Project

In
Reading and
Writing Skills

Submitted By: Tirzo Salvador Godelos

Submitted To: Lester Neil Fabria Saguindang
I. Title of the Story
Kimi no nawa (Your name)

II. Background of the author (reason why she/he wrote the story)
Makoto Shinkai Went the Long Way. Shinkai decided to be different. He had already
expressed the beauty of art and the feeling of being lost in 5 Centimeters Per Second and
Garden of Words. His old films included many monologues. They exist in Your Name, as well,
but much less compared to his old works. Even in Shakespeare the monologues are great but
tiring and the same happens in movies: too many monologues may satisfy the author who
wants to show his opinion, but the audience doesn’t really like it. Your Name, cut down on the
approach and in return feels fresher. In the film the protagonist is aggressively optimistic. If you
think that’s not a valid point, think again: In his old works, the protagonists are living passively.
They don’t fight against their destiny, but the protagonists in Your Name. Struggle to change
their fate. This is a feature highly unusual for the director, and it made it easier for the audience
to feel empathy towards the characters. It is a typical romance albeit in a peculiar setting, and
people like that approach. People often talk about the beautiful art of Makoto Shinkai. This
movie is not an exception, and some say it is worth watching the movie just for the art.

III. Explanation of the Title

Your Name. (Japanese: 君の名は。 Hepburn: Kimi no Na wa.) is a 2016 Japanese animated
romantic fantasy drama film written and directed by Makoto Shinkai and produced by CoMix
Wave Films. The film was produced by Noritaka Kawaguchi and Genki Kawamura, with music
composed by Radwimps. Your Name tells the story of a high school girl in rural Japan and a
high school boy in Tokyo who swap bodies. The film stars the voices of Ryunosuke Kamiki,
Mone Kamishiraishi, Masami Nagasawa, and Etsuko Ichihara. Shinkai's novel of the same
name was published a month before the film's premiere.

IV. Characters (description)

1. Taki Tachibana (立花 瀧 Tachibana Taki) A high school boy living in Tokyo, who spends
his days happily with his friends and has a part-time job in an Italian restaurant. He is short-
tempered but well meaning and kind, and aspires to become an architect.

2. Mitsuha Miyamizu (宮水 三葉 Miyamizu Mitsuha) A high school girl living in Itomori, a rural
town. She is dissatisfied with small-town life and wishes to move to Tokyo. She has a
strained relationship with her father and is embarrassed by his often open displays of
 control as well as her part as a miko in rituals for her family's shrine creating
kuchikamizake, an ancient traditional way of creating sake involving chewing rice to intake
yeast for fermentation.

3. Miki Okudera (奥寺 ミキ Okudera Miki). A university student, she works in the same
restaurant as Taki. She and Taki have a mutual crush on each other, though Taki does not
want a relationship and Okudera only has feelings for him when Mitsuha is in his body. She
is more commonly referred to as Ms. Okudera (Okudera-senpai) by her colleagues.

4. Hitoha Miyamizu (宮水 一葉 Miyamizu Hitoha).The head of the Miyamizu[note 2] family

shrine in Itomori[note 3] and the grandmother of Mitsuha and Yotsuha. She is the master of
kumihimo (thread weaving), which is one of her family's traditions.

5. Katsuhiko "Tessie" Teshigawara. Mitsuha's friend, who is an expert with construction

machinery and equipment, including explosives, due to his father (the owner of a
construction firm) insisting he learn the trade. He is generally referred to as "Tessie".

6. Sayaka Natori (名取 早耶香 Natori Sayaka). Mitsuha's friend. She is a nervous girl in the
broadcast club in high school that vehemently denies her attraction to Tessie.

7. Tsukasa Fujii (藤井 司 Fujii Tsukasa). One of Taki's friends in high school. He is often
concerned about Taki whenever Mitsuha embodies him.

8. Shinta Takagi (高木 真太 Takagi Shinta). One of Taki's friends in high school. He is
optimistic and jumps to the rescue of his friends.

9. Yotsuha Miyamizu (宮水 四葉 Miyamizu Yotsuha). Mitsuha's younger sister, who lives with
her and their grandmother. She thinks her sister is somewhat crazy but loves her despite
the situation. She participates in creating both kumihimo and kuchikamizake.

10. Toshiki Miyamizu (宮水 俊樹 Miyamizu Toshiki). Mitsuha and Yotsuha's father, who is the
town's mayor. He used to be a folklorist who came to the town for research and met
Mitsuha's mother. He is very strict and jaded from events that occurred in his life.

11. Futaba Miyamizu (宮水 二葉 Miyamizu Futaba). Mitsuha and Yotsuha's deceased mother.

12. Yukari Yukino (雪野 百香里 Yukino Yukari). Tessie, and Sayaka's Japanese literature
teacher. She teaches them the word "Kataware-doki", meaning twilight in the local Hida
 dialect, in her class. Yukari was a main character in Shinkai's previous film The Garden of
Words.

V. Setting (When and Where)

1. NTT DOCOMO YOYOGI BUILDING – TOKYO. This theater is in Shinanomachi and the
location was used for the sunrise during the opening scene.

2. PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE AT SHINANOMACHI STATION – TOKYO. This pedestrian bridge

is located at Shinanomachi station and was used for the scene when Taki was calling
Mitsuha.

3. SUGA SHRINE – TOKYO. Suga Shrine is located in Tokyo and was used for the very last
scene when Mitsuha and Taki pass each other on the stairs.
4. THE UNDERPASS IN SHINJUKU – TOKYO. This underpass or intersection is located in
Nishi-shinjuku and was also used in the first trailer.

5. THE NATIONAL ART CENTER, TOKYO – TOKYO. This is located in Roppongi and was
used for the scene when Taki takes Miki on a lunch date. Miki is a stylish university student
who is also working at the same Italian restaurant as Taki. The name of the restaurant is
“Brasserie Paul Bocuse Le Musée” and it is on the 3rd floor.

6. AOGASHIMA ISLAND – TOKYO. Aogashima is a volcanic island and is located south of

Hachijojima. This island is said to be the model of one part of Itomori town, Mitsuha’s
hometown and it is important place for Mitsuha and Taki to reach the truth. Since the island
is such as remote location, just getting there is an adventure. There is only one helicopter
that goes to and from the island and it seats only nine passengers. The best way to get to
Aogashima is take an airplane from Haneda airport to Hachijojima island. Then transfer to a
helicopter there. If you decide to go by boat, there is only a 50% chance that you will
actually make it there. This is due to the lack of beaches and natural bays on this island
which makes docking any vessels risky and dangerous.

7. HIDA-FURUKAWA STATION – GIFU. This station is located in Gifu and was used when
Taki and his friends were traveling to Itomori, Mitsuha’s hometown.

8. HIDA-SANNOGU HIE SHRINE – GIFU. This shrine is located in Gifu and was used as the
model for the Miyamizu Shrine, which is the symbolic shrine in Itomori. This is where
Mitsuha performs a Japanese traditional dance with her little sister. This shrine is actually
used for the Takayama festival, one of biggest Japanese traditional festivals, so you might
be surprised by the difference in size between the real thing and the animated version.
9. LAKE SUWA – NAGANO.This lake is located in Nagano and was used as the symbolic lake
in Itomori. It is important place for Mitsuha and Taki to discover the truth. There are many
sightseeing spots in Suwa other than Lake Suwa. In Suwa City Kohan Park, visitors can enjoy
the spectacular view of the Japan Alps while soaking their feet in a footbath. Tateishi park
overlooks the whole city and it is surprising how much the real scenery and the scene from
the movie resemble each other. There is also Suwa Taisha Shrine and Takashima castle.
Around Lake Suwa there are several hot springs so if walking gets too tiring, visitors can relax
in a bath while looking at Mt. Fuji. During the summer at Lake Suwa there are several firework
shows.

VI. Climax
At twilight, in the film’s climax, Mitsuha and Taki finally meet face-to-face. But the magic fades
before they can write their names on each other’s hands, and their memories of each other
fade as well. When twilight is over, they return to their own misaligned timelines and give up
the most important thing to them—their memories of each other.

VII. Conflict
It is an internal conflict between wanting to uphold tradition by being a miko and living at the
shrine and pleasing family yet at the same time wanting to be your own person. Dreams are
often our conscious thoughts personified, in this instance, the switching of bodies let her have
the means to experience the life she wish she had. This is where dreams and wishes and the
supernatural blends together.

VIII. Resolution
They stop switching bodies.

IX. Plot / Summary of the story

Suga-jinja, Shinjuku. The staircase, where Taki and Mitsuha's reunion takes place, has since
become a popular photo spot for tourists. Shinano-machi station pedestrian bridge Yotsuya
Station High school girl Mitsuha Miyamizu lives in the fictional town of Itomori in Japan's
mountainous Hida region. She is bored with the country life, and wishes to be a handsome
boy in her next life. She begins switching bodies intermittently with Taki Tachibana, a high
school boy in Tokyo when they wake up. They communicate by writing messages on paper,
their phones, and sometimes on each other's skin. Mitsuha causes Taki to develop a
relationship with his coworker Miki, while Taki causes Mitsuha to become popular in school.
One day, Taki, as Mitsuha, accompanies her grandmother and sister to leave the ritual
alcohol kuchikamizake, made by Mitsuha, as an offering at the shrine on a mountaintop
outside the town. The shrine is believed to represent the body of the village guardian god who
rules human experiences and connections. Mitsuha's latest note tells Taki about a comet
expected to pass Earth on the day of her town festival. The next day, Taki wakes up in his
body. After an unsuccessful date with Miki, he tries to call Mitsuha, but he cannot reach her,
and the body switching ends. He decides to visit Itomori, but he does not know its name, and
his memories of it are fading and Mitsuha's messages have disappeared. A restaurant owner
in Hida finally recognizes Itomori from Taki's sketch and tells him when the comet Mitsuha told
him about unexpectedly split into two, the larger piece kept moving, but the smaller one
crashed onto Earth and destroyed the town. Taki finds Mitsuha's name in the records of
fatalities and discovers the date of the disaster, realizing their timelines were separated by
three years. Taki goes to the shrine to drink Mitsuha's kuchikamizake, hoping to reconnect
with her body and warn her of the comet strike. Through a vision, Taki discovers that Mitsuha,
having fallen in love with him, met his past self while trying to meet him personally. He wakes
in her body on the morning of the town festival; Mitsuha's grandmother deduces his identity,
and tells him the body switching is part of the Miyamizu family history as caretakers of the
shrine. He convinces Mitsuha's friends Tessie and Sayaka to help evacuate the town by
cutting the power and broadcasting a false emergency alert, but the plan fails. He realizes that
Mitsuha must be in his body at the shrine and goes back to find her. Mitsuha wakes up in
Taki's body at the shrine. When Taki reaches the shrine as the sun sets they sense each
other's presence, but are separated by three years. However, when twilight falls,[note 1] they
return to their own bodies and meet. They attempt to write each other's names on their hands
so they will remember each other, but twilight passes and Mitsuha disappears before she can
write hers. As Mitsuha races back to town to convince her estranged father, the Itomori
mayor, to evacuate the town, her memories of Taki start to fade. She realizes that Taki wrote
"I love you" on her hand instead of his name. The comet piece crashes to Earth, destroying
Itomori. Taki wakes up in his own time at the shrine, remembering nothing. Five years later,
Taki has graduated from university and is searching for a job. He senses he is missing
something important and learns that inhabitants of Itomori survived by following the mayor's
order. One day, Taki and Mitsuha see each other when their trains draw parallel, and are
compelled to disembark and search for one another, finally meeting on a staircase. Feeling
they have met before, they simultaneously ask for each other's name.

X. Moral lesson of the story

“Put yourself in someone elses shoes”. With Kimi no na wa it was literal. “True love disregards
time”. They cared about each other even with the time difference and met once more.
“Unexpected things happen in life”, the meteorite smashing into the city proved this. “Go
against the norm”, everyone else had a set view of thinking in that old town, but both the main
characters’ different way of thinking helped save the town.
 Sources:

 https://animeharbor.com/guide/the-real-life-locations-from-kimi-no-nawa-your-name/
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/your_name
 https://www.quora.com/what-lessons-can-be-learned-from-kimi-no-nawa
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/makoto_Shinkai