A legend is a wind that moves unseen
As if passing through a sea of grass.
In rough mountain lodges where life is harsh
The villagers' voices yet whisper a story
Of the youth Ashitaka from the borderlands,
A story not written in history books.
Ashitaka the gallant, Ashitaka the brave
Who never once thought to turn from his fate.
Ashitaka who loved the people.
Ashitaka who loved the forest.
Ashitaka who saw with his eyes clear and bright.
Again and again to their children
The villagers tell this tale.
Again and again they tell them,
Children, live like Ashitaka.
Princess Mononoke
Original Poem Translated from Japanese
There was a time, long, long ago
When people killed the Great God of the Forest
Human face, body of a stag
Horns atop his head like the trunks of massive trees.
For what reason did the humans take his life?
The human population was large
Much of the ancient forests had been cut.
Here and there, stands of the old forest remained
Defying the humans' attempt to penetrate it.
Great wise beasts, wolves, boars and others
Deperatl guarded their last sanctuaries.
They were feared as rampaging gods
They revered the Great God of the Forest.
A clan called Tatara were makers of iron
And it was the Tatara who fought battle
After savage battle
With the rampaging gods of the forest.
Their leader was the Lady Eboshi,
Determined to clear and open the forest.
And to those who served her
Gonza, who would follow her through the gates of hell,
Otoki and Kohroku.
And the mysterious priest, Jiko, who is sworn
To capture the head of the Great God of the Forest.
The old woman, the Oracle, the far-seeing and wise
Lived in a village remote and hidden from time.
Nago, Moro and Okkotonushi, fierce-eyed and terrible
Rampaging gods who guarded the forest.
And the tiny little woodland spirits, the Kodama.
The girl San was born a human
But she was raised by Moro the wolf
To be the Princess Mononoke, the defender of the forest.
She loathed the humans who invaded their land.
The youth Ashitaka, delivered by fate
Into the midst of the last desperate battle
Between the humans and the rampaging gods
On a journey to cleanse from his body a scar
And escape it's slow curse of death.
Ashitaka and San,
Met in the midst of the carnage and chaos of battle.
What hope could their be for feelings of love
Born of a place steeped in hatred and killing?
In the weaving of this epic tapestry
Which current will prevail?
The battle between the forest and human,
Or the love between warrior and princess?
Mononoke Hime
Offical Miramax translation of the Theme Song
In the moonlight I felt your heart
Quiver like a bow-string's pulse.
In the moon's pale light you looked at me
Nobody knows your heart.
When the sun has gone I see you
Beautiful and haunting, but cold.
Like the blade of a knife, so sharp, so sweet
Nobody knows your heart.
All of your sorrow, grief, and pain
Locked away in the forests of the night.
Your secret heart belongs to the world
Of the things that sigh in the dark,
Of the things that cry in the dark.
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