A Study on the Meaning of Mythological Symbols in the Movie <Weathering With You> - Based on Jungian Psychology

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study analyzes the impact of the unity of opposites in mythological symbols on human individuation by examining the growth narratives of two immature adolescent protagonists in the Japanese animated film Weathering With You from the perspective of Jungian Psychology. By exploring the mythological symbols that appear during the protagonists’ individuation process, divided into three aspects: ‘name’, ‘water’, and ‘sanctum’, I discovered that the opposites that appear in each symbol can be understood within the context of a unity of opposites or a ‘circulating and regenerating whole.’ First, the analysis of the “name” symbol reveals that the harmony of opposites between the heroine Hina Amano, representing the “open space of the sky,” and Hodaka Morishima, representing the “closed space of the earth,” parallels the motif of the “divine couple” and the dual unity of opposites in the universe. Second, the analysis of the ‘water’ symbol demonstrates that ‘water’, which was mainly portrayed as an image of death, destruction, a return to an undifferentiated state, and submergence in the first half of the film, transitions to the opposite image of regeneration, recovery, and the beginning of a new era in the second half. Thirdly, the analysis of the symbolism of the ‘sanctuary’ confirms that the two protagonists were able to achieve the transition from the secular world (consciousness) to the divine world (unconsciousness) and the unity of the two worlds through the sanctified space. This analysis ultimately confirms that the integrated understanding of mythological symbols that appear as images of opposites has a major bearing on the growth of the human spirit and the harmony between the unconscious and conscious worlds, encapsulating the process of individuation.