Abstract
This study seeks to reinterpret Takahata Isao’s Pom Poko (1994) through Nakazawa Shinichi’s ‘symmetry’ discourse. When Tokyo’s push for new town plans threatens to destroy the forest where the racoons live, the racoons struggle to stop the ruthless development. Using their unique shape-shifting skills, the racoons sabotage the humans’ construction, but they are unable to stop the new town from being built. This story is based on the mythical idea that animals can transform into various beings(including humans). This mythical idea realizes the symmetry between the natural and human worlds. However, the civilization invented by mortal humans does not allow for the symmetry. The sole ruler of the human world, the king, no longer tolerates the power of nature. The more sophisticated human civilization becomes, the less room for mythic/wild ideas. Pom Poko points out that this asymmetrical thinking has caused an ecological crisis, and calls for restoring the mythic thinking inherent in us.
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