Dreams Take Flight: Riding the Winds of Hayao Miyazaki's “The Wind Rises”

Plot Summary:

Directed by Hayao Miyazaki, The Wind Rises is the capstone movie of Miyazaki’s career as a film director and has garnered much attention in the industry. The movie starts with a young Jiro Horikoshi, who dreams of being a pilot flying all across his hometown to the awe of many spectators. The dream ends when his nearsightedness causes him to ram into an enemy airship which causes his plane to disintegrate and him to fall. Jiro is then seen traveling to his school, where he receives an aviation magazine. Afterwards, he saves a very young boy from bullies that are Jiro’s age, which he defeats in a fight.  

He returns home to his loving and caring mother and his younger and quite obnoxious younger sister who begs him to go retrieve bamboo grass with her. Instead, he reads through the English aviation magazine and a photo of Count Caproni di Taliedo is shown. While gazing at the stars with his sister to train his bad eyesight, he dreams of meeting Count Caproni in an open field, where the Count is riding a plane speaking in a foreign language. Count Caproni descends from the airplane and starts speaking Japanese. They speak of their dreams and how they are interfering with each other. Although used primarily for war purposes, Count Caproni has a dream that his airplanes will be used for passengers in the future. They tour the land in the dream, and Count Caproni encourages Jiro’s aspiration to be an airplane designer and architect.  

After speaking of the dream to his mother, the scene changes to many years in the future. Jiro is on a train traveling to Tokyo Imperial University where he will be studying aeronautical engineering. During the train ride, he encounters a young lady by the name of Naoko Satomi to which she saves his hat from flying off the train. Unexpectedly, the Great Kanto Earthquake happens and makes his train unusable. He finds Naoko during the earthquake and helps carry her maid to safety, since she has a broken leg. He then escorts Naoko to her family home, where her parents and family members are anxiously waiting for her safe return. He makes his way to the university to find the buildings on fire or in tatters. A bunch of his fellow classmates are saving textbooks and other books from burning.  

A short scene of Caproni’s airship is shown, but it turns out to be a failure and falls apart rather easily upon takeoff. The fire spreads where Jiro is, so he and his friend hurry to help. Some more time passes, and Jiro is seen doing mathematical calculations in his room late at night. After class, Jiro and his friend, Kiro Honjo, go to lunch where it shows the two friend’s differing personalities. Jiro likes marveling at things related to aeronautics; whereas Kiro is seen complaining about how things never change. One day, at university, a young lady drops off a wrapped package for him with a letter and some other goods. The “young lady” waiting for him at his room, however, is his sister, Kayo. Jiro and Kayo catch up and speak of the past and future.  

Many more years pass, and Jiro and Kiro meet up outside a train station and ride a taxi together. During the travel time, they witness many people who were out of work and waiting outside “another” failed bank. References to how the economy is failing is numerous. Even their company that they work for is under the same stress about falling under: Mitsubishi Internal Combustion Engine Co. He is greeted by Kurokawa, his boss, who seems to always be in a hurry, short with his words, and fast on his feet. While consumed by his work, he envisions the plane which will be constructed and fly. He realizes that with the current construction of the plane that it will inevitably fail based on his calculations as well as seeing the actual metal skeleton of the plane in person at the assembly plant. 

Mr. Hattori, the chief engineer, goes to his workstation and is accompanied by Kurokawa. On top of finishing his own assignment, he draws a new part on the plane which will allow it more flexibility to avoid falling apart. During testing, Kurokawa and Jiro record the time and speed of the plane under consideration. The army visits them. When attempting a power dive, the plane, as expected by Jiro, completely disassembles in the air due to the immense pressure. The army apparently chose a competitor due to the failure of The Falcon. The company still pushes forward with a bomber going to be created out of Germany. Jiro is chosen to go to Germany. On his way home from work, he tries to give some food to the hungry children, but they refuse. His friend, Kiro, returns and they talk about the current economic situation of Japan. Kiro also relays the news that he too will go to Germany with him. Before going, however, Kiro is set to go to Tokyo to get married.  

In Germany, the G-38 is going to be transformed into a bomber. It is shown that there is deep-seated mistrust between the Germans and the Japanese, as the Germans think that they will steal or copy their designs. Very briefly, he catches a glimpse of Dr. Junkers, a leading German engineer. Dr. Junkers allows them inside the aircraft even with much backlash from the Germans. Kiro continues to complain about Japan’s backwardness and how they are twenty years behind the times. He has yet another ominous dream in which he is nearing a train in the snow and a fighter plane descends from the sky in flames. Kiro remains in Germany, while Jiro is sent to the west and then back to Japan.  

Jiro has yet another dream with Count Caproni, where they discuss their dreams of aviation. Jiro’s simply-designed plane is seen adjacent to Count Caproni’s luxury plane. He is given valuable advice to live his life as an engineer and artist to the fullest for 10 years, as that is the length of time an artist with creativity lasts. Jiro is given a role as the lead for the Navy’s design competition for 1932. Many of the planes are unable to fly as tested in the waters. Even more time passes, and Jiro and Naoko appear at the same place. She is painting and her umbrella is swept away by the wind to which Jiro retrieves it for her. He stays at Hotel Kusakura which is the hotel where both Naoko and her father is residing as well. Jiro then daydreams about his failed attempt at making a successful plane in his room. At dinner, they greet each other.  

Jiro coincidentally meets up with Naoko in the middle of the forest, and he finally recognizes her again. They both take shelter from the rain under a shared umbrella. The rain leaves, but her painting is ruined. He is introduced to her father, Satomi. At night, he goes outside on the terrace to smoke, and he is joined by a foreigner with a thick accent. The foreigner he meets speaks about Dr. Junker’s failing career and calls the Nazis a “group of hoodlums.” The foreigner makes bold claims about Japan’s past faults and future destruction as well as Germany’s. Yet another day, Jiro makes a paper airplane, and it gets caught on the rooftop. The paper airplane ends up on Naoko’s balcony. After retrieving the first one, he continues to throw the paper airplane up to Naoko. Happy days follow even with the impending knowledge of Naoko’s fever. He proposes to Naoko to which she accepts but not without warning him of her and her mother’s tuberculosis.  

In the next scene, Jiro returns to work and creates a better plan for the next plane. The “thought police” show up at his work which is related to his interactions with the foreigner. The company promises to protect Jiro. He receives a call from Kurokawa to which he finds Naoko had a lung hemorrhage. He returns to see her, but he had to leave immediately after. Naoko decides to go to a sanitorium to recover. He is seen trying yet again to create an airplane which will fly and withstand the pressure, a new type of all-metal fighter plane. After receiving a letter, Naoko leaves the sanitorium to be with Jiro. They meet at the train station and promise to be with each other. They marry upon arrival at Kurosawa’s house which Jiro has been staying in. They undergo a formal ceremony. Kayo ends up visiting Kurosawa’s estate and they both congratulate each other on their successes. Kayo has become a doctor.  

Even at night, Jiro works on the design while holding Naoko’s hand. Jiro and Kiro catch up and talk about Germany’s and Japan’s designs. During the on-field testing of the plane, Naoko leaves three letters and leaves for the sanitorium. A gust of wind catches Jiro’s attention, even with the celebrations happening about the successful flight. At the very last scene, a grown-up Jiro is standing next to Count Caproni. They talk about Jiro’s career and that even though Japan lost the war, Jiro’s Zero Fighter flew marvelously. Jiro sees Naoko in her prime and she says for him to live. It ends with Count Caproni and Jiro going to stop by his house and drink wine. 

Personal Thoughts:

This was a fascinating film and holds even more weight to it, as it was Miyazaki’s final film as a director before he retired. The Wind Rises has deep themes revolving the harrowing realities of WWII but also the lofty and perhaps whimsical dreams of aviation. Throughout the movie, Jiro is often seen daydreaming or full-on dreaming about Count Caproni and discussing the path he has chosen as an aviation designer and engineer.  

One of the major themes that caught my attention was the dreamy feeling which seeped into all aspects of the film. While hungry children, the war, and other serious aspects were portrayed, the overall atmosphere of the movie leaned more towards the pursuing of one dream. It was almost as if the entire movie itself was a dream in and of itself. Even during Naoko’s death, she is revived in his memories in a sweet but melancholic way. The direction of the background music and artwork was also geared towards a softer interpretation.  

Something that made this film unique was the refusal to participate in war politics. Even when consistently reinforced or confronted, Jiro never took sides. He was and still is just a man who loves to design planes, whether that be for war or for common use. He questions himself at times internally as can be seen with the internal dialogue with Count Caproni; however, the results remain the same.  

Another more tragic theme was the work-life balance. In a way, in order to fully realize his dream, he had to sacrifice precious time with his wife, Naoko. Even in the end, she left to die at the sanitorium so as to leave the best version of herself to him before death. He came home late at night and even worked through the night. It makes me wonder if Miyazaki wanted to portray that lifestyle as both admirable but lonely and pitiful.  

Overall, The Wind Rises gave a lot of food for thought that many critics, reviewers, and casual watchers and enjoyers of Miyazaki will discuss in years to come. We will have to wait and see what becomes of Miyazaki’s hopeful yet bittersweet movie and how it is received in later generations and contexts.