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Entertainment

Hayao Miyazaki

Started as an entry-level animator at Toei; co-founded Studio Ghibli at 44.

Born
1941 · Tokyo, Japan
Roots
Japanese
Family
Affluent
His father directed Miyazaki Airplane, a wartime aircraft-parts manufacturer.
Education
Gakushuin University (political science and economics)
Started with
Animator's salary
Joined Toei Animation in 1963 at the bottom of the ladder.
Affiliations & societies
None documented.
Information only — claims like these are often unverifiable and may be wrong.

The pathway

  1. 1963 · age 22
    Joins Toei Animation

    In-between artist; becomes active in the studio's labor union.

  2. 1979 · age 38
    First feature

    The Castle of Cagliostro.

  3. 1984 · age 43
    Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

    Its success funds a new studio.

  4. 1985 · age 44
    Co-founds Studio Ghibli

    With Isao Takahata and Toshio Suzuki.

  5. 1997 · age 56
    Princess Mononoke

    Briefly Japan's highest-grossing film ever.

  6. 2001 · age 60
    Spirited Away

    Wins the Academy Award; holds Japan's box-office record for two decades.

  7. 2024 · age 83
    Second Academy Award

    For The Boy and the Heron, after repeatedly announcing retirement.

Sources

Compiled from these references and contemporaneous press reporting. Figures are approximate; verify before relying on them.