

In _My Neighbor Totoro_ , the girls plant some seeds they received from
Totoro, and he helps them to grow them really fast in the night (See
[here](https://vimeo.com/15165227)). This tree really looks like a mushroom
cloud from a nuke. I'm aware of the nukes that the US dropped on Japan during
2nd World War, still I don't get the meaning of this hint.


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2016-05-22T07:35:46.450
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my-neighbor-totoro
What is the meaning of the nuke like tree in "My Neighbor Totoro"?


It is definitely a mushroom cloud except that it’s one that brings life
instead of death. You see mushroom cloud-like imagery and symbols of
radioactive destruction in a lot of post-WWII Japanese art and entertainment.
There’s a whole book by Takashi Murakami called Little Boy which discusses
this. My guess is that Totoro is about Japan re-finding it’s identity after
the trauma of the atomic bombings. It’s similar to how a lot of American sci-
fi and action movies had scenes of buildings getting blown up after 9/11.


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2018-04-01T00:05:15.340
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If you check most of the animes that _Hayao Miyazaki_ wrote/produced they all
have environmentalism, pacifism, feminism, love and family themes to various
degrees.

For example in _Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind_ is about the aftermath of
a global war and find balance with Nature without repeating the mistakes for
the past.

Same thing with _Laputa: Castle in the Sky_.

Past/Current wars are the central point of those 2 movies, with _Miyazaki_
pushing for letting go of the 'old ways' and adopting a 'Live and let live'
way of life.

In the case of _My Neighbor Totoro_ he went with a family theme. But that does
not mean that there could not be some hidden symbols in the images.

Japanese people have been marked severely in their life/culture by having 2
atomic bombs dropped on them. Many manga/anime are based on post apocalyptical
worlds as a result of it. Others just hint at this 'scar' that Japanese people
have. Take for example _Grave of the Fireflies_ in which it was only recently
discovered that the movie poster actually shows a B29 Bomber plane flying
above the children when everyone thought it was just a shape of clouds.

Considering this, it is possible that _Miyazaki_ drew the shape of the tree as
a mushroom cloud without even realizing it.

This covers the point of view that the tree was indeed drawn to look like a
mushroom cloud.

Now, what you have to consider is that a lot of trees actually do have a
mushroom shape (that's how kids mostly draw trees).

Also Japanese people venerate the largest trees. Often building small shrine
around or next to them.

In the case of _Totoro_ , _Miyazaki_ actually made that tree stand taller and
separate from the others to show it as a kind of 'king' of the trees. Worthy
to be protected by the guardian of the spirit _Totoro_. It grows so tall and
strong from the love/innocence of _Mei_ and _Satsuki_.

Personally, and considering the way _Miyazaki_ approaches war in his work, I
believe the second hypothesis (a normal tree without any special war-related
meaning) to be the most probable one.


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