory turns the film on its head.

For many, Hayao Miyazaki's 2001 classic Spirited Away is the ultimate comfort movie, packed full of incredible animation and whimsical characters. However, it is hard to look the film up online without finding one Spirited Away fan theory posted hundreds of times that puts a dark twist on the beloved anime movie. This dark fan theory proports that Spirited Away is an extended metaphor for prostitution, and potentially human trafficking.

This theory suggests that Chihiro Ogino's situation, along with several of the characters she encounters on her journey, are metaphors for certain things linked to the sex industry and its history in Japan. From bathhouses once doubling as brothels to Yubaba's madame-like actions and appearance, it becomes difficult to not see how this theory makes sense.

Is Spirited Away About Human Trafficking?

One of the main pieces of evidence people use for this is one of the movie's main settings, the beautifully strange bathhouse. In some periods of Japanese history, especially the Edo period, it wasn't uncommon for bathhouses to double as brothels, with the women working in them selling bathing and companionship to visiting men. In this theory, two details about the bathhouse are spotlighted. The first is that the sign for the bathhouse reads "Hot Water," and that Yuna or "Hot water woman" was a common term for women who worked in the prostitution industry during the Edo period.

In the Japanese version of the film, Chihiro is explicitly hired as a Yuna, linking her to this industry. The second point is the main antagonist and the bathhouse's operator, Yubaba dressed like a stereotypical brothel madam and issuing commands to the workers. The theory also posits that Chihiro being forced to work in this bathhouse to save her parents is a metaphor for girls getting trapped by their parents' debt. This would cause them to be forced to work in bathhouses owned by unscrupulous business people to pay off their debt, keep themselves afloat, and support their families.

Adding insult to injury, Yubaba took Chihiro's name, turning her into Sen, not unlike many working in the sex industry use pseudonyms rather than their actual name.. Also, Sen is the Japanese for 1000, which leads one to wonder if this is her price as a companion. Did Yubaba turn Chihiro from a person to a mere statement of value. After this, Chihiro actually started to forget her original name. Those who believe this theory say her amnesia is a metaphor for how hard it was to escape the sex industry once a person had fallen into it.

How Does No-Face Fit Into The Spirited Away Fan Theory?

However, most of the theory focuses on No-Face, the iconic masked spirit from the film. When Chihiro let No-Face into the bathhouse, he became obsessed with her. He offered her heaps of gold and bath tokens, suggesting that he was trying to buy her or her services despite her being underage. When Chihiro refused to accept his offerings, No-Face started to hoard the attention of the other workers, having them bring him mountains of food. When Chihiro returned, No-Face started to follow her wherever she went, suggesting he was obsessed with the girl.

Diving deeper into what No-Face represents on a symbolic level, the spirit is the very embodiment of loneliness. Its obsession with Chihiro is a constant reminder of her own loneliness in the Spirit World, which definitely supports the fan theory about her being forced to work in a brothel. No longer having control over her life, the constant shadow of loneliness is always with her, a looming reminder that one way to potentially alleviate the overwhelming loneliness she feels would be to give in to the many faceless men offering to pay for her company.

While the kindness Chihiro pays to No-Face does not necessarily need to be interpreted as her giving in to his offer to pay for her companionship, it does reflect one constant about the sex industry. Many who visit places like the bathhouse are incredibly lonely, seeking companionship and refuge from feelings of despair and isolation. Chihiro refusing No-Face's offer of money, but being kind to the spirit anyway was an eye-opening experience that allowed him to feel hopeful again.

Miyazaki Says Spirited Away Is Not A Prostitution Metaphor

This theory is usually presented with a Miyazaki quote that says: "I think the most appropriate way to symbolize the modern world is the sex industry. Hasn't Japanese society become like the sex industry?" Alas, while this quote is often reposted across the internet, no one seems to know the original source, with many considering it a mistranslation at best or a complete fabrication at worst.

However, while this theory is popular, it simply isn't true. Miyazaki has talked about Spirited Away's origins, creation, and themes in many different interviews. For instance, in an interview with Animage Magazine in 2001, Miyazaki said the film was inspired by the vacations he took with his family and their friends. In this group were five young girls who were friends of the family. While on this trip, Miyazaki realized he had directed movies for small kids and teenagers but never one aimed at ten-year-old girls. So, he tried to change this with Spirited Away, wanting to give those girls a heroine they could look up to, making this fan theory extremely ill-fitting.

Fan theories that subvert expectation, especially ones that put a dark twist on otherwise innocent films, are always popular. This is because they are fun to read and allow viewers to look at the things they love from another angle. While this dark Spirited Away theory does use some intriguing details of the film as evidence for its assertion, it seems that many are seeing something Miyazaki simply never intended. On the other hand, many have gone so far as to note that Spirited Away is the darkest and most disturbing Studio Ghibli film to date. Perhaps the thing that makes that true has nothing to do with prostitution or human trafficking, but that strange and terrifying time in a girl's life when she's on the precipice of change between childhood and adulthood.