Have you ever, in the rush of daily life, amidst the chaos and complexity of society, surrounded by both good and bad people—paused and asked yourself: “What’s my name?”
In Spirited Away, a film many of us watched as children, there’s a deeply symbolic detail: Chihiro’s name is taken away by Yubaba and replaced with “Sen.” Over time, she begins to forget her real name, and once she forgets it completely, Yubaba gains total control over her.
The world of Spirited Away brings us to a fantastical bathhouse filled with strange workers, a spider-like man named Kamaji, and adorable soot sprites. But behind these whimsical characters lie reflections of people in our own society. There are good souls like Kamaji, Haku, and Rin—but also greedy, selfish, and manipulative figures like Yubaba and many of the bathhouse staff. Trying to survive in a world like that, it’s easy to lose yourself. And once you forget who you are, your past slips away, and you become just another servant, blindly following those more powerful—just like Haku once did.
But thanks to love and Haku’s help, Chihiro chooses a different path. She holds onto her name. She never lets go of her identity, her courage, or her kind and compassionate heart. That’s what allows her to overcome every obstacle: to help Haku remember his true self, to rescue No-Face from his loneliness, to guide Bou toward independence, to save her parents, and even to give Yubaba a lesson she’ll never forget.
She was always Chihiro. And she remains Chihiro. As director Hayao Miyazaki once said about his film:
“I created a heroine who is an ordinary girl, someone the audience can relate to. This is not a story about characters growing up. It’s about people discovering something that’s already inside them—something that surfaces when they face certain circumstances. I want young people to live that way. I think they, like me, share that wish.”
Even in a world full of fear, confusion, and challenges, Chihiro never forgets her name—she never forgets who she is or where she came from. And it’s precisely that unwavering sense of self that allows her to save her parents and transform the entire magical world around her.
