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What's the reason the chair in the anime _Suzume No Tojimari_ only has three
legs? It's never really explained in the anime.

[![Screenshot of the
chair](https://i.stack.imgur.com/mrOIm.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/mrOIm.jpg)


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2023-03-15T02:31:55.167
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2023-07-10T15:44:41.267
2023-03-22T15:11:17.057
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question
suzume-no-tojimari
Why does the chair only have three legs in Suzume no Tojimari?


The Hollywood Reporter did an
[interview](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/makoto-
shinkai-interview-suzume-anime-berlin-2023-1235329404/) with Makoto Shinkai on
this very topic.

> Tell us about how the decision to have the character Sōta get stuck embodied
> in Suzume’s broken, three-legged children’s chair (...)

> As for what the three-legged chair symbolizes, Suzume is a victim of this
> massive disaster and there’s profound loss in what she has experienced. And
> even though it’s not depicted in the film itself, I imagine that this chair
> that she has carried with her was probably swept up in the tsunami and lost
> one of its legs in the destruction, so it’s reflective of Suzume’s state of
> mind after everything she’s been through. Even though it’s lost one of its
> legs, it’s still persevered, and in many ways, it’s still able to fulfill
> the functions that it’s intended to have as a chair.

The chair was made by Suzume's mother, likely representing the highlight of
her past childhood and the only thing that remained after the disaster... The
lost leg likely represents a pillar in her life being lost in the disaster.

He also mentions:

> Another metaphor behind the chair has to do with how this film, in many
> ways, has a very unique backdrop, because we were working on it during COVID
> and there were many lockdowns and restrictions across the entire country
> then (...)


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2023-03-22T08:03:06.430
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2023-03-22T08:03:06.430
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