Published December 15, 2023
5 min read
In Studio Ghibli’s new film The Boy and the Heron, a mysterious talking heron leads young protagonist Mahito on a fantastic quest to save his mother. The latest film from the Oscar-winning studio takes inspiration from the 1937 book How Do you Live? and centuries of heron mythology. The heron, a long-standing symbol in Japanese culture, is more than just a picturesque bird.
Herons, or sagi in Japanese, are commonly spotted standing serenely in rivers, marshes, and rice paddies on long slim legs with a curving neck and long pointed beak. If you’re lucky enough to be there when one takes flight, it’s a glimpse of unexpected majesty. Unlike its cousin the crane, which symbolizes peace, luck, and longevity, the meaning in the heron’s appearance is more mysterious, tied to spirits, gods, death, and a link to another world.
The first known reference to a heron in Japanese literature might be in the Kojiki, says Mariko Nagai, professor of Japanese literature at Temple University Japan. The Kojiki is Japan’s oldest literary work, compiled in 712, and contains a number of creation myths that form the backbone of the Indigenous Shinto religion and the country’s folklore.
In one story, when a prince dies far from home, his soul turns into a white bird. Though it’s not explicitly named as a heron, Nagai says, the scholarship indicates it’s likely. “The white heron takes on this otherworldliness in Japanese mythology and folklore.” Nagai adds that herons often appear around death, and that birds in general are associated with death and funerals, even joining processions or taking on other funeral rites.
White herons, noted for their striking appearance, are often depicted in stories and ukiyo-e (woodblock) prints, acting as messengers of the gods or symbolizing purity and transition. When other herons, like the aosagi (blue heron) or goisagi (night heron) appear, their presence may be more foreboding. In fact, an ornithologist wrote an entire book exploring why Japanese people find gray herons (like the one in The Boy and the Heron) creepy or melancholy in comparison to their more positive image abroad.
A yokai (monster) called Aosagibi dating from at least the 1700s depicts an aosagi or goisagi that perches in a tree, glowing with an eerie blue fire. Sightings of the glowing bird speculate that it might be a ghost or a shapeshifter. “The aosagi blends in and has more of a connotation of darkness,” says Nagai. In flight, they blend into the night and disappear, reappearing when it’s light. “It may be a symbolic suggestion about the cycle of life,
